Sigh of Relief at Trevi Fountain

In one sense the day we spent in Rome was anything but typical. Our first stop was at Trevi Fountain where there was no water running. I figured that on account of the five-month drought the water had been turned off. I was wrong, it was under maintenance and within a few minutes the water was flowing again. Amongst many of the tourists there was a sigh of relief at Trevi Fountain.

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Sigh of Relief at Trevi Fountain
Sigh of Relief at Trevi Fountain in Rome

There were hundreds of tourists, many standing with their backs to the fountain taking selfies. After I took this picture I switched to a normal lens so I could take pictures of people taking pictures of themselves. It was surreal, I’m pretty sure I was the only one doing that. However I took this with an ultra-wide angle lens. The unusual effect of the distortion adds to the drama of the scene.

One look at the clouds and it was apparent we were about to get hit with a deluge. I’m familiar with this from Florida, but it hadn’t rained in Rome for nearly a half a year so there was a real sense of anticipation by the locals. When it started raining the tourists scattered but among the locals there was a big sigh of relief.

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As for me I’m not that keen on taking pictures of monuments, it’s been done countless times and I don’t think I have much to add to the public record. However, once it started raining I knew it would be a good day. The even light, reflections on the pavement and all the umbrellas make for good photography. At the thought that I didn’t have to take yet more pictures of monuments, I too breathed a big sigh of relief.