Rome Colosseum Night Photography with Traffic Light Trails
Bright Lines of Traffic Beneath the Illuminated Roman Arches
The traffic draws the first line through this photograph. Bright trails sweep along the road toward the Colosseum, carrying the eye from the foreground into the illuminated arches. I made this black and white photograph in Rome in 2010, interested in how the moving city could become part of the view of its ancient landmark.
The Colosseum sits toward the left of the frame rather than filling it. That distance matters to me. It leaves room for the road, neighbouring buildings and dark outlines of trees, placing the amphitheatre within the city that surrounds it. The repeated arches supply a steady pattern against the less predictable lines of passing traffic.
A long exposure turns that movement into bands of light. Individual vehicles become less important than the paths they trace, and the road takes on a brightness that the surrounding streetscape doesn’t share. Streetlights punctuate the darker areas, while the sky remains subdued enough to let the lit stone and traffic stand out.
I’m drawn to the different kinds of time visible here. The building holds its shape throughout the exposure; the vehicles leave only a record of their movement. Keeping both in the composition gives the scene its character. It is a photograph of the Colosseum, but also of Rome continuing around it after dark, with the everyday flow of traffic leading directly toward one of the city’s most recognizable sights.
© Dan Kosmayer, 2010
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About My Fine Art Photography
Every photograph in my collection comes from my own travels, explorations, and years behind the camera.
I create my work as photographic art rather than mass-produced decoration. From street portraits and abandoned places to landscapes, architecture, and the unusual subjects I discover along the way, each image begins with something that made me stop and look.
My photographs are available in multiple sizes so the same image can work in anything from an intimate wall space to a large statement installation.
