Photographing in Rome

The previous blog entry outlined how I planned to travel with the aim of photographing Rome whilst on a family holiday. In the five days I wanted to portray the essence of Rome from my perspective. It was great to be back in a city where the way of life appeals to me: warm weather, pavement cafes, good food and sitting to pass the time/watch the world go by.
Wandering around the sites with my family doing the tourist things the main feeling I got was of limitless people. There are tourists everywhere in the key tourist sites as one would expect. I therefore did some long exposure shots using the Nex 7 of sites such as the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps and the colosseum.

Spanish Steps I
Nex 7 E18-55 at 18mm ISO 100 15secs at f22
10x ND
Processed in Adobe Lightroom, CS5 and Nik Silver Efex 2
This was taken without a tripod but by propping the camera on the bag which was resting on a wall. This is somewhat precarious and requires some delicate adjustments to get the camera level and stable, but it is a technique I often use when out in a group so I do not have to carry a tripod.

For me though it is the fountains and the piazzas that I enjoy, and of course living near the coast I am drawn to water and so the river.

St Peter's Square II
Nex 7 E18-55 at 18mm ISO 100 1/1250 at f6.3
Processed in Adobe Lightroom, CS5 and Nik Silver Efex 2
This shot was backlit and processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 to increase the prominence of the water droplets using High Structure and a red filter.

Ponte Sant'Angelo I
Nex 7 E18-55 at 18mm ISO 100 25secs at f16
14x ND
Processed in Adobe Lightroom, CS5 and Nik Silver Efex 2

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