Architectural Photography

The Plan.
 To catch the bus into Manchester with the family to take architectural images.


Equipment.

I will be armed with a Canon 500d with a Tamron 28-74mm F2.8 Lens. Harry, my son, is commanding a Canon FTb 35mm SLR boasting a 50mm f1.4 prime lens, the camera is loaded with Kodak Gold Ultra 200 film all under my expert guidance of course. My wife fancies her chances also so she is equipped with a Canon 450d with a 50mm f1.8 prime lens for the family pics. Last but no means least there's Libby 6 years and Katie 3 nearly 4 clutching my trusty Kodak Z650 loaded with new Duracells and set to auto.

 

  

 Theme.
Architecture for me or anything that doesn't move.

Weather.
A glorious day with an ample amount of light to cast those all important shadows and allowing me to Stop Down the aperture to give me depth of field and sharp images, no need for a tri-pod today.

The Hulme Arch.

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This was one of the first images of the day taken from the number 256 bus window.

Deansgate office building.

 Not sure on this buildings function but the contrast of the blue sky and the building gave me a great opportunity to get a decent shot. I especially love the way the sun hits the front of the building and then reflects through the side giving vertical lines of light.

The John Rylands Library.

 This image was taken in the stairwell just behind reception. The glass roof allowed light to pour down creating shadows around these internal window frames showing great contrast. The next few images are also taken in the library and what a stunning place it is.

The three images above were also taken in the stair well of the library. The first two are two of my personal favorites from the day. The abundance of available light allowed me to experiment a little so I messed around with exposure and white balance to give me abstract images.

This image may seem out of place with this collection but I included it because it was taken in the same building as the previous shots this was a more difficult challenge as flash photography is not allowed in the building so I had to use the limited light that was available. Trying to get an aperture of f 5.0 and above I was in the realms of the use of a tri-pod but I got away with this one managing to keep the camera steady enough at 1/13 sec.

Georgio Armani

Adjacent to the library is the Armani shop which gave me an opportunity to get the moon in shot as well as this great building. Only problem with this image is that it comes across a bit flat but it was in a shaded area.

Manchester Court building.

This was a great opportunity to get old and new architecture in one shot, a reflection of the Town Hall at the entrance to the court buildings.

The Avenue.

A shopping and restaurant area situated behind the library gave me this next opportunity, looking up from the corner of the building. I love how the building takes on the colour of the sky intersected by black horizontal and vertical lines.

The same building taken at the far end. I also like the way the light hits the geometric glass panels.

The court buildings.

Another great opportunity, this building is fascinating and looks like its made of lego. My only disappointment is that I couldn't take the picture from a more elevated position and directly in front to give me more parallel lines.

Not sure about this building but I love the curves, it gives the eye a break from all those sharp geometric angles of the surrounding buildings. The great colour and tones in this image are probably down to the building opposite reflecting light back.

Sundown.

 Taken on the bus going home was another great opportunity as the sun began to set, these two images were taken in the Old Trafford vicinity.

Summary.
All in all I was pleased with the results, architecture has to be one of my passions and I hope I've conveyed this in my images. The weather was kind and gave me the opportunity to get great results.
It cost me £8.50 for a family return bus ticket, worth every penny I'd say!

Sean Wareing 2013 ©