“Stairs and ramps lead the eye and take us places. Make a photo of a stair or ramp that you see today. (@Melhutch)”

“How odd to watch a mortal kindle / Then to dwindle day by day. / Knowing their bright  souls are tinder / And the wind will have its way. / Would I could my own fire lend. / What does your flickering portend?” – The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Taking a photo of this area had been on my mind for a while before Daily Shoot gave me a reason to get off my chair and do it.  I was struck by how–particularly in the early evening–the forest just beyond the stairs look so vibrant and the stairs look so dark.

The last set of stairs leading down serve no purpose; there is no path running perpendicular to the hall, and the line of trees is thick, two facts which have always… unsettled me, actually.  Why would the stairs be there, then?  When I took this picture, I was imagining that they lead to some faery world, so I set Vignette Demo to use the Dreamy effect.  I think that I got what I wanted!