Dark Chocolate, a photo from Rome, Lazio

Photographer's Note

The spiral staircase of Vatican by Donato Bramante is one of the most famous stairs in the world. Thanks to its geometric beauty, revealing a different shape from every possible angle and light, it has countless versions worldwide, numerous versions on TE, and this is the third (and probably the last until a new visit) version in my gallery.

macjake, worldcitizen, No_One, jhm, Kofman, SnapRJW, chrislo, dekanski, annjackman, trevormoffiet, delpeoples, jcpix, adores trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (85862) 2013-11-27 11:50

Hello Deniz,

What a shot!
I feel as if I have been swallowed by a spin drier and after many revolutions, have been deposited in the lower areas, on the floor!
You have created an amazing sense of depth, from the upper regions to the bottom of the staircase; besides the curling bannister, the step demarcations assist in this impression.
Well seen. Well executed.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

mesutilgim (0) 2013-11-27 12:04

Selam sevgili Rigocan !
Gene doktoru kıskandıracaksın !! Herşeyi ile dörtdörtlük bir siyah beyaz kare. Hele benim gibi bir siyah beyaz fanatiği için.
Tebrikler
Selam ve sevgiler
MESUT ILGIM

HimalAnda (10671) 2013-11-27 12:08

Hello Deniz,

The composition is very good, the BW very elegant.
Well done.

Stéphane

macjake (98408) 2013-11-27 13:09

All I can say is Damn you Deniz, Damn you!
haha

this is for sure right up there on my to-see-list.
how can it not right?
the spiral gives a sense of the photo being smaller at the bottom and larger at the top.

and there seems to be highlights of white light on certain areas making it look kinda cool.

neat photo of an awesome subject
cheers
craig

worldcitizen (16048) 2013-11-27 13:17

Hello Deniz,
Lovely view looking down into the giant spiral. The spotlights illuminate the people going down, and create a surreal feeling, as if these stairs are not part of reality, but lead into another world. I like the detail on the railings, and the B/W presentation.

Giustiniani (3650) 2013-11-27 14:34

Bonsoir,
une photo magnifique, le choix du noir et blanc donne un grande élégance à l'ensemble, vraiment superbe!
amicalement,

Hello,
a beautiful picture, the choice of black and white gives a great elegance to the whole, really beautiful!
Regards,

Magaly

emka (158058) 2013-11-27 18:09

hi cavaradossi,

haha, the famous stairs from vatican, it was also for me number one in rome. original shot in bw with people only on single stairs. great depth.
regards from liverpool t 4 a.m.

adidas5nb (5743) 2013-11-27 18:58

this is just a superbly seen shot,with amazing poc and light.great choice for b n w to bring out the graphic effect even more nicely.nice frame.
regards
dwaipayan

No_One (4) 2013-11-28 0:30

Hi Deniz,
I did visit the Vatican once, but I never knew of, or found this beautiful staircase, and so its nice to see your wonderful capture of it here. You mention that it can look so different depending on the angle and the light, and I can well imagine that’s the case, as the light in this looks brilliant, illuminating just that one small area of the stairs and leaving the other side in perfect contrast of darkness. Normally when I see spiral stairs, they are free of people, and I am glad to see in your capture here you have included the visitors as it brings scale and life to the shot. I like how the light seems to be lighting the people too, a glorious spiral spotlight.
Thanks as always
Noel

jhm (211736) 2013-11-28 2:52

Hello Deniz,

I reads that your dear Mesut calls grandfather, I am already 24 year grandfather.
You choice for a black and white picture, I think that colour here would are very lovely, but this is the choice of the photographer
Excellent with these stairway and the people as extra touch on these nice picture
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

timecapturer (49288) 2013-11-28 5:03

Hi Deniz
super title for a super shot. An amazing spiral and captured so perfectly. An elegant image that just looks so delicious in monochrome. Wonderful!

Regards - B.

jabber (323) 2013-11-28 6:16

i like your shot, but i think we don`t have The Decisive Moment(as Cartier bereson said)in our photos.
we attract on lights, forms, or may be we travel and photographing as a tourist not as a photographer.all of them i said lights, forms and some moments are necessary things but they can not make a complete photo. we need i think to wait more to find a moment that it has all the things that make a photo as a photo.
but your shot is really a chocolate.

saxo042 (38078) 2013-11-28 6:46

Hi Deniz,
A very good contribution to this theme. Spiral staircases always give good pictures and this one is no exception. The B&W format is a good idea here!
Kind regards
Gunnar

Subhogen (4067) 2013-11-28 7:13

Hello Deniz,
This is not just a photo but an object of art. Great composition in BW. I love how nicely the ornate railings have come out. Brilliant!! Thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Subho

willperrett (14215) 2013-11-28 8:57

Hello Deniz
You're right that it's popular and well known, but as your note implies, that doesn't mean it's not worth another shot! The monochrome treatment and the line of people make this a standout. Not sure about the chocolate, though I guess you refer to swirling liquid chocolate! Hope the Pope likes his cocoa.
Regards
Will

SnapRJW (31631) 2013-11-28 9:31

This is a wonderful swirl of richness Deniz and I can see why you call the shot Dark Chocolate, it has the look of something luscious and velvety. Your square crop is a good choice and I like the way you have placed the spiral off-centre and as we 'read' the image from the top left hand corner our eyes are pulled downwards to the inner depths of the staircase. I'd love to see this one day. Marvelous. Warm regards Rosemary

chrislo (4099) 2013-11-28 9:48

Hello Deniz,
Fantastic shot of this famous spiral staircase, showing the splendour and the uniqueness of this arcitectural masterpiece. Very effective POV with a great deepness effect shared by the spiral of the stairs, and very good balance to the shot with the spacing of the people walking down, providing scale and context. The use of black and white shows a great play on light and shadow and makes us concentrate on the shapes and patterns. A great success.
Kind regards,
Christian

dekanski (9361) 2013-11-28 12:17

Hi Deniz,
For me, the people in the photographs of this kind are always redundant, but this is the exception! Very well. An excellent choice to be b/w!

Saša

resat1972 (7586) 2013-11-28 12:53

Merhaba Deniz Bey

hayran kaldım
harika bir çalışma
selamlar

Reşat

annjackman (23019) 2013-11-29 10:19

Hello Deniz,
A famous view and well presented as b/w. I love the swirl of the staircase and the figures, which look so small, all going down the staircase. A good tight crop - well done and TFS.
Kind Regards, Ann

zoomer (6) 2013-11-29 11:33

Hello,fantasic composition with the people forming an important part of it!Excellent DOF and sharpness.All the best Wolf.

lousat (139198) 2013-11-29 11:42

Hi Deniz,great masterwork! This beautiful staircase is a great opportunity,and you caught the moment and the place in a fantastic way.A great advertising for Rome,2 points are not enough! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

wolf38 (30) 2013-11-30 0:45

Hello Deniz. Spiral staircases are a great photo opportunity. This spiral staircase is an architectural beauty par excellence. Yes, those steps should be photographed again and again. By the people, the staircase is only really alive.
Rgds, Wolfgang.

trevormoffiet (3112) 2013-11-30 2:54

Hello Deniz,
A terrific shot of this staircase. Well-presented in B&W. I love the distribution of light and the procession of people descending.
Warm regards,
Trevor

lpi (4857) 2013-11-30 9:52

Salut Deniz!
WoW que c'est beau !!!
Magnifique travail, le choix du noir & blanc est excellent!
Amicalement,
LPi

delpeoples (60342) 2013-12-01 5:29

Merhaba dear Deniz

Ahh your title is making me hungry and yes I think I can see it in this yummy staircase. I love this sepia/coffee colour here and the way you have composed the shot makes me dizzy trying to follow the swirls around the image. The addition of the people is very necessary, adding to that sense of movement but also giving us a sense of scale. I like the squarish framing too. A stunning photo with wonderful graphism and perspective.

Have a great Sunday
Lisa

jcpix (14030) 2013-12-01 18:05

Hi Deniz,

I'll mention the same thing here as I did to Bev...there's nothing wrong with the classics, and this is most certainly one of them! I've wanted to post my version of this many times, but it would be a film scan which didn't turn out all that great, so I've held off!?

A timeless classic, no matter the quantity viewed or photographed, this is still a pleasing photo to me. The seashell shape of the winding staircase with the plunging perspective is just a thing of beauty, and then you add in the lighting and color conversion you've taken on here and you have yourself a most delightful and enjoyable image. Love the title too...off to get me some! :)

Friendly wishes,

Jason

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-12-08 2:23

Hi Deniz,
I think it´s one of the most photographed staircase in the world,but no wonder.Beautiful,stylish and letting so many opportunities for the photographers.Its shape together with your B&W treatment let you create really amazing looking visual effect.

Enjoy your sunday
Krzysztof

adores (46979) 2013-12-15 17:29

Hi Deniz!
This staircase is magnificent! I like this composition and the so well managed light that shows the details of it. The people also add a lot and b&w seems a good option!

claudeD (47754) 2013-12-22 9:10

Hello Deniz,

I was there 2 years ago and its always amazing to see this wonderful architecture in Vatican Museum. Reminds beautiful days passed at Rome. Very good choice for b+w mode.You had the photographer's eye here. Very well done.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JC

photoray (13981) 2013-12-23 7:13

Howdy Deniz,

Attractive view in monochrome of the visitors strolling along the dramatic spiral geometric lines of the classical icon.
Reminiscent of the Nautilus sea shell's geometry.

Nicely composed and created
Cheers,
Ray