It was the second time I visited The Vatican, and one of the things I brought along to Europe with me on my last trip was the super-fast, Nikkor 50mm 1.4 prime lens. I knew from prior experience that it is very difficult to get sharp shots inside the large cathedrals of Europe, and they tend to frown upon photographer's setting up tripods inside churches and telling the priests to "strike a pose".

St. Peter's gets more light inside it than most others, but still it is a challenge. Even with a 1.4 lens I still had to shot at ISO 800. St. Peter's is so big and filled with so many Japanese tourists (no offense to the Japanese) that is nearly impossible inside it to get grand, wide-angle shots, so I focused on a lot of details.

The Pulaski County Courthouse in Little Rock, Arkansas is on the National Register of Historic Places. I made this picture on an early Saturday morning so that downtown traffic and parking would not be of any concern. I actually arrived so early I had to wait in my vehicle for the sun to rise high enough over the gigantic skyscrapers we have here in Little Rock in order for the building to be lit. With the exception of a single liquor-smelling street beggar who apparently didn't get drunk enough the prior night to sleep late, I was left undisturbed to wander the streets, setup my tripod wherever I wanted, and frame some pictures. Here, the crisp blue sky made things easy as pie. In fact, I drove on to Memphis after this shoot and shot several other photos on the same day which have also been licensed. When the light is great, take advantage of it!