Amusing myself

I can take a decent photo, but this one impressed me. I took it while in Rome this summer. We were kind of standing around aimlessly in St. Peter's Square, having abandoned our original intentions to go into the Vatican, since two of our family group were girls with bare shoulders who wouldn't be allowed in. Then, of course, there is the other one who had to wear the minishorts with Naughty stitched in large letters across her butt. They probably have a trap door to send her straight to hell.

I'd recently read Angels & Demons by Dan Brown which was set almost entirely in Rome, so I became especially focussed on this obelisk in the center of the square, taking in its details. I pointed my camera up at the obelisk and saw how the sun was blocked by it, creating an aura of sorts. Pointing the camera directly at the top of the obelisk caused the sun to overwhelm the camera's light meter, so I dropped my frame down a bit, partially clicked the shutter release to get the camera's brain to set itself on the light there, then moved my frame upward toward the top and depressed the release all the way. Even though it was bright sunshine in midafternoon, this is what I got.

Very cool photo. I am in no way a very spiritual person, but it sure came out with a neat spiritual effect. Don'tcha think?

Actually at this point I was probably lucky to still have my camera. We had been standing around in a group and started taking photos of each other in smaller groups. Two young men came over and offered to take a group picture. After I'd turned my camera over to one I became a little concerned that he'd take off with it, and I think Diana, Naughty girl, was similarly wary about hers. I was also concerned that if he did take off, I'd feel compelled to run after him, so I was kind of braced to get a good start. Anyway, he may have sensed our tension, took a couple shots and returned the cameras.

Later as we were walking out of the Square I saw him leaning against a post where the tourists were lined up to go into the Basilica, seemingly sizing up his prey, and I felt even more like I'd escaped the Artful Dodger (see Oliver Twist).