The Upward Spiral

This picture was taken in the entranceway of the apartment where we stayed in Rome in July 2007. I've mumped on in previous posts about the line between pointing the camera and pushing the button, and creating something that might be described as art. 18 months between that post and this one, and I'm coming from the other direction here in accepting that the line in question is blurred at best.

Clearly, there are elements such as composition, framing and exposure that are fundamental to the result, and good judgement in making choices for these elements can be considered as skill in photography. These decisions lead to an image being pleasing to the viewer or not, but are they enough on their own or in combination to result in art being created, or does there need to be an element of the unexpected and unusual, the novel and original, that goes further?

That, of course, is a big question, and well beyond me to answer for anyone else. Suffice to say that I thought I had answered it from my perspective in my last photography post but, in looking back through my photographs to put more images up on the blog, I think I need to consider that question further.

Here, for example, is another picture taken using my Sony DSC-P72, ISO 100, f/2.8. The exposure is 1/2 second (no bias), long enough to get some light from the rendered ceiling of the spiral stairway and to over-expose the glass roof of the stairwell and create an intense brightness there. The artificial lighting gives the white render a soft orange tone that I liked, and I think there is a pleasing convergence in the lines of the railings that draws the viewer into the bright light above.