S.P.Q.R., a photo from Rome, Lazio

Photographer's Note

SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senātus Populusque Rōmānus ("The Senate and People of Rome", see translation), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune (municipality) of Rome. It appears on coins, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legions. The phrase appears many hundreds of times in Roman political, legal and historical literature, including the speeches of Mārcus Tullius Cīcerō (Tully) and the Ab urbe condita libri ("Books from the Founding of the City") of Titus Livius (Livy). Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula. In Latin, Senātus is a nominative singular noun meaning "Senate". Populusque is compounded from the nominative noun Populus, "the People", and -que, an enclitic particle meaning "and" which connects the two nominative nouns. The last word, Rōmānus ("Roman") is an adjective modifying Populus: the "Roman People". Thus, the sentence is translated as the more literal "The Senate and the Roman People", or alternatively as "The Senate and the People of Rome".

tyro, worldcitizen, danos, baddori, aliabazari has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

tyro (13111) 2012-09-17 4:40

Ciao caro Valter,

Yes, I well remember learning "S.P.Q.R." when I studied Latin at school fifty years ago. I remember too stories about how the Roman Centurions would throw their standards (which bore the same inscription) into the midst of the enemy so that their soldiers would battle on to retrieve them - loss of a standard was considered a terrible disgrace to any Roman soldier.

But now, when I "Google" this acronym, I see that all sorts of groups are using these letters - even an Italian restaurant in San Francisco!

A lovely "griity" picture of this water pump or drinking fountain, well rendered in black and white which really brings forth the textures of this cast iron pice of street furniture. Wonderful tones and contrasts and amazing details and sharpness.

Excellent!

Kind Regards,

John.

carlo62 (12636) 2012-09-17 5:43

Ciao Valter
ovviamente tralasciamo la versione più popolare....
Un bel particolare in versione B&W, ottimo nel contrasti, molto particolare la presenza delle due gambe, sia per il taglio, sia per il colore nero che distrae l'attenzione dal resto della foto.
Buona giornata
Carlo

rbassin (11153) 2012-09-17 9:25

ciao Valter
gros plan en N&B intéressant et bien cadré:
détails, contrastes.
Bonne soirée
Roland

lousat (57704) 2012-09-17 15:05

Ciao Valter,un grande bianco e nero con una spettacolare ricerca del dettaglio,capolavoro!!! Buona giornata e complimenti,Luciano

danos (74056) 2012-09-18 0:47

Ciao Valter,
nice the close up view of the water fountain,with the running water to creates a beautiful optical effect.

Have a good day,danos

Angshu (51174) 2012-09-18 2:53

Ciao Valter
This is true knowledge...a true TE post, alongwith a fantastic B&W picture! The focus is pin sharp & the gradual bokeh works well. I can't think of this apart from in B&W.
Best Regards
Angshu

maria-v1981 (10403) 2012-09-18 2:55

Hello Valter,
Really strong and good B&W composition with a complete greyscale tonal range, excellent details, perfect brightness and luminosity, and a splendid blur at the background. Intresting note.
Have a nice day,
Regards,
Maria

baddori (18988) 2012-09-18 6:33

Valter
L'"acronimo" aveva un valore fino all'Impero.
Ma vi era ad equilibrare il Senato il Tribuno della Plebe (Tacito).
L'acqua delle fontane (quella marcia ed il buco che creava lo zampillo.
Un'impressione indimenticabile a sei anni d'età in visita a Roma.
Grazie
GF

mauro61 (52527) 2012-09-18 7:46

ciao Valter,
hai forzato la tonalità rendendo molto particolare questa tua ripresa.
Buon uso del bianco e nero e inquadratura che include le gambe di donna...
saluti
maurizio

yaya13baut (3344) 2012-09-18 10:44

ciao Valter,
back from Roma 3 weeks ago I met this SPQR everywhere in the city, of course, and I met a lot of fountains, which was pretty nice as it was very hot !

here, a good B&W job, with details and texture well emphasized, a good focus on this fountain's detail (and then, the legs of the woman in a blurred background) and a good crop.
Yannis

lpi (4424) 2012-09-19 10:34

Ciao Valter,
Un gros plan de cette belle fontaine en noir & blanc.
J'aime les détails de ton shot.
Bravo pour la composition!
Amicalement,
LPi

abmdsudi (26295) 2012-09-19 21:53

Hi Valter
Classic example of macro-closed up photography, nicely positioned of a clinical shot with the entire field, far & near gives a correct visual perception and feeling in our brain. The ancient communal water tap, and its fabulous clarity with bags of minute details, crispness and stark grittiness offers lots of uniqueness, charm and characteristic that speak volumes. Superb clarity and tonal contrast, a priceless structure well preserved, Nice shot. TFS.
Thanks to the infor historic notes.
Warm regards

aliabazari (10105) 2012-09-21 13:24

Walter Saluti
Amo questo disco così tanto. Una buona selezione di bianco e nero. L'esposizione e il contrasto sono eccellenti. Una buona composizione con lo sfondo.
Grazie per un bellissimo disco.

cigdom (2574) 2012-12-04 7:48

Ciaco Valter,

I liked the way you capture this pretty fountain! Also the lady in the background created an interesting POv. Vell seen and framed!
Thanks for sharing

Cigdem

gus72 (2508) 2012-12-21 14:55

well...... helllo Valter
Happy X`mas. and a Fantastic 2013 ..... plenty of travels and dramatic photos !!!
This is a rather artisitic image..... good capture and excellent crop as we only see what we need to see. I repeat....... very creative crop.
good choice in B&W
I think that SPQR is a brand of beer that I see coming out of the tap !!!!!!!
We will be away for 7 days... doing a round trip of aprox. 2300 KM...... here in Australia you get used to long distances !!!
Gus