Vatican Ghosts Photo

Photographer’s Note

It is forbidden to use tripods inside the St Peter's basilica in the Vatican, therefore you need to find ways to shoot despite the lack of light. I Have been numerous times to Rome and my first shots inside the basilica were very disappointing for this lack of light.. This time I played differently and have brought back some nice shots IMO...;-)
This is like a tribute to my first missed shots, for I deliberately played with the speed factor to willingly obtain this blur on three passing nuns. I personally like the result showing "ghosts in the vatican". awaiting our comments now...

c_kyr, ianmcall, eelliott305, manny, omritoppol, Schultzy, strangiato, RGatward, ale, sohrab, touristdidi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

c_kyr (1810) 2004-03-28 4:57

I agree with you that the result is very nice!
Maybe you should add the image under the "humourous" category as well.
Well done!

cxxl (2680) 2004-03-28 4:58

A very wierd rule about tripods ??? Are they worried about the floor??? I am used to seeing cameras banned, but not tripods.
Anyway... an excellent capture and very spooky... well done.

snuggleaphagus (4138) 2004-03-28 5:19

The ghosts of photos that never were. I think the gohsts fit well with the setting and also give a light hearted mood to the traditional photos I have seen from this area. Regardless of the difficulties you managed to get a wonderful shot and great details specially on the cherubs. Wonderful idea.

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-28 5:29

Nice idea Eric. You have still caught enough detail of the architecture to hold the interest while concentrating on the passing ghosts.
btw I`m sure I read in TE that you could hold down ctrl key and enter your shot into more than one category.

ianmcall (1213) 2004-03-28 5:31

This is a very cool effect. A good idea well done.

I think I'd have preferred it if the "ghosts" wern't quite so big, and not almost filling the shot. The architectural details you've captured are interesting. I guess you didn't get much control over how close the nuns passed

philip_coggan (11) 2004-03-28 6:17

Rules about tripods are faily common - the Australian National Gallery here in Canberr also bans them, but lets photos taken hand-held. I like the ghosts :-)..

manny (21378) 2004-03-28 7:15

Great effect here. The ghostly view is certainly conveyed and it also like I can see them dissipating in my eyes. The blur is indeed very effective. Kudos for a job well-done.
And about your comment to my pic today, yes, my technical defficiencies are made up for my fairly good PP skills.

Schultzy (5428) 2004-03-28 11:44

Cliché très original. L'aspect "mystérieux" est très réussi. Le mouvement est très bien exploité. Super !

PechePassion (483) 2004-03-28 12:28

lol photo rempli de chance si j'ai tout compris à la note mais la chance fait aussi parfois partie de la pallette de la photo !
En tout cas l'effet crée est superbe et s'accorde parfaitement au titre !

strangiato (76) 2004-03-29 6:24

Creative idea and superb result.

scalerman (25593) 2004-03-29 15:09

And it does lend a strangely eerie feel to an otherwise sterile interior shot. well done. a little spooky.

clodreno (0) 2004-03-30 3:01

Very nice Eric.. I thought I would see pictures rfrom the mondialde la photo.. Instead ghosts from Italy..

RGatward (19737) 2004-03-30 18:57

Clever effect, every time I've tried that it just looks a mess. I guess the thing is to go for a longer exposure, but then how to the camera still without a tripod.. well you got it jsut right. What an odd rule though!

gmsanchez (0) 2004-04-01 7:06

My god !!. I thouught that only the Pope was in the Vatican.
Suggestive photo and original. It´s very interesting the way you did. It´s a very good effect. ;-))

pirulesco (1942) 2004-04-05 4:16

Very good shot... Interesting idea!

Gatis (899) 2004-04-13 5:54

I enjoy this picture! And this is only fair to forbid flashes inside these sacral buildings - as a result you get such a wonderful picture! :)

sohrab (7423) 2004-04-26 11:59

wow !!!
eric this is a great shot.bloody good work. even without the tripod the background seems to be in pretty much in focus.seems like you really put in some effort to keep the camera still. hard work pays. excellent
hey and it seems as though the ghost on the extreme left who was passing us, noticed us and has suddenly decided to approach us. great work again!!!

nfriedli (1060) 2004-05-13 18:03

Extraordinaire, dans tous les sens du terme ! Qu'importent les premiers essais ratés, la persévérance a du bon et le résultat est saisissant.

naxius (16679) 2004-06-02 15:50

The idea is really orginal and the result is there. You've been certainly quite surprised when you saw your shot I guess.
Anyway, you've been reward !

touristdidi (8561) 2004-06-16 3:42 [Comment]

Show Comment

flydragon (0) 2004-11-07 16:34

ho my ghost !!
quel étrange photo ;o)
quel étrange ambiance se dégage ici
j'aime l'angle de prise de vue
il renforce le sentiment inquiétant
de cette photo ;o)
bien vue

MiguelP (14290) 2004-12-14 13:15

Probably they are waiting to enter into the heaven for so long because in life they suported the gay rights and that´s a very, very, terrible sin for nuns... Well, what to say, Eric? Great shot for a very good photographer.

danielswalsh (13295) 2005-02-16 21:49

Ok, no tripods... what about monopods? Haha
Worth a try right... ok maybe not.

I do like this shot, and you have me scratching my head wondering how you managed to get relative sharpness in the structure- yet slow enough to capture the blur of the nuns- without using a tripod?
They do look like ghosts/ spirits... neat effect.

Cheers mate!
- Dan

cobraphil8 (11650) 2006-01-19 5:12

En me baladant un peu dans tes premières photos postées sur TE, je suis tombé sur celle-ci...

Le résultat que tu avais obtenu est très impressionant, bravo pour ces silhouettes fantomatiques.

Félicitations pour ta galerie que je n'ai pas encore fini de visiter.
a+

Philippe