Beyond reality

Overnight the cloud has broken, and much of the UK is enjoying clear blue skies. It's pleasantly warm in the sunshine, and a far cry from the sub-zero temperatures I had to deal with only a couple of weeks ago. There are reports that parts of the country may reach 17ºC over the weekend. Ridiculous.

The high pressure weather system is forecast to last several days, so I resume my architecture project around town, but this time opting to leave any colour in the image. Deliberate underexposure to tame the reflections off of the walls of the building has saturated the sky well beyond reality, and no filters while shooting - or in post processing - have been used to create the effect.

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/2000 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 100

© 2021

University challenge

Today's photo project - local architecture - ideally needed direct sunlight to give me the effect I had in mind, but that mental picture evaporated by early afternoon as high cloud rolled in from the south.

Not to be deterred by the diffused light I now had to work with, I set off to photograph the town's university buildings that have sprung up in the past couple of years. My intention from the outset was to produce graphic black and white images: a treatment that I prefer for such subjects.

 

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Top: 1/640 second at f/5.6. Bottom: 1/800 second at f/5.6

Mono conversion in Capture One Pro

© 2021

Going up

"It's getting more like New York every day..." quips a passer-by, as I stand waiting for the light to change. He is referring to the plethora of construction work currently going on, with the expansion of Bournemouth University.

A tad exaggerated, I feel, but tall buildings appear to be going up at an alarming rate in the town. Most of it appears to be student accommodation, but whatever its use, it's too good an opportunity to miss with a camera. 

Top: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Middle: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/500 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Bottom: 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/640 second at f/8. Matrix metering. ISO 100

© 2019

In from the cold

It's a cold, crisp, winter's day, and I have architecture photography in mind. It's something I keep promising myself to take more seriously, and I've had enough of shooting seascapes for the time being.

Salisbury Cathedral is my chosen subject. I've not been there for a few months, and the clear skies should give me the opportunity to do it justice, both inside and out. I shoot from all the usual angles before nipping inside for some arty interior photographs - and some respite from the coldness of the day.

What it must cost to heat a space such as this boggles the mind, but having made a donation for the upkeep of the building, I'm glad to be inside. To my disappointment the builders are in, and there is scaffolding up in many places, restricting movement to some areas.

Undeterred, I head for the Chapter House where one of only four surviving examples of Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter), is kept; I'll go and have a look at that. Photography of this ancient document -  dating from 1215 - is not allowed, but it didn't matter anyway as a copy has been substituted for the real thing whilst improvements are made to the room that houses it. I take some picture of the ceiling and stained glass windows, and head back into the cold.



12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - ⅔ EV compensation. ISO 640



© 2019

Okay, this is gettin' weird

Two buildings: One already in existence, the other still only an illustrator's rendition of something yet to come. I spotted the opportunity to line-up the board on the right with the structure on the left in the camera, and the image is not the result of jiggery-pokery in Photoshop. Let's face it, it would be a pretty poor attempt if that were the case, wouldn't it?


24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/11. Matrix metering. - 0.67 EV compensation. Polarising filter. ISO 160



© 2016

Architecture

I really don't do enough architectural photography, and it's a shame because there are myriad things that can be the subject for my lens in my home town. Not just mine, of course, as everywhere has something of interest, no matter how large or small. You just need to look, and have the right light.

When I do tackle the theme I like to use a long lens for the job - the longer the better - especially if the building has repeating patterns. All that super-telephoto compression goes a long way in creating graphic images



300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor with TC-14EII converter. 1/800 second at f/8. IS0 250. Monopod



© 2016