Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Steps & Stairs

Step Right In: An Introduction

Stairs and steps are humanity’s way of saying, ‘Let’s make walking more interesting by adding obstacles.’ Well, that’s what some of us older folk beleive.

Welcome to Sunday Stills, a blogging challenge open to everyone.

Whether you’re climbing toward success, descending into the kitchen for a snack, or just trying to figure out why your knees make that creaky sound, steps and stairs are everywhere. They’re the unsung heroes of architecture, the sneaky leg workout nobody asked for, and the perfect subject for this week’s photo challenge!

A Door with a Trick Up Its Steps

Lets start with a photo of some steps that pose a question.

An arched, rustic wooden door set into an ancient stone wall inside a historical building or church. Four stone steps lead up to the door, which is embellished with ornate, decorative black wrought-iron hinges featuring swirling scrollwork. The floor below consists of red and black tiled patterns. In the bottom-right corner, a small text watermark reads "@hughsviewsandnews.com".
Is your brain playing tricks?

Are those steps to that adorable wooden door real or is your brain playing tricks with you? Before you ask, no, I haven’t used any software to change the photo, it’s in it’s original form. Take a closer look before making your decision.

“We build steps not just to climb higher, but to give our feet time to prepare for whatever waits behind the door.” – Author Unknown

Stairs, Dogs & the Art of Counting

Now on to some stairs, and another questions for you. If you have stairs going up from the ground floor to the floor above in your home, how many steps do you take to reach the top or bottom? While you go and count, here’s a photo of some stairs that my dog Austin posed on.

A small black-and-white Cardigan Welsh Corgi with large pointed ears sitting on a wooden staircase landing inside a brightly lit home. The dog looks directly at the camera with wooden banisters in the foreground and a window with white shutters above the landing.
Does anyone have a treat for me?

Don’t worry, he’s already inspected every step for you, purely in the interest of science, of course. So if you lose count, just blame him and not your memory.

If you counted the number of steps, please leave the answer in the comments section. Why? Let’s just say that Austin is conducting an experiment that may surprise you.

“My dog can count to ten, and he knows that stair number seven is where I often drop biscuit crumbs, and that step number thirteen shouldn’t exist because he can only count to ten” – Hugh W. Roberts

Who or What Waits at the Top?

Next, we have a strange figure found at the top of some steps.

A low-angle view looking up a narrow flight of outdoor concrete steps flanked by plain white walls. At the top landing sits a colourful, carved wooden ship's figurehead of a woman wearing a yellow top and dark blue skirt. A dark metal handrail runs along the wall on the right side of the staircase.
Come on up or stay out?

I got quite the fright when I first saw it not knowing if it was welcoming me to climb the steps or telling me to stay out! And if you look closely at the steps, are those blood stains that somebody has tried washing away, or just general wear and tear caused by years of use and lots of scrubbing to keep clean?

Who knows? But I took the stairs because my knees apparently enjoy living dangerously.

“The higher you climb, the stranger the relics left behind by those who came before, or those who never left.” – Author Unknown

Autumn Leaves & a Favourite Photo

My next photo is one that I took of some steps during my favourite season. Not only that, but it was taken 12 years ago but still remains one of favourite photos.

A low-angle view of outdoor stone steps flanked by rustic stone walls, heavily covered in fallen autumn leaves. The leaves display vibrant shades of yellow, gold, orange, and brown, blanketing each step leading up toward a stone landing at the top.
Nature’s carpet layer was clearly paid by the leaf, not by the hour.

I’ve featured the photo on my blog before and it got a lot of interest, including from somebody who wanted to use it as a book cover, clearly proving that my camera has a better career than I ever had.

Autumn notice: The leaves are falling, and every path is a blanket of gold waiting for your footsteps. – Author Unknown

Up or Down? You Decide.

And finally two more questions for you before I finish my hosting duties for Sunday Stills.

Are these stairs or steps, and are we going up or coming down?

A low-angle view looking up a modern indoor staircase with light-coloured steps leading toward a warm, terracotta-orange wall at the top landing. The staircase is lined on both sides with tall, glass-fronted display cases illuminated with warm accent lights, showcasing rows of amber liquor bottles. Reflective, polished ceiling panels above mirror the staircase and surrounding lights
Going up or going down?

Quite deceiving, aren’t they? But I’d love to know your answer.

Two weeks, countless frames, and many new ways to see the world. Thank you for bringing your vision, your light, and your creativity to the Sunday Stills challenge! – Hugh W. Roberts

Thank you to everyone who joined me for Sunday Stills last week where the theme was ‘Ephemeral.’ I was amazed by what you all came up with.

A special shoutout to Bernie who brought a tear to my eye with her entry, which you can read here.

It’s been wonderful hosting Sunday Stills which has introduced me to some new wonderful new bloggers in Terri’s blogging community. I hope you all enjoyed the two themes I chose and had fun with them.

Ready to join in?

Well, that’s my two weeks over as your temporary Sunday Stills host while Terri is on vacation. If you’re new to Sunday Stills or simply need a reminder of how it works, here are the details.

  • The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is simple to join. You have all week to share and link your post, so you don’t need to rush or publish it on Sunday.
  • Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives. You’re also welcome to share original images reimagined with AI tools in post-editing.
  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
  • You can post entries for this theme all week (nobody is ever late to participate).
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so other participants can read it.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme.

Terri is back for the Sunday Stills challenge next week with the Monthly Colour Challenge: Colours of Lava and Black.


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The featured image in this post was created using AI, which was also used to check and correct grammar and spelling mistakes.

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One response to “Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Steps & Stairs”

  1. For Terri’s SundayStills – Suzette B's Blog avatar

    […] Terri’s SundayStills – 11 October 2026 hosted by Hugh W. Roberts over at Hugh’s Views & News. “Steps or […]

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  • Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Steps & Stairs
    Explore the playful side of steps and stairs in this week’s Sunday Stills photo challenge. From optical-illusion doorways and autumn-leafed stone steps to a corgi “research assistant” and a mysterious figure at the top of the stairs. Plus simple guidelines to share your own creative images. Everyone is welcome to join in.
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