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OVERLOOKING EXILLES, ITALY

Image Number 20

Since ancient times, the village of Exilles in Italy on the French border west of Turin has defended the passes to France, Switzerland and the alps.  The village now has fewer than 300 inhabitants.   This panorama shows the village clustered below while, above, the great fortress of Exilles guards the pass whence the enemy comes.  The enemy always came through the pass and never saw this view unless he had overcome the defenders.

Above the village there is also a mighty freeway. To capture this image, Atticus parked in the lee of a tunnel on the freeway and ran 200 meters to shelter in a small and ridiculous pedestrian safety zone.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The image was taken with a tripod-mounted Phase One 645 Camera at ISO 35.  The aperture was F11 with an exposure of 1/40 second.  45 mm Phase One wide angle lens.   The image was captured on a Phase One IQ180 80 megapixel digital back.  The shadow areas have been opened using Capture One.