Rome Winter 2018
At the beginning of the year I visited Rome; amazing city. I never got round to posting the pics, so I figured I would before I have too much of a backlog.
On the first day I started by going to St Peter's Square, approaching Vatican City with St Peter's Basilica in the background.
Despite it being the middle of winter the air was surprisingly warm, ideal for walking around exploring. The low sun was making photography a challenge, but fortuitously placing the array of columns on this side in full sun. I didn't fancy that queue, so I never explored the basilica inside!
The sense of scale in here is not easily conveyed. The columns are massive.
The Vatican museum was beautiful, although photography under Michelangelo's Ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is strictly forbidden, so this is about as close as I got.
On the way out, this was one of those staircases that you just couldn't help hanging over the railing and having a look down.
The Colosseum was the next obvious choice.
Again in full sun, it made taking pictures really challenging. The panoramic below shows the extent of the iPhone 8's ability to apply HDR on the fly, rendering even the darkest parts of the image in full shadow with surprising detail, despite shooting directly into the sun. My regular interchangeable lens camera wouldn't have been able to do this.
The various levels of the Colosseum are visible and if I recall correctly you need to pay extra to get access to the top level. At the time I was visiting it was fairly busy, and given the limited number of people allowed in at one time I imagine it can get very crowded in summer with a long wait for entry.
A panoramic of the Colosseum in late evening sun.
Heading over to the Roman Forum, the Colosseum disappears behind some trees.
The Roman Forum (in any light I suppose) felt tricky to photograph because there's just so much of it, and it is everywhere around you.
Eventually, the further away from the Colosseum you go, a white marble looking building appears in the distance.
This is of course the Altar of the Fatherland. It's a shame about the high fence; I do seem to recall holding my phone high above my head at this point. Inside the fence the perspective is not nearly as good.
Finally I saw the Spanish Steps.
And the view from the top.
I was only there for a few days and would love to again some time, with more places to see on my Wishlist and to revisit a few places to get better pictures.