The 2000 year old colosseum is one of the main attractions of Rome. Every tourist and photographer who visits the Italian capital goes there. Unfortunately, in the last few years the Italian government has erected massive bars, metal gates, and security fencing that covers the first two stories of this iconic, ancient ruins. Even the darkness of night photography won’t hide the hideous, modern metalwork. When I first thought about using Photoshop to eliminate all of the junk, I thought it was impossible. I didn’t attempt it for several years, but the picture was worthless as it was originally taken. So, I gave it a try. Cloning out the bars and gates was impossible. Instead, I copied and pasted the open archways from the top of the structure (they aren't obscured by security fencing and gates) over the archways on the first two stories that were covered by the offensive security material. The angles of the openings varied based on their location on the circular structure, and by using Edit > transform > distort, I was able to make everything fit. This was painstaking work, but I was very happy with the result. The settings for the original shot of the colosseum were 13 seconds, f/10, 100 ISO, and I used a 16mm lens. I added the moon along with its glow as a final touch.
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