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Stephen

© Anthony L. Mancuso

Stephen

Uploaded: September 17, 2012

Description

My interpretation of the columns at the Arboretum

Exif: F Number: 5, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/320 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 160, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 28.00 mm, Model: NIKON D700

Comments

Elaine Hessler September 17, 2012

This is beautiful and you got smack dab in the middle to make it perfectly symmetrical. I can appreciate your attention to this. I also like the lack of color-it draws my attention to the columns and their reflections. Question-for some reason my eye wants a little more space on the bottom-I am TERRIBLE at cropping, so this suggestion may be a poor one, so take it with a grain of salt. VERY cool image! #1486902

Jeff E Jensen September 17, 2012

This is really cool, Tony! Your treatment works really well. I'm gonna have to say that I like it as is. #10326773

Jeff E Jensen September 17, 2012

Nice job on hiding Stephen. . . . #10327040

Anthony L. Mancuso September 17, 2012

Thanks Elaine and Jeff! I thought it was cool to leave Stephen in there as a kind of "Where's Waldo" type of thing.. I am actually thinking of framing this one too so any additional input is appreciated.

Glad you like my edits Jeff, but as you can see from the original you couldn't even tell what the best edit I made was ;-) #10327072

Anthony L. Mancuso September 17, 2012

HA! I just realized after I posted the original that I forgot to clone your reflection out of the sepia version! #10327080

Jeff E Jensen September 17, 2012

Oh man, that is too funny! You should leave it in. . . . #10327116

Anthony L. Mancuso September 17, 2012

Yeah, what a great idea! ...not! #10327124

Rita K. Connell level-classic September 17, 2012

your image looks really good. I do like the symetrical feel to it and tones. I really think its funny about jeff reflection and stephen hiding in the corner. I am not sure about the hanging on the wall....pictures like this is boring to me....but just looking at it I can see why you guys like it. #10327175

Stephen Shoff September 17, 2012

It took me a long time to figure out where your naming came from. Great job. Sorry to have compromised your marvelous symmetry. I hadn't noticed Jeff's reflection.

I think the picture is great. It is a rigorously classical composition. And so, yes, Rita, it has its "cliche" appearance and as wall art would need to fit into a decor. I had identified 3 of these classical-style interpretations for these columns -- one was from below the hill (Teresa's post), the interior shot with Bean modeling in her dress and hair arrangement that seemed almost deliberate for this scene, and this aspect with its perfect symmetry. Since I had seen many of you working on this shot, I didn't try for it in favor of a few off-center shots.

To Elaine's other observations...I think the sepia tones fit the composition. But I see grey in the sky rather than sepia. I almost wonder if you masked out the sepia effect in the sky area. If so, that doesn't particularly work for me.

I think Elaine's suggestion for more space at the bottom is good too, if you have it available. Minimizing the sky at the top is good since you can't see any drama in the sky. However it is also commonly suggested to get the horizon off the midline, and the reflection does capture the drama in the sky. I think more foreground leading into the reflections might help.

Given that this is a picture is about permanence and time, I think the rigid symmetry and centering of the image works very well. #10327195

Elaine Hessler September 18, 2012

That is very funny with the reflection. Just curious, what is that blue thing in the reflection towards thr middle? #10328161

Teresa H. Hunt September 18, 2012

I really like this Tony. The symmetry and coloring work really well together.

It took me forever to find Stephen! And leaving in Jeff's reflection . . . to funny :) #10328517

Beth Spencer September 18, 2012

I like the coloring on this one. I think you should leave Jeff in but what happened to Stephen's reflection? I also wonder what the blue thing is? #10328561

Peter W. Marks September 20, 2012

As if I didn't have anything more pressing to do this morning! So, as no-one has told me what I am looking at other than some columns just hanging aimlessly around I took me off a-googling and now know perhaps even more than some of you that were actually there.
Originally 24 Corinthium columns that stood at the East Portico of the US Capitol erected 1828. they predated the dome. They were quarried from sandstone from near Aqua Creek, Virginia and brought here by barge. If you count them you will only see 22 as two cracked in half and now lay in the Azalia Garden at the summit of Mt Hamilton. The remaining columns were relocated and the reflecting pool built in 1958. Lots more info of course but just go look for yourselves my friends. #10330373

lisa anderson September 20, 2012

I thought I'd commented on this already and just came back to look again because I like it so much. Seeing the uncloned reflection in the original post is so funny! After seeing it I couldn't believe I'd missed it. If Stephen is the small white thing on the right hand side, I'd suggest leaving him in because I thought the columns were much smaller until I knew that was a person, so I like the sense of scale it gives. #10330964

Jeff E Jensen September 20, 2012

Check your dates, Peter. I think it was much later than 1958. #10331043

Teresa H. Hunt September 20, 2012

Peter, I started taking pictures of the signs at places I visit so I can remember the information. (Something inspired by you) :)

As you can see the columns were removed from the capitol in 1958. They were not put in their current location until 1990. :) #10331105

Peter W. Marks September 21, 2012

I stand corrected Teresa, thank you.
I had to smile at Stephen's remarks that these columns are about "permanence and time" It brought home to me again just how very new my adopted nation is. The columns only served their original purpose at the Capitol for around 130yrs. Back in the old country many of the churches in towns and villages date back four or five hundred years and the castles more than that. This is not a put-down but just reminds us how relative 'age' is. And why am I thinking of Dale when I say that! #10331391

Anthony L. Mancuso September 21, 2012

Thanks for all the great comments on here, I'll play around with the pic at some point but Stephen and Peter's comments are motivating me to add my own commentary about time, which are going to be abstract and not relevant to the picture but I'm going to do it anyway because it is my thread afterall.

We think of a person who is 90 years old as "old" but relative to other things 90 years is nothing. As Peter said the columns were at the capitol for 130 years and will be where there are now for who knows how long, probably much longer than any human could ever live.
When we took the tour of the cathedral Andy told us people could do nothing else to it and it would stand unaltered for THOUSANDS of years. To take it a much bigger step further, our planet has been here for around 5 billion years. To put in perspective how long that is, if that time span was equal to one year, human beings would have only existed on earth for the last 2 minutes of the last hour of the last day of that year. In another 5 billion years the sun will use up all its internal energy sources, at which point it will expand til the edges of it extend beyond the earths orbit and the the earth will be incinerated. So what is permanence really?...nothing is permanent. Our lives are merely a blink in time and essentially irrelevant in the great scheme of things. Our whole planet is irrelevent really. The sun is one star of over 200 billion in our galaxy and our galaxy is one of over 200 billion in the universe. I've heard it said that it is known that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on every beach on earth combined. So who are we to think that our planet or our lives are important? The earth could be destroyed tomorrow and it wouldn't matter in the real big scheme of things. I'm not saying all this to be morbid or depressing, I actually do value life and think about this stuff and use it to motivate me to not get worked up over small stuff and try to live life the way I want. I think it's easier said than done though, for me anyway, because of ideas and behaviors we have planted in our head as children about what is important and how to live our lives and it's tough to break out of those patterns when they are so ingrained in our psyche.

Anyway, I know that was a pretty long tangent but when I write it down it helps remind me to not sweat the small stuff, or even the seemingly bigger stuff that really doesn't matter in the big picture of things...and no I'm not crazy, I just ruminate a lot.. #10331710

Peter W. Marks September 21, 2012

That is a good read Tony or as I probably have said before, "there is life outside the pixels!".
Your stats about the stars and galaxies are one reason why I am not worried about my eternity. I shall be up there, out there, or where ever, but I do know I shall know a heck of a lot that has not yet been fully revealed to me and I rejoice that this is to come. #10331732

Beth Spencer September 22, 2012

Reading all this just helps remind how Fragile life really is. Working as a nurse and life experiences I have had, have taught me that things can change in the blink of an eye and to be Thankful and enjoy all that one has in life! #10332671

Chris Budny level-deluxe October 16, 2012

One of my favorite "DC gems" that many visitors never get around to seeing... Nicely done! #10371945

Susan M. Reynolds level-addict October 17, 2012

I love the photo and saw the reflection in the water before I found the real Stephen, so I thought it was his reflection till I read through.
Cool thread to read too! I'm glad there are others that ruminate or ramble just cause they want to & it's their thread! Too funny but interesting read! p.s. & no...we ramblers are not crazy! I always thought riding so much as a kid on the wooden floorboards in the back of my mom's ancient old rambler station wagon was what rubbed off on me causing me to ramble on at times! ha :) #10373271

Susan M. Reynolds level-addict October 17, 2012

p.s.s. And very glad you left the thread up long enough for this lazy susan to be able to see the cool photo, learn some history, read some ramblings and find out just how young we really are in the grand scheme of things despite our gray hair and trifocals! Also glad for those who were able to have a great time at your meetup in DC...maybe the next one could be San Francisco only about an hour and 30-40 minutes from me! You know you'll leave your heart there :) #10373276

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