Details

Feathers are a natural subject to test the limits (and quality of a Macro lens. I shot these several times to get the look I wanted, again with a combination of flash and natual light, running 5 seconds for overall exposure.

Five minutes later

Same park, not far from the last shot, Mr. Sun came out and gave me depth and details on the rock.

Thanks Mr. Sun

Corner

It was difficult to find an angle that could show the size of the mansion. I didn't have a lens with a wide enough view to capture the entire building, so I started with parts of it.

Sorry about the bright blue sky, it really was that colour and I tried to tone it down.

Marble plating here, but the roof was slate tile and the windows leaded glass (several of which were broken out)

Details abound, the kind not seen in modern buildings.

Interior

Once again, the as-shot colour image didn't do what I wanted it to, so I turned down the colour. The wood (I can only assume they were oak) banisters were covered in torn and moldy velvet, the wrought iron scrollwork was rusted and pitted, but the marble was smooth.

The walls were a mix of murals, tapestries, oak paneling and marble.

Detail

Just a detail of the many marble columns dotting the land. Virtually all of the marble I touched is rough and pitted, betraying the lack of upkeep, and yet, underneath the rot and decay, the beauty is still there.

Surroundings

This is part of the staircase that lead to the garden. It's overrun and in disrepair now, as is virtually everything there, but as you can see, the marble is holding up reasonably well.

Everything was made of marble. Everything. In some places it was marble plating over standard brick, but in other places it was solid marble.

I can only imagine the cost involved to truck that kind of stone to the top of a mountain back in 1912 (I saw a foundation stone with the date on it.)

This image was taken in colour, but didn't convey the feeling I was trying to capture, so I converted it to black and white.

History

On a jaunt to the mountains this past weekend, I stumbled upon a semi-abandoned mansion on a mountaintop.

Although in poor condition, the underlying beauty still shone through. For example, this cherub was on one of the interior doors.

It's a little grainy as I had to crank up the ISO (to 1600) to be able to hand hold for the shot under natural light, but I feel it works.

Fanaticism

This is what I mean about Italian cars. This symbol is quite old and damaged, yet look at the attention to detail Pininfarina put into it. All the Italian car companies do this. Attention to beauty in their design and an uncompromising attitude towards the performance of the car is just one more thing I love about Italian cars.