Ohio State House 2, a photo from Ohio, Midwest

Photographer's Note

Another in my ongoing project to visit and photograph all 50 US state capitol buildings. This series is from Columbus, the capital city of Ohio.

This is the interior view of the Ohio State House's rotunda. Fairly unique in its color scheme, the interior of the state house is pastel in nature, with the salmon and orangey tones seen here repeated throughout the building (as you can see in the WS). The rotunda itself was the last piece of the State House to be completed, several years after the building itself had been opened to the public. The reason was a lack of agreement on the design; earlier designs had called for a dome as on many other such buildings. In the end, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, the building was adorned with a cupola instead. The building itself was designed initially all the way back in the 1830s, but various delays kept it from being completed for almost 30 years.

There's a funny story behind this particular shot. I'd only recently gotten my wide angle lens and was eager to try it out, so, armed with my tripod, I went into the state house to see what it could do on the wide rotunda ceiling. After setting up the tripod, even at the widest setting it wasn't able to take everything in, so I had to splay the legs of the tripod all the way out and lie down on the floor to get a view and line everything up. Once I'd done so, and gotten this shot, I looked over and saw a security guard there, looking at me. I joked that she probably didn't see too many people lying on the floor of the state house, and she immediately said 'oh, no, we get people lying there pretty much every day!' I see I'm not alone...

Two workshops here: the first is a wide view of the full rotunda, so you can get a sense of the tiled floor and the color scheme. The other is an accidental shot as I was setting up the one posted, in which I may have accidentally gotten myself in the shot...

Larger version on Flickr, here.
Ohio set on Flickr, here.

jusninasirun, worldcitizen, timecapturer, Kofman, macjake, kasianowak, delpeoples, siolaw has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rogerl (750) 2013-03-04 15:08

This is really a great shot. It is a shame that the lens wasn't quite wide enough to capture the entire circle of the dome. But still an amazing geometric shot. The bright red and white at the center is a spectacular touch on the part of whoever designed/painted it, and makes a great focal point for the photo. Lovely pastel colors throughout.

jusninasirun (17138) 2013-03-04 16:30

Hello Andrew.
Beautiful symmetrical framing showing excellent details looking up the state house. The red motif against the white circle draws my attention in this fine image.
Regards.
Jusni

worldcitizen (4852) 2013-03-04 18:07

Hello Andrew,
Very mesmerizing view of the rotunda ceiling. The white circle in the center is like a giant eye that is pulling me in! Is it supposed to resemble the pattern on Ohio's state flag? I really like the WS photo showing a fuller view of the rotunda. The colors and design are beautiful. The accidental photo of your head is not bad either! Ha ha!! ;-)

siudzi (23879) 2013-03-04 22:20

Hi Andrew,
I am a fan of these kind of shots where the simple geometry is a key of composition. This one is outstanding taken with a very good quality, sharpness and symmetry. The visual effect is very nice, TFS!

Best,
Gosia

abmdsudi (26233) 2013-03-04 23:08

Hi Andrew
This is an amazing piece of artwork and certainly very eye-catching and tks to the additional wider picture. It does have impact coming across mainly due to the harmonious colours, smooth and fluid textures and contrasting aspect ratios. Credit to your skill by paying attention to detail with great concentration. Simply awesome, Congrats
Kind regards

emka (58140) 2013-03-04 23:48

Hi Andrew, I can imagine seeing you on the floor to take the photo. My camera have useful thing - the display can be tilted (I do not find the word), so I look straight but camera was up. In Rome when the ceiling in the churches are so wonderful, and of course in Vatican, it would be difficult to lie on the floor or my neck would aching. Nice shot, the symmetry is perfect and sharpness and colours excellent as well.

WArm regrads

M

krzychu30 (8873) 2013-03-05 0:40

Hello Andrew,
magnificent shot!You kept perfectly the symmetry here(the rotunda must be really huge when you had difficulty to frame it whole).And the white,bright element right in the middle of the rotunda looks fabulous.I like also other two shots you attached in WS.The second one is magnificent(you could make the best of your Sigme lens to provide us with such amazing view).Also the third one is great.You´ve made successful approach to portrait photography:)

Have a good day
Krzysztof

mjw364 (3680) 2013-03-05 1:20

Hello Andrew

Good symmetry and lovely pastel shade colours. A little dark around the edges but this is low light, or was it the lens vignetting a little at the very edges of the corners? I have the same lens - easy to adjust in Lightroom. What really strikes my eye here is that candy stripe circle in the centre which contrasts so vividly with the pastel colours and draws your eye into the centre. With the black lined pattern around it on a white background it could almost be a baseball too! As for being a floor hogger I suppose it helps them keep it polished and clean!

TFS

Mike

timecapturer (30324) 2013-03-05 2:43

Hi Andrew
stunning symmetry and detail in this magnificent rotunda shot. Superb detail and cropped effectively. Not easy to get shots like this just right but this is perfect. Lying on your back was definitely worth it because this is a cracker of an image. Well done!

Regards - Brian.

Noel_Byrne (7352) 2013-03-05 8:49

Hi Andrew,
nice one for sharing the inside like this, as I've been admiring your exterior shots of the many domes of the US, I've wondered how they look from the inside, so really nice to see these. As you say, the colour scheme is quite unique, soft pink pastels, not what I would have expeced!
Love the workshop too, the one in particular with the details of the tiled floor, its almost like an optical illusion!
All the best
Noel

macjake (39227) 2013-03-05 12:49

Hi Andrew
this place reminds me SO much of my experience at City Hall in SF - another MUST for photographers.

great shot, really makes an impact, and i love the WS photo too.
you've got the right idea, lay down and get your shot! who cares who's watching right!
good on ya!!!
cheers
craig

kasianowak (2235) 2013-03-06 0:57

Hi Andrew
Beautiful graphic image. I really like the simplicity and symmetry in this work.
Best wishes
Kasia

delpeoples (44904) 2013-03-06 21:22

HI dear ANdrew

Wow, this is something I'd expect to see in Rome. The combination of low light round the edges and beautifully regulated brightness in the centre of the frame is really artistic and what makes the photo so attractive. Fantastic crisp colours and shapes, the image looks three dimensional it's so sharp. Love the tight framing and of course your note is a corker!

Thanks for sharing
Lisa

fabbs99 (5441) 2013-03-07 20:38

Hello Andrew,

Fantastic composition with great sharpness and clarity.Exposure and Resolution are excellent to produce such a great shot.Good lighting and DOF with nice details. Well done, TFS.

Best regards,Farhat.

jcpix (3285) 2013-03-08 20:36

Hi Andrew,

Both of these are great shots, I think I actually prefer the Workshop just a bit more for the "extra" perspective and patterns on the floor. I'm glad you decided to post both. This is fascinating light, the white is brilliantly bright and that red peppermint candy design in the middle just pops right out! The subtle shadows make for some terrific layered effect and dimension. Love the symmetry and sharp focus here, this is quite a neat look at the rotunda. No wonder so many people would want to photograph this beauty, worth the effort of getting down and dirty!

Have a great weekend.

Best regards,

Jason

siolaw (37568) 2013-03-09 7:42

Hi Andrew
I like the symmetry here and the exposure with bright central circle!
It has something of a Tibetan Mandala!
Greetings
Laurent

Curious_Eye (864) 2013-03-29 3:56

Hello Andrew,

Sometimes a good shot calls for an unconventional moment or two, but this beauty was well worth it! The ceiling has a 3D feel to it, the colours, details, and the composition are fantastic. The light is really good too, with the bright centre and the illumination fading out towards the periphery.

Best wishes,
Izabela

jmdias (45790) 2013-04-21 2:15

andrew

very beautiful and unusual details and addornments inside this dome, the colors are interesting too. nice image with a good sharpness.

hugs

jorge