A Pair Of Stairs

I have to admit that I have a thing for staircases. They can look eerie and foreboding and can also impart a sense of mystery. Where do they lead? Is there danger in following them? What lies around the bend? Perhaps that is why I enjoy them in black and white, as monotone tends to accentuate these feelings.

Last Sunday, I was once again photographing at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. I had gone with the specific idea of using some of my more creative lenses: Helios, pinhole, and zone plate. But while making photos with these lenses, I realized that seeing through them also allowed me to see some compositions I hadn’t recognized before, and so I had to make a photograph of some of them using my ‘regular’ lens as well. And so here I offer two staircases, one made with a modified Helios lens and the other with my ‘regular’ Canon 24-70 lens.

First up is the one made with my ‘regular’ Canon lens.

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Staircase © Howard Grill

And here we have a different staircase with a bit of creamy bokeh in the out-of-focus area made with my modified Helios. I am awaiting the arrival of a non-modified Helios and am very interested to see how that rendering differs from the version that has been modified by reversing the front element.

Staircase with Helios © Howard Grill

Which one do you find more emotive?

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