The Story Behind the Photo

April 2025: Stairs, Staircases, Stairwells-High Contrast

Wendy Mahaney

I decided the best place to go for stairs would be the Capitol Building In Olympia.  I had been there a few years ago with Michelle Ray to photograph the beautiful blossoming cherry trees.  We stepped inside for a quick peek and I was mesmerized with the interior.  I love architecture inside and out.  We shot a few images that day and I remember it fondly.  Remembering how many stairs inside and out were at the capitol building I decided to go back for another look.  

I used my Canon EOS R6 and my RF 24-70mm lens at 24mm, f5.6, at 1/400th of a second and ISO 320.  I didn't want a lot of light so that the contrast would be more intense.  I decided it was too yellow so I changed the white balance to Tungsten and was delighted with the cooler image effect.  I used a tripod to get a nice steady shot.  There was no other special equipment or additional lighting used.  I used Lightroom and Photoshop to process the image and made minor adjustments.  I did not crop the image.  If I were to title this image, I would call it “Blue Transcendence”.