Back to orange

The thing with rusty metal is that it creates beautiful orange colors. So I revisited one of my favorite installations at the old King Ludwig Canal near Nuremberg. The autumn sun was shining bright and brought out all the lovely shades of orange on this sculpture. My goal was to render it as "flat" as possible to take the three-dimensionality away. So I went for 200mm focal length at f11 - and if I had a tripod with me I would have even gone to f16 or f22 to eliminate any hint of dof.
I just wanted color and some simple geometry combined with an interesting texture.

Abstract Staircase?

Well, staircases are easily identifiable, so to do an "abstract staircase" in photography people normally choose special vantage points: with spiral staircases e.g. centered from below/bottom or from above to emphasize the geometry. Or show a section of the stairs from a perspective that dissolves the steps into a pattern of lines that belie their origin. When shooting the staircase in the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich today I was simply fascinated by the view of the stairs overhead and chose a vantage point where you could see the handrails and a platform but no stairs at the bottom. That produced the impression of a disjointed staircase further emphasized by the contrast between the white stairs above and the dark colors of the handrail and the platform below - and the absence of people which normally give you orientation and a feeling for the size of things. You can easily increase the "strangeness" of this image by turning it 90 degrees counterclockwise which makes the whole thing look like a tunnel with a white floor and overhead lighting. Only that the railing at the floor and the ceiling look strange... Anyway: I have to admit that this staircase is not really very abstract. But a good architect and a strong geometry always makes for interesting perspectives and subjects to shoot!