Staircase with backdrop

This is by far my favorite image shot last weekend during my trip to Chicago. I like the diagonal line of the stairs. I like the pastel, but still sufficiently contrasting cool and warm colors of sky and building wall reflecting sun. This would be the image to hang in the only left empty wall space in my house- my bedroom. It will not be, however.

The biggest problem with this image is the fact I shot it with my iPhone. I had my D800 with me, yet, for whatever reason, I snapped this one on the way from museum gallery to the next with the phone. It is small (now can be printed up to 10″ in square crop) and soft. Is it only my impression, or Apple did something in the newest version of Camera in iPhone that photos do not came as noisy as they used, but soft, as if somebody took Luminance slider up too high? Hate the effect.

And while I am at critiquing my own image (useful exercise, see this post by Lynsey Peterson and an old challenge on DPS), there is at least one more thing I wish was here. It is missing a human figure. I snapped the first, less interesting one with a person just coming off the frame. I did not take time to wait for another person to add interest to this image, and now I wish I did.

Staircase in Art Institute of Chicago