Rodney Campbell's Blog

The Dome of St. Peter’s…

by on Jan.27, 2018, under Life, Photography

When climbing St Peter’s cupola (dome) your options include taking the steps all the way (551 steps) or a lift part of the way (320 steps). Once at the top, you have 360 degree views of St Peter’s Square and the city of Rome.

The Dome

The Dome

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 450

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Our daughters had had enough of churches already and decided not to climb the dome and opted instead to head to a cafe. My wife and I chose the lift option and then the climb (which was still pretty significant :)).

Golden Stairs

Golden Stairs

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 720

The view from the top was incredible – well worth the €8 and the climb – our girls totally missed out. Walking around the viewing area at the top you get clear unobstructed 360° views of the city of Rome.

360 Rome

360 Rome

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 100 x 20 Frames

Above we have a full 360° view from the top – a handheld stitched panorama consisting of 20 frames with the D-SLR taken whilst circumnavigating the dome top. Even the ominous moody sky with dark black clouds and some rain suited the scene.

Below a stitched HDR panorama consisting of a sequence of 3 lots of 3 frames looking straight down over St Peter’s Square (which is of course round and not square :)).

The View from the Cupola

The View from the Cupola

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/200 sec at f/8, ISO 100 x 9 Frames


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