** Weekly X-Series Photo-Sharing Thread 26 MAY – 01 JUN**

Hello, Everyone and thanks for making Contributions to this worthwhile endeavor,

This weekly thread serves as a place for those DPRevived.com members who own Fuji gear to share recent work …… specifically, with their Fuji X APS-C cameras. It's just fine for owners to post images made with their “other” cameras, but the idea is to allow owners with Fuji X APS-C cameras to compare notes, tips, and any other helpful hints.

To contribute your image, please respond to the original thread. Please include at the top your message a title to reflect what you wish to convey. Consider making it somewhat entertaining… it may add some “spice.” In addition to uploading/embedding your image, please tell us a little about the image if you wish. It is helpful to some of us who are less traveled to talk about the location of your photo if possible. If you can provide details such as camera, settings, and processing, that would be great for people reviewing the images.

If you wish C&C (comments/critique) please indicate that in your post. In this thread it should not be assumed everyone wants C&C. However, if you want specific feedback (composition, exposure, subject, etc.), don’t hesitate to mention it. It may be helpful to respondents what your needs may be.

Thanks,

Bob, your humble host

PS…… Post away!

Before Entering the Sistine Chapel

Hello, Again, and thanks for enduring images from my holiday… I took a boatload.

This week starts with images before one enters the hallways leading the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The image below is the Pinecone courtyard before entering the hallowed area. There had been a lot of rain the first part of the trip but the morning decided to cooperate and was beautiful. The 2 additional images are of a sculpture in the middle of the courtyard. The following description was taken from a website and succinctly describes what you see better than I could. I uploaded a larger version of the courtyard so you could expand the image to see the peacocks on either side of the Pinecone. Oh..... the sphere rotates.
From vaticantips.com:

“The courtyard is named after the huge bronze statue shaped like a pinecone. The metal sculpture was originally part of a fountain dating back to the 2nd century A.D. and was crafted during the Ancient Roman times. The base for the pinecone was taken from the baths of Septimus Severius also dating from the 2nd century A.D. The two peacocks either side were taken from the Emperor Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli. If you notice a theme here, you will find other examples of Ancient Rome throughout the Vatican museums. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Vatican was quite fond of collecting art and other valuables.

What is most noticeable when you enter into the Pinecone courtyard is the Sphere within a Sphere. This sculpture is placed right in the center of the courtyard and it is a spectacular piece of modern art. The Sphere within a Sphere was created by Arnaldo Pomodoro who was born in Moricano, Romagna in 1926. The art is over 40 feet (13 meters) in diameter and depicts a smaller sphere inside a larger sphere symbolizing how the religious world relates to the world as we know it today. Numerous versions of this sphere are placed around the world including Trinity College in Dublin and at the United Nations offices in New York. The piece is known in Italian as Sfera Consfera.”

Hope to see a lot of your images.

Bob

Nicely captured, Bob. Beautiful statue. I believe that I can recall having visited that area many years ago, but this work in particular does not look familiar. Keep sharing… enjoying the images and the history behind them.

[quote="@BobsYourUncle"]
Before Entering the Sistine Chapel

Hello, Again, and thanks for enduring images from my holiday… I took a boatload.

What is most noticeable when you enter into the Pinecone courtyard is the Sphere within a Sphere. This sculpture is placed right in the center of the courtyard and it is a spectacular piece of modern art. The Sphere within a Sphere was created by Arnaldo Pomodoro who was born in Moricano, Romagna in 1926. The art is over 40 feet (13 meters) in diameter and depicts a smaller sphere inside a larger sphere symbolizing how the religious world relates to the world as we know it today. Numerous versions of this sphere are placed around the world including Trinity College in Dublin and at the United Nations offices in New York. The piece is known in Italian as Sfera Consfera.”

Nice pictures Bob (better then I did years ago). I was given to understand that the sphere was an early attempt at a Death Star for removing heretics.

Ooh I think I've got pics of those spheres buried somewhere from late 2010.
Brings back memories. Nice to learn the history.
Thanks for sharing Bob

Cheers
Paul

Thanks, Jerry. Good review of what we saw. When the tour guide comments there is a lot of info. Need to hear it a few times to commit to memory.

Bob

Looks like a better use. It is located right in the center of the courtyard.... a good place for vaporizing the unholy!

Bob

You are welcome. I hope there are some other posters here. Don't want the Weekly Thread to turn into the Bob's vacation Photos thread. 😁

Bob

Close Up of the Pine Cone and Peacocks.... Pinecone Courtyard at The Vatican.

Doesn't seem to be much posting going on so I will add a closeup I took after I took one of the courtyard.

We've had some decent clouds the past week. A narrow beam of sun broke through the clouds in the west and lit up the top of the mesa and the walking rain in the clouds to the east. My backyard.

First, thank you, Mandodon, for being an image poster other than me!!!!

Just running through some images to see what I wanted to save or discard and came across this one because it is something I would not expect in the Vatican. The museum on the way to the Sistine Chapel is full of interesting sculpture, tall domes, lots of people.... but this entrance caught my eye. Almost appears one is entering a chamber in ancient Egypt. Disclaimer: my wife was in the lower center and I removed her image because she does not like to be displayed for the world to see. Used PS Beta Generative Fill which almost did a great job.....but again those tall statues at the entrance was an eye-opener. Oh, and there are a lot of cracks I did not see until looking at these photos.

Bob

I'm enjoying all your travel photos, Bob. Keep them coming!

A brief stop in Laon (France) while driving to southern Germany. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon is a stunningly beautiful building.

A couple more from Laon.

Indeed it is! Maybe you waited for people to disappear from your image or used creative PS means.... but it is nice to see an historical compound without hoards of people. Thanks for the images and a place to put on my bucket list when I return to France.

Bob

Good job on the balance of light to be able to see the colors of the stained glass and the interior of the church.

Bob

Good job on the balance of light to be able to see the colors of the stained glass and the interior of the church.

Bob

Thanks Bob. I got lucky with the absence of people. For the rest, I exposed for the windows and lifted the shadows in post...so credit should really go to Fujifilm and darktable.

We only had a couple of hrs in Laon, which was not enough.

Were you on a guided or your own tour?
Bob