The mid-day crowds subside during a summer sunset at the Colosseum, Rome. Use the "Contact Me" form to inquire about prints or licensing. Cityscapes and architecture

An evening at The Colosseum (Il Colosseo), Rome

In June of 2016, I had the privilege and pleasure of spending a couple of days in Rome, Italy with my family. During the day we sweated our way around the city, cooling off with some gelato and the occasional trip to one of Rome’s many fountains. One evening, however, I had the opportunity to grab my little Fuji Xpro-1, my Benro tripod, and my Sunwayfoto CR-30 pano head and hop on the metro. My destination? Back to the Colosseum.

Ordinarily I would choose one or maybe two of these photos to post, mostly because I dislike having multiple shots from the same location (that were taken on the same evening) in my portfolio. However, in this case I thought that the changing light, the changing angles, and even the people I happened to capture in these scenes were different enough that posting all of my panoramas would be a fun change of pace. Plus, I’m really missing Rome and thought I’d slake my thirst for travel with some photo editing.

So without too much further ado, here are my panoramas, as taken in chronological order.

 

Temperatures cool and the crowds clear slightly during a summer sunset at the Coloseum (Il Colosseo), Rome, Italy. Please use the Contact Me form at right to inquire about prints and licensing.
Temperatures cool and the crowds clear slightly during a summer sunset at the Coloseum (Il Colosseo). At far right a nearly full moon can be seen. Please use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints and licensing.

 

The day's light fades at Rome's famous Colosseum, as street vendors go to set up for the evening. Please use the "Contact Me" form to inquire about prints and licensing.The day’s light fades at Rome’s famous Colosseum, as street vendors go to set up for the evening. Please use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints and licensing.

 

The mid-day crowds subside during a summer sunset at the Colosseum, Rome. Use the "Contact Me" form to inquire about prints or licensing.
The mid-day crowds subside during a summer sunset at the Colosseum, Rome. Use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints or licensing.

 

Clouds lit by sunset streak overhead at the Colosseum.
Clouds lit by sunset streak overhead at the Colosseum. Please use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints or licensing.

 

Both the Colosseum and Constantine's Arch can be seen in this wide panorama. For information about prints and licensing, please use the "Contact Me" form.
Both the Colosseum and Constantine’s Arch can be seen in this wide panorama. Please use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints and licensing.

 

Lights begin to turn on in and out of The Colosseum during blue hour. Please use the "Contact Me" form to inquire about prints and licensing.
Lights begin to turn on in and out of The Colosseum during blue hour. Please use the “Contact Me” form to inquire about prints and licensing.

 

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Rainier blows up

My six-year-old son and I both agreed that this was a “top-10 sunset.” I know that a six-year-old’s opinion doesn’t usually hold much weight, but my son’s seen a few sunsets in his day. This one exploded for nearly 45 minutes, bathing us in various shades of orange-red light.

At home, he routinely interrupts me from staring at my computer monitor so that he can excitedly drag me to our west-facing window and point out some pink-purple clouds. “Our favorite sunset colors” is a topic of conversation that has regularly come up in the past few years. Last summer we spent nearly three weeks on the road, staying up late, waking up early, checking out over half a dozen national parks, and talking a lot about photography. This summer we didn’t make it out quite so much.

Every once in a great while I feel a tinge of envy when I see posts from young, single photographers who have the opportunity to run off at a moment’s notice. While they chase sunsets, I’m often chasing kids around a playground. While they breezily travel to far-flung locales on a whim, I’m intricately planning out how I can get away for a night.

And every once in a while I find myself in the right place for a take-your-breath-away, the-sky-is-on-fire sunset. Long ago I thought it would be a good idea to carry a camera to capture those moments so that others could appreciate them, later. But it’s also nice to have a small person at my side who stops poking at the dirt with his stick to yell, without any pretense, “this is incredible,” not because he’s been coached to do such a thing, or because he feels that the exclamation is expected of him, but because he’s thrilled to be there in the moment, seeing an incredible sunset. With me.

Mt Rainier bathes in soft light at sunset, as the White River runs below.
Mt Rainier bathes in soft light at sunset, as the White River runs below. Click to view full-size photo. Prints available here.
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The seventh wave recedes, Cape Kiwanda

Stars emerge over the ocean along the Oregon coast.
“The seventh wave recedes, Cape Kiwanda” Click to view larger. Prints available (use the contact me form below to inquire).

It’s summertime at the Oregon coast, and the sun set 20 minutes ago. The horizon still glows warm, a perfect soft breeze blows your hair from your eyes, and churning waves drum at the base of the sandstone cove where you’ve watched the sunset with friends. Somewhere around the seventh or eighth wave you hear a heavy, hollow ka-whump, and a six-foot wall of water jumps vertically, just an arm’s length in front of you, only to crash straight down. These are the sandstone bluffs of Cape Kiwanda, a strange juxtaposition of tranquility and chaos.

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