Wednesday, March 01, 2006
More concrete
This was my second choice picture for this week, but I couldn't resist posting it after seeing Michael's post.
These concrete verticals are in Milton Keynes
Permalink / posted by and copyright of Colin [auspiciousdragon.net] : 5:20 PM
Comments:
Following on from your comment on Michaels's building in Duisburg, perhaps I can say that this addresses the beauty of reality! I presume that it was your second choice because it didn't pose the same challenge to the viewer as yor first choice.
Visually (pictorially) this has great appeal. The fact that there is strong sunshine helps create a warm mood and from there one can then enjoy the interplay of shapes and shadows, especially the curve/diagonal from the top left of the stairs, out to the middle and back to the bottom left. The small square upper left is softer and more mysterious. There are no people but that doesn't matter because this is a picture!
Buildings like this get a bad name in the UK, not because they are ugly but because they are not maintained and often not cleaned, creating a vicious spiral of decay or damage. Perhaps where the architects and the sponsors could have helped in many cases would have been to provide facilities that encouraged people to congregate and enjoy rather than feel excluded ( I talk generally, prompted by this picture, which may not bear any relation to what I've said!).
As a matter of site administration, would it be useful to say what camera/lens was used? Is this film or digital? My guess is the latter.
John E: Camera data? If the photographer wishes to indicate camera or media information then they are free to do so. If we want to discuss that data then we are free to do so. With my other hat on I was going to post something about the equipment used for this shot, but after people had commented. There is a mildly interesting technical point involved, but I felt that saying it upfront would affect people's reaction to the photo.
I like the strong contrast between light and dark. The pillars stand out well as do their shadows. I really like the way the shadows are broken up on the steps and the way they lead the eye up to the building. I do find the left side less interesting though.
leading into the dark. nice play with light and shadows escpecially on the stairs. unsure about the visibility within the dark LHS. also the part of the visible building upper RHS. can imagine a stronger graphically appeal without the mentioned. but it depends on what you wanted to archieve.
Picking up the various points....
This was just a snapshot. I was walking between the car park and the place I was intending to photograph. Like I said in my introduction I was about to pass over it when I saw Michael's 'concrete verticals' image.
I was using the Olympus E1 with a Nikon 20mm attached, and this is hand held.
I was obvioiusly attracted to the patterns that the shadows made and thought something like 'I wonder how this will turn out, click'. I don't know whether a better composition which dealt with the building on the top right and the bushes might have been available or not. I've already cropped from the right as it is to get rid of even more distracting elements.
I printed this shot up mostly because I was interested to see how the Nikkor dealt with contrast. It is a relatively old design and has a much softer contrast signature than the recent Oly lenses. In this picture this means that the left hand side is full of detail. The wall was shiny and contained lots of reflections. The wealth of detail in the shadows was of technical interest and, to a minor extent, made this picture. However, you do need a well tuned monitor to see what I'm talking about - especially as I increased the contrast for this version in Photoshop (the detail is still there on my photoshop monitor but disappears on my laptop screen).
No, its not a great shot, and certainly not a patch on Michael's. However, it made me smile and I learnt something.
Generally my monitor (Eizo TFT) is, if anything, too bright so the left hand side here works OK on it. Picking up Michael's point about the building outside the columns, I would say that it belongs in the picture because it is a wing of the building being photographed and gives a balancing effect. I think that this is better than you give it credit for!
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Visually (pictorially) this has great appeal. The fact that there is strong sunshine helps create a warm mood and from there one can then enjoy the interplay of shapes and shadows, especially the curve/diagonal from the top left of the stairs, out to the middle and back to the bottom left. The small square upper left is softer and more mysterious. There are no people but that doesn't matter because this is a picture!
Buildings like this get a bad name in the UK, not because they are ugly but because they are not maintained and often not cleaned, creating a vicious spiral of decay or damage. Perhaps where the architects and the sponsors could have helped in many cases would have been to provide facilities that encouraged people to congregate and enjoy rather than feel excluded ( I talk generally, prompted by this picture, which may not bear any relation to what I've said!).
As a matter of site administration, would it be useful to say what camera/lens was used? Is this film or digital? My guess is the latter.
This was just a snapshot. I was walking between the car park and the place I was intending to photograph. Like I said in my introduction I was about to pass over it when I saw Michael's 'concrete verticals' image.
I was using the Olympus E1 with a Nikon 20mm attached, and this is hand held.
I was obvioiusly attracted to the patterns that the shadows made and thought something like 'I wonder how this will turn out, click'. I don't know whether a better composition which dealt with the building on the top right and the bushes might have been available or not. I've already cropped from the right as it is to get rid of even more distracting elements.
I printed this shot up mostly because I was interested to see how the Nikkor dealt with contrast. It is a relatively old design and has a much softer contrast signature than the recent Oly lenses. In this picture this means that the left hand side is full of detail. The wall was shiny and contained lots of reflections. The wealth of detail in the shadows was of technical interest and, to a minor extent, made this picture. However, you do need a well tuned monitor to see what I'm talking about - especially as I increased the contrast for this version in Photoshop (the detail is still there on my photoshop monitor but disappears on my laptop screen).
No, its not a great shot, and certainly not a patch on Michael's. However, it made me smile and I learnt something.