Magic Hour Travelscapes

Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City, ITALY

Angels but no demons on the last stop of my Italy tour, Rome. Well unless you count the taxi driver who tried to rip me off on the ride back to my hotel. This was actually the last shot of my Italy trip. I had two days in Rome and 2 photos I had in mind and this twilight shot of St Peter's square was one of them. It turned out somewhat better than expected, especially after being told that no tripods were allowed to be used by the local Polizia in their buggies that do the rounds here. After several minutes of 'discussions' I decided to not waste my time and tried to work something else out while the sky was not yet pitch black. I found by sitting on the steps I could easily blend in with the shadows cast by the pillars and managed this 30 second exposure with the tripod set up between my legs. Good thing that nuns praying don't tend to move much. The rain that had been falling most of the day kept the tourists away and provided the reflections off the cobblestones.

Canon 1DsMkIII, 16-35mm 2.8L, ISO 200, f13, 25 seconds, unfiltered, some mild perspective correction to keep to pillars upright.

Date: 21/02/08

Location: Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City, ITALY

Photographer: Kah Kit Yoong