Something that I’ve found fascinating since I was a child is the ability of the planet to transform itself. The idea that a volcano can change the course of human events is humbling, a reminder that we can’t control everything. That’s what I was thinking when I shot the photos that would become this image:
ISO 640 22mm f/10 1/640
That’s Mount Vesuvius in the background and the excavated town of Pompeii in the foreground. I knew a bit about the history of Pompeii before my visit but one thing that I didn’t know, or had forgotten, was that when the volcano erupted in 79 AD it added land to the area. Pompeii use to be the port, now the port is further away. As for the photo, it went under a bit of a transformation as well. I started here:
ISO 640 22mm f/10 1/640
This photo above is one of three shots, identical except for their exposure value, that I combined into one photo, making an HDR version. From there I cropped the photo. There was quite a bit in the foreground that keeps you from moving to the back of the photo and the lurking volcano. Then I thought about the mood of the photo. I wanted to express the indifference of nature to the ambitions of man. To achieve that thought, I removed the people in the photo with the healing brush tool. Seems a bit ironic. Then I put a cool toned filter on top of the photo and darkened the edges a bit to help draw your eye to the volcano.
I thought the outcome made for a more interesting photo but what you think? Have you ever been to Pompeii? For me, it was one of those places that I have always wanted to see and it did not disappoint. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
Beautiful capture.
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Thank you!
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A lovely photograph Amy – I like the perspective and my eye was naturally drawn to the volcano in the original image. The colours provide a nice contrast and I would have left them the way they are. The cropping and brushing work well in the edited image ☺
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Thank you very much, the stone structure of the town made for some nice lines that led to the volcano.
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Amazing. I hope to get there one day
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Definitely worth a visit in my opinion, of course I feel that way about a lot of places 🙂
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Your edit did exactly what you wanted it to do – move your eye toward the volcano. Nice job. We will be going to Pompeii next year – can’t wait!
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I hope you enjoy your visit as much as I did!
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We did not get to Pompeii. This picture makes me want to return to Italy.
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For me, this was a highlight, something I had always wanted to see. Where in Italy did you go that was a highlight for you?
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This are spectacular photographs. Yes … we have no control over some things.
Nice selection for the challenge.
Isadora 😎
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Nicely done. The road leads the eye right through to Vesuvius.
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Thank you, there were several spots like this where you could take an image that would nicely show both man-made and natural elements.
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Yes, we have been to Pompeii and enjoyed it very much, much due to our excellent guide. Wonderful photos, the first one is outstandingly good!
Have a wonderful weekend,
The Fab Four of Cley
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Thank you very much. We divided our time here. For the first several hours we had a guide and she was excellent. Then we had a few hours to explore on our own. It was nice to do both.
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Beautiful photos, I have visited Herculaneum but unfortunatelly did not have enough time to visit Pompeii. I just found your blog, I love that you write the camera settings you used on your photo, I will find that very useful since I have recently started a photography course aiming to improve my own photos😄
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Thank you very much for your visit and kind comment. We did not get to Herculaneum, but would if we were ever back in the area. My guess is that a visit to each area would be complementary. I’m glad you find the settings information useful. I include them because I refer back to them, and I also find it helpful to have them in this format when I go back and think about what worked (or didn’t) in certain situations.
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Beautifully done. From the final photo, it looks like it’s pointing towards a time back in history – like you framed a window for all of us to look back in time. Really like the muted tone too. Gives the image a bit of a classic feel.
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Thank you Mabel.
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On my bucket list for sure Amy. Fascinated by the history of the place. I rather like the perspective ;ent by the people in the photo but know why you took them out. Both versions are great.
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Yes, lots to photograph there too 🙂 I agree, leaving the people in tells a completely different story.
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Amy, your comment about darkening the edges reminds me of something I read recently about Da Vinci’s work, that he had learned that human eyes view things differently from the center of the retina to the periphery, and that he uses that in the smile of the Mona Lisa:
“There is other science involved in the smile. From his optics studies, Leonardo realized that light rays do not come to a single point in the eye but instead hit the whole area of the retina. The central area of the retina, known as the fovea, is best at seeing color and small details; the area surrounding the fovea is best at picking up shadows and shadings of black and white. When we look at an object straight on, it appears sharper. When we look at it peripherally, glimpsing it out of the corner of our eye, it is a bit blurred, as if it were farther away.” – from Science Friday, https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/the-eyes-and-the-smile-of-mona-lisa/
Thanks for posting this! I always learn something new in your blog posts. 🙂
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That technique of darkening the edges is a pretty common photography “trick”, it’s a pretty effective composition technique. It is always interesting to me when the science behind why something works in art is explained. It seems to me that art and science overlap more than people would like to think.
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Art and science do overlap, surprisingly, huh? I like hearing about the darkening the edges technique. I might try it in my sketches! – I wonder if by doing that, it creates a sense of roundness in the photo, darker edges and lighter interior? Maybe not, just a thought! 🙂
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In photo editing, you have control of how the darkening works, both how much and the shape of it. Two common settings for darkening are a circle and a rectangle. I do think using each particular shapes influences the other shapes in the photo. The photo from a few weeks ago that I posted of Rosslyn Chapel had a rectangle on it. I chose that because the lines of the rectangle reflect the lines on the chapel, so architectural shots can lend themselves to a rectangle. Nature is more often a circle application, as its subject is often more about curves that strict lines. From there, you can think about offsetting the shape or creating your own, there are a lot of options within photo editing software to help you achieve your vision.
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Wow! Thank you for the tutorial, Amy! 🙂
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I think this all fits in nicely with are whole art/science discussion as well.
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I have never been there, but would love to go. History have always been my favorite subject. I enjoyed seeing Pompeii through your lens. Thank you for sharing the experience.
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It was great to see it in person, just gave me a whole new way to look at what I had read about it books.
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I bet! Thank you for sharing it!
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Have read of Vesuvius and Pompeii in school but this is probably the first time I’ve seen photographs of the actual place so you can imagine my excitement. Beautiful what you have done with the edits for the photographs are stunning .
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It was a beautiful spot, and one thing that was striking to me was how big the site was. Thank you for your kind comment.
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so cool – would love to visit there sometime.
and there is this song out now (imagine dragons) – that starts “Thunder…. Thunder…” and for some reason it was playing in my mind as I studied your cool photos – those clouds and the vibe felt like thunder strength to me.
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Interesting that you should mention that because for a short while we thought we might get a thunderstorm through.
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really….. spooky cool
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Incredible! I’ve always enjoyed visiting ruins, but I imagine this site must have been so haunting.
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And humbling as well, in that when you look around it is pretty obvious that a lot of people were just going about their normal lives.
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I like the first version best – it gives the place an incredible aura.
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Thank you.
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So glad to hear Pompeii did not disappoint. The framing of the volocano in your photo is fantastic. such a clear day too. Our visit , although in late September, was very crowded with tourists. It look like you had a much calmer experience.
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Ah Sue, how the camera can lie right? 🙂 The place was packed. I just wait for people to move and when that doesn’t work, move them later in the editing process 🙂 It was a fabulous trip, thanks for talking to me about it and passing on tips before we went, I really appreciated that.
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Oh that makes more sense actually! Happy to chat any time. 🙂
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I can remember watching a couple documentaries about the destruction of Pompeii on either Nat Geo or Discovery Channel in which the addition of land was mentioned.
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Yes, as the guide was pointing it out, I was thinking, did I ever read about this part? Either way, it was one of those things that you can appreciate much more when you are actually there in person and have a feel for the land in question.
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Great post and pictures! During my recent trip in Campania, I visited Mount Vesuvius as well. I sneaked myself up to the crater, bypassing the gate and avoiding the ticket fee (not for the money but for the adventure’s sake in its own right).
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We actually skipped Vesuvius this time, what did you think of it?
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It was an absolutely great experience! I’ve always been fond of volcanos so Vesuvius was that one of them I definitely had to visit. Only downside that, far unlike most other volcanos, it’s always so crowded with people. Trespassing to the crater thought made the whole thing much more interesting.
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Yes, I’d heard that Vesuvius is often overrun with people, something that was confirmed when I saw the huge number of people get off the local train in that area.
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Beautiful picture.. Lucky ones to visit such a beautiful place
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Thank you, and we did enjoy our time at the beautiful spot.
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Thank You for these photos. They are great. We visit there at the same time when on travel in Sorrento. From Sorrento, we made trips to Capri and Vesuvius.
Happy New Year.
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I’ve not been to Capri, would you recommend it?
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Worth for a visit! Absolutely.
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Good to know, thank you.
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