Simon Kennedy’s architectural photography is amazing in showing us not only the function of the structure but the environment it exists in. His study of Heygate estate especially interests me, due to Kennedy’s use of the plain/gloomy light to bring out the character of the area the structure exists in. In fact, he took a risk in using this kind of diffused/overblown light, but due to this project having taken place over the course of many months, I suspect his final images may be multiple exposures together.
https://www.dezeen.com/2010/12/01/heygate-abstracted-by-simon-kennedy/
I really enjoy Guttridges style, it’s very clean and modern. In fact, when I look at his work I get a very surreal feeling but not in an obvious or over-bearing way. He seems to have an intense focus when it comes to his leading lines, encouraging the viewer to explore the complex image. I like the fact that in some images Guttridge left in people, as the architecture would not exist without peoples influence and are often built for people.
http://www.nickguttridge.com/lifestyle-travel
When looking at Bas Prince’s work, I always see landscapes. He truly focuses on the big picture, and really isolates structures within amazingly interesting landscapes and makes them even more interesting and very imposing buildings. I also love his simplistic approach when it comes to geometry, maybe it’s just the subject matter we see above but the simple block buildings are really dominating in the image and steal all the focus of me, the viewer.
http://www.bldgblog.com/tag/bas-princen/
Ralphs Graf’s work in the Bauhaus School of Art is fantastic. He has truly stayed true to the modernistic style of the building and its artistic history in Germany. The square windows, plain colours and hard lines are all captured in such a way that really shows the anti-traditionalist manner of the building.
https://www.dodho.com/bauhaus-ralph-graf/
Shulman’s work really shows the lifestyles that come along with some structures. I enjoy the fact that his subject matter in these images are really appealing, expensive structures that accommodate wealthy people, it’s rare in a world driven by sad scenes and dramatic imagery (which I also enjoy). I think the purpose of the building must have been import for him, as he usually shows a valuable asset to the home (pool, view, etc.) and the people enjoying them. I love the stylization of the images to, they almost feel like a movie set or something from a James Bond movie.
https://www.archdaily.com/29457/julius-schulman-1910-2009
Distortion in photography can be understood as being an optical illusion or effect is produced as a result of various techniques or processes, where the straight lines in an image appear curved or distorted. The overall effect is that the resulting images appear deformed or radically misshapen or twisted, though the range of effects, and indeed the strength varies depending on which lens is used or which position the camera is placed in, relative to the subject. Within photography, distortion falls into two distinct groups: perspective distortion, and optical distortion. Distinguishing between the various forms and processes of distortion is important, as each effect has a distinctive look, and also a distinctive process which is carried out to achieve it.
Optical distortion refers to any instance where the distortion results from a lens error, as no lens can completely prevent distortion, given the shape of the lens itself. There are three types of optical distortion; barrel, pincushion and moustache distortion.
hese images show Barrel Distortion. This type is commonly seen on wide-angle lenses where lines appear curved inwards, reminiscent of the convex shape of a barrel. It results from an image where the field of view of the lens is wider than the image sensor, essentially squeezing the image. Barrel distortion occurs with the majority of wide-angle lenses, as well as with zoom lenses with short focal lengths, though the degree of the distortion is mostly dependent on the distance between the camera and subject.
These images show Pincushion Distortion. This is the opposite of barrel distortion, as the lines appear to curve outwards. This results from the lens’ field of view being than the size of the image sensor, and so the image appears stretched. Pincushion distortion occurs primarily with telephoto lenses or zoom lenses, as image magnification in the photo becomes greater towards the edges of the frame. As with barrel distortion, pincushion distortion is also difficult to prevent through changing lens, and can be fixed simply in post-production.
These images show Moustache Distortion. This form is harder to spot, showing a bend towards the centre of the image, as the lines curve both inwards and outwards. Due to this, it is also referred to as ‘complex distortion’. This form is much more difficult to deal with, both in prevention and remedy, as it cannot be dealt with in the same way that the two other optical forms can. If this is attempted, the curves will become much more exaggerated towards the edges or centre respectively, thus specialised software must be used to fix this distortion.
This form of distortion is the most common, resulting even from the human eye. Perspective distortion occurs when an object is situated too close to the camera, as the proximity causes the image to distort when trying to represent the three dimensional proportion of the object in 2D. As such, this is not caused by a lens error, and can be prevented through test shots and varying the composition of your image’s subjects. Although many lenses claim to reduce this effect, they merely force you to change position, altering your image from that on the left, to the image on the right.
Although all distortions can be used deliberately to produce a creative effect, the use of curvilinear lenses is arguably the most recognisable. Whereas Rectilinear Lenses produce a natural effect with straight lines stretched towards the edges of the frame, curvilinear or fish-eye lenses result in a highly distorted image where the lines are unnaturally curved.
There are many ways to fix distortion in your images. Given the wide variety of methods it is useful to categorise them based on the point in your shoot that you use them.
As mentioned, particular lens is advised to avoid particular forms of distortion. For example, To reduce barrel distortion, specific lenses can be used, such as the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, which aids distortion reduction, however it is important to note that this impacts negatively on the weight of this and other wide-angle lenses. Another example of useful lens for reducing distortion is a tilt-shift lens. This lenses optics can be tilted and shifted in relation to the image sensor. Tilt shift lenses also have the ability to swivel, changing the cameras perspective but keeping you unchanged, which reduces distortion. Research into the best lenses for your project should always be undertaken well in advance in order to save time and effort wasted on fixing distortion problems in post production.
The easiest way to reduce distortion during your shoot would simply be to change position. You may be too close to your subject, making features appear big and domineering in the frame, and vice versa. This is particularly important when doing architectural photography, because a change in the scale can result in your subject appearing unfamiliar, which can result in the purpose of your shoot being ruined.
Distortion can also be corrected in post-production, using software such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. One tool you can use on Photoshop to correct distortion is the adaptive wide angle tool. This can be found in the filter menu. Using the tool in auto mode you can manually draw lines down your image where you see the edges of a structure becoming distorted. As you click the tool corrects any curved lines, removing the distortion.
The V & A museum in Dundee is a very interesting building from many different angles, almost resembling a beached wale or some sort of ship. According to the construction company “bam”, the museum is effectively two separate three storey buildings, joined at roof level. Surrounding Scottish cliffs were the inspiration for the outer walls. The curves are formed from a series of concrete panels, each a different profile, inset with lighter coloured pre cast concrete slabs. I think this would be a great building to shoot as we have an amazing building in its entirety to photograph but also many opportunities to get close in detail shots. The contact number is 01382 411611. I plan on shooting this at time different times. The golden hour and the blue hour. I think sunlight could bounce of this building in a very interesting way but I also think the imposing shape and the fact that it is basically a docked building could make the blue hour work even more. A return train ticket to Dundee is around £24.
I have emailed asking about access building am waiting for a reply, if I don’t get that I will call and if access if restricted then I’m going to go with the college building itself. It’s easy to get access to, the structure has a lot of elements too it and is genuinely a nice building. Also I know I wont get knocked back from shooting there and I’m getting tired of emailing/phoning places for no result.
https://www.e-architect.co.uk/dundee/v-a-dundee
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45432993
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45432993
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45432993
In this brief we were tasked with capturing five images of architecture. 3 of these shots were exteriors, two included controlled perspectives and one included the complete building, followed by 2 interior shots.
The building that I chose to capture was the City of Glasgow Cathedral Street Campus building. I chose this setting for my shots because I knew I would benefit from a building which was not only architecturally interesting and significant, but which I could gain complete access to. A number of other buildings I had considered were very restricted in what you were able to capture, or didn’t permit photographs at all. I also knew this building pretty well and knew that there were a lot of photographic opportunities there.
Staring with the wide angle exterior shot, I found this to be the hardest of my set of images to complete as it was very difficult to find an angle that would fit the whole building in and look good at the same time. I was using a 18-55mm lens because it gave me the widest angle I could get. I tried to capture my image further down the street to get a better angle, but there were a lot of distractions like bins, lampposts and bus shelters. Cars would also zoom past a lot and obstructed the frame, making it look cluttered at times. I considered doing a longer exposure to get the trails of the car lights in but this to me was a bit unnecessary and I wanted to capture the building during it’s time of use - the early afternoon. I edited my image very simply, removing a few people who stepped in my frame and some bins but very little was done. The perspective control was simply done on Bridge, using the transform tool to auto adjust the perspective control, I used this for all my images but used different settings each time.
I then moved onto to focus on my exterior detail shots. The college building has very interesting shapes and lines, with a certain uniformity to it all so I focused on that. The first wider angle image shows this with a semitropical grid towering down and windows peaking out behind them, I chose to show this because the modernism is really striking and when I first saw the building it gave me a futuristic and very scary feeling but as I grew to know it, it became far more comfortable and I realised it was just a place for structured creativity. I think the building really screams that, and I hope it comes across through my images. The second exterior detail shot was again captured using the lines of the building but this time I wanted to show more of the curvature on the block architecture and how shadows get stuck in very interesting places due to the building’s nature. I really enjoy the light in this image, everything subtle and you can see a lot of individual tones in the layers of glass and metals, and it almost doesn’t look like the same building.
The interior shots were very tricky, the college has a lot of opportunities for great photos but when spoiled for choice I wanted to get the most original shots possible to stand out. One thing I certainly wanted to include in these images were the students, lecturers and/or staff members. This is to convey that this building is vibrant, and filled with individuals that all play a role in the function of the buildings purpose. I thought getting a low angle shot from the top of the main stair case would achieve this as it is the busiest place for people and the leading lines that you can see with the balconies going all the way up is very interesting. I wish I spent a bit more time with this shot and waited for a better moment, although I think some people in this image convey my point, others just make it look busy, they are really standing/walking in positions. For my final interior shot I definitely wanted to get the City of Glasgow sign in, as in my view this is the most iconic aspect of the building and I knew the celling windows would give me a good view of it. Those windows can form excellent shadows at the right time, with the right weather and I wish I had come back again to see if could get anything better with that, but I do enjoy this image. I think the window gives the image more depth and the lines and grids make this photo a perfect fit with the others.
I enjoyed this project more than I thought I would and learned that taking photographs of buildings and architecture is a lot harder than I originally thought. If I were to do this again I’d definitely spend more time with the building and look for a lot more angles. I also think investing in a extremely wider fixed lens would be a good idea.
