This shot is unsuccessful.

The scene is from the lobby of the Royal York Hotel in Toronto where an interesting vantage point is afforded by the arrangement of the floors and spiral staircases – it sets up an almost Escher-like effect on the brain.

(please click on the image to view)

↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summicron @ f/2.

My goal was to capture the bustling movement of people, on each level, including the connecting staircase.  The first strike against success was the lens  – I had a 50mm, and I needed a 35mm.  Consequently, the frame is tilted in order to try to “fit” more of the scene into the field of view (this somewhat contributes to the general visual disorientation so it’s not such a bad thing).  The second – and more fatal – strike was that, despite the constant flow of human traffic, there was never any satisfactory simultaneous distribution of people amongst the levels.  Despite waiting for it to happen, it never materialized.

Still, I kept this shot as a token for my efforts.  I do like the fact that the man in mid-step (bottom right) has spotted me, despite being two levels beneath me.