I climbed to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica this week and looking down couldn’t help but noticing how rounded St. Peter’s Square looks:
I went in the early morning. They officially open at 8, but were letting people in before that, so I was at the top just a few minutes after 8. It was a hazy morning, but that made the view beautiful. Here is the original file:
The edits I have done in Lightroom included bumping up the temperature slider and the clarity. Other than that, I felt that the image worked as is. It’s rare that I don’t crop a photo, but it this case I felt that wasn’t necessary. The best edit was the simplest one. I had attempted in other edits to make an HDR version of this photo; I also cropped a version using the straighten feature. Ultimately, it was this edit you see above that ended up being my favorite.
The climb up the dome itself was not my favorite moment in Rome. It isn’t hard in terms of the number of steps, but if you have trouble with closed in spaces it might not work for you. The stairs are narrow and spiral inward in places. I made it, but it wasn’t a fun climb for me. I was glad to have gone early in the morning when there were not too many other people which meant that I could just keep climbing to get to the outside viewing area and fresh air faster. When I had done my research on the climb, I had only really considered the number of steps and not the space where those steps were. The view was worth the climb though.
The photo was worth the effort. Have you ever felt this way about an image you have taken? What do you think of my minimal edit? Feel free to leave a comment below.
Cheers!
Love your minimal edit, and the warmth that goes along with it. Quite a lovely sunrise too – bit hazy but you could see the rest of the town. A view like this is always worth the climb.
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Yes, it was worth the close quarters to get up there.
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A really great image, Amy. I love the edit too. 🙂
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It was a beautiful morning up there.
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Gorgeous shots. Thanks for sharing
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Thanks!
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An amazing photo! Beautiful!
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It was an amazing view 🙂
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I like the minimal edit. With your story, it also makes sense not to do more artificial enhancing.
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Thank you, sometimes less is more.
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How beautiful Amy! When my husband and I were in Rome, we didn’t have time to climb up to the dome. I have been to many places but Rome is my favorite city (other than home). Oh gosh, I rhymed! 🙂 Enjoy your time there.
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It was worth the climb. There is just so much to see in Rome, you do sort of have to pick and choose and leave the rest for another trip 🙂
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So interesting to consider the steps but not the space they were in – hm – and I went to the link u gave and did u do the 551 steps or did you do the lift with 320 something?
Also – nice take on rounded – 😉 it was um 😊well rounded – lol
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We did all the stairs. We do a lot of walking, so it wasn’t too much for us, but the closed space wasn’t great.
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yeah – and I knew you were a runner and so I did not think walking was a chore – and you made it clear about the space thing – which is something we usually cannot get from trip advisor – another example of why blogging can be super helpful 🙂
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Maybe I should write a trip advisor review. I had been considering it.
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Oh yes – please do – because we use their site – and sometimes yelp and google reviews because it can be so helpful – and Kan used to write for TA – do u remember her?
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I use the site as well and was thinking of writing up a few of the things we did, so I’ll do that one as well. You are going to have to remind me of who Kan is, it’s not ringing a bell.
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Hi again….
this is Kan’s link (she stopped blogging)
https://kanwalkwilltravel.com/
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Interesting, I’m not sure if I had seen her blog before. It was awhile back, so it is possible that was not my first visit.
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😊
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I WISH that I could have made that early dawn climb and shoot with you. That would have been right up my alley!
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It was really nice, I have a bunch of photos that have possibility. I was so lucky with the weather as well. I loved the glow and the haze of that particular morning, which just happened to be the only day I was going to have available to do the climb.
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well it sounds like it all lined up so well for you –
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I love it when that happens!
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🌟⭐️💫✨(stars lined up)
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Amy, so interesting to hear your observations about the closed-in feeling. I wouldn’t have thought about that either, and I wouldn’t have thought to express it in a post! Thanks!
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It was a pretty big part of the experience for me. That closed in feeling is what I think of first when I see my photos.
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Sometimes it’s better to leave an image (almost) as it is. It works great for these.
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I agree and thank you very much.
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Your almost no editing is great. Because you got it right in the camera. A very nice one!
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Thank you very much!
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I love the warmth of the edit. Often the best view/photo requires negotiating difficult access. It’s a judgement call. Recently whilst overseas I decided against going for the best shot as it meant hopping across wet stones with my camera.
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Thank you, I often opt for missing a best shot if water is involved, what can I say, I just really like my camera.
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