Eye Spy

In my opinion, the architecture around Messeplatz is some of the best in Basel. The facade of the main building features a repeating ribbon-like metal pattern on many of its surfaces. This covered passage between convention halls is a great example.

I suspect this is one of the most photographed places in the city, as I always see several people taking pictures when I am here. The challenge, I find, is to try and eliminate all of the distractions. The square is often filled with people, trams, street vendors, neon lights and/or seasonal festivals, rides and exhibitions. All this activity can create a challenge to capture the type of clean image that I prefer. My solution (which I have used many times) was to focus on what was above. This perspective eliminates all the distractions and buzzing activity at eye level, leaving only simple shapes & patterns.

I took this in the evening when the sides of the opening were illuminated from lights below. The deep blues of the sky and clouds above provided great tonal and color contrast to the monochrome building. I particularly liked this point of view…it felt like an enormous, futuristic eye was spying on me from above…eye spy.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow

In my opinion, Stockholm's Tunnelbana stations are some of the most beautiful in the world. The entire network is promoted as the world's longest art gallery. The stations are all unique and most feature paintings, sculptures or murals. I recently visited Stockholm for a long weekend and spent most of my time underground…visiting and photographing my favorite stations.

This is Stadion near the Olympic Stadium. It was one of the city’s first cave-like stations that features the exposed bedrock. The artists, Åke Pallarp and Enno Hallek wanted to remind the people that there is a sky not too far above, so the entire ceiling is painted bright blue. In addition, the rainbow represents the colors of the Olympic rings and serves as a tribute to the Olympic games hosted by Sweden in 1912.

The person on the platform happened to stand perfectly still as I took this 3 second exposure of the train pulling in to the station. 
 

Chutes and Ladders

Since it was 98 degrees outside, I decided to spend some time exploring the underground in Budapest. The city recently added a new metro line to its network and some of the modern stations are fantastic. This station, Kálvin tér, is one of my favorites.

I particularly liked this point of view, looking up from the platform. It is a deep station and requires taking three different sets of escalators to reach the bottom. These escalators criss-cross and their lines along with the other curves and patterns create an interesting perspective. 

Perhaps the only thing missing from this station is color. It is mostly concrete and varying shades of gray. Well suited for a monochromatic image.

Yin-Yang

This is an image I took several years ago in Hamburg, Germany. The swirling lines, multiple shapes, textures and tones all contribute to what I find very appealing in architectural photography. It has always been one of my favorites, but until entering it into the 2016 Monochrome Awards photo contest, I had not shared it with anyone or included it in my portfolio. With the opportunity to get some unbiased critique, I figured it was time to release this into the wild. 

Monochrome Awards announced the contest winners yesterday and I am super-excited that the judges selected this image, out of 8,000+ images, as Honorable Mention in the Architecture-Amateur category. All of the judges selections are very impressive and it is really an honor to be included with them. I encourage you to have a look at all of the winning images here.

In case you are wondering, this is a parking garage…seriously. While wandering around Hamburg, I found myself here, looking up from the center of the ground floor. The swirling lines represent the up & down ramps that take you to various floors, while the roof features numerous openings allowing sunlight to filter inside. Easily the most beautiful parking garage I have seen…

But wait, there’s more to share from the contest…

As it turns out, one of my other contest submissions (see below) was also awarded Honorable Mention in the Abstract category. This image is one of the first photos that I posted on my Photoblog back in 2015. Click here to see the original post.

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Falling Star

This is the Star Atrium inside the Dubai Mall. Standing near the center and looking up, you immediately see the reason for its name. There were only a handful of people looking down over the railing, but the floor where I was standing was bustling with people. Being the only person standing still, it was understandable that a few people bumped into me as I looked upward and captured a few photos. 

I like using symmetry in images. It often provides a unique perspective of an area or building. Think about it, how often do you find yourself perfectly centered in a particular space? 

But here, you can see that I am not standing directly in the center and I angled my lens slightly toward the longest point of the star. This gives you a slightly longer bottom part of the image, when compared to the top. I thought this composition complimented the slight asymmetry of the star and provided more depth. I also found the different colors found on each of the floors to be too distracting. As a result, I turned this into a simple black and white to give the lines, curves and shapes more attention. Anyway, just wanted to share what I was thinking in composing and processing this image. The color image is at the bottom of this post if you want to compare and contrast.

About 6 months ago, I posted an image from the Waterfall Atrium of this same mall (found here). I took over a hundred images while walking around the mall that day as the architecture and interior design is very interesting. Unlike everyone else, I was not there to shop…in fact, I don’t think I even went into a store...but I did not leave empty-handed. :) 

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Here is the image in full color...

The Watcher

In the spirit of Halloween I decided to do something a bit different this week and post an image I find to be a bit creepy.

This ghost-like, golem-like creature towered over me one day in Barcelona. I have to say, I felt a little eerie looking up and seeing this thing staring down at me. It was easily three times my size and the dark void of its eyes watched me very intently the entire time I was in its presence. Fortunately, it never moved…it only watched…and I was able to escape unharmed down a nearby staircase.

In case you are curious what this really is, it is one of the statuesque chimneys atop the roof of Casa Milà (La Pedrera) in Barcelona, another fantastic building by architect Antoni Gaudí. This chimney/statue/creature greets you when you climb the stairs and reach the rooftop. It is one of a dozen or more functional statues on the roof and was easily my favorite. 

Boo!

Happy Halloween! :)

Prepare the Engines for Warp Drive

When I am out wandering in a city, I often go inside buildings to scout for photo opportunities. Many times there is nothing I find interesting, but occasionally I am amazed at what is hidden from the outside. This was one of those lucky finds.

This was taken in the Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin. Inside the main door, there was a reception area with a security guard and a small atrium just ahead. The security guard was on the phone, so I walked into the atrium to take a quick look. Honestly, there was not much look at, but I did happen to glance upward…and found this. 

I was not sure if photos were allowed inside. I have found that each place has its own policies and usually ask permission. So I figured I would ask this security guard…when he got of the phone…and I waited for about 5 minutes. He did not seem to be concerned that I was carrying a camera. Nor was he paying me much attention. Getting restless, I pondered whether to ask permission or just beg for forgiveness. I decided to go ahead an take the shot. 

As soon as I pressed the shutter, he hung up the phone and started yelling at me that “No photos are allowed!”  So…I begged for forgiveness and it worked! He quickly calmed down and then opened the door, indicating I should leave. I took the hint and walked outside, happy for forgiving security guards and for getting this image. :)

Fang of the Underground

I love using wide-angle lenses for architecture. However, as wide angle lenses can cause distortion, especially at the edges of an image, shooting very wide can result in challenges both in composition and in post processing. In most situations, photographers (including myself) want to eliminate any distortion in their image. However, I find there are times when this distortion can be used creatively and with interesting effects.

This is Hasenbergl Station in Munich…flipped upside down. That long fang-shaped thing coming at you is actually the ceiling that forms a canopy over the platform below. 

By positioning myself at the end of the canopy and angling my lens upward at its widest setting, I was able to make the tip of the canopy appear much longer and narrower than it actually is. Additionally, the rest of the station is pushed further away from the viewer, making the space look larger than reality. Of course with this amount of intentional distortion, keeping straight lines straight becomes challenging. Through a bit of trial and error and careful positioning, I was able to minimize distortion on the straight lines on the ceiling and platform to my satisfaction. 

In the end, this was a difficult image to compose and capture, but also an incredibly fun challenge at the same time. I suspect the people who walked passed me in the station that afternoon were wondering what the heck I was trying to do…adjusting and re-adjusting my camera position pointed at the ceiling. Fortunately, this station is near the end of a line, so it is never very busy. As a result, getting the final shot without people was the easiest part.

If you are curious what the station really looks like right side up, the picture below shows the station from the stairs leading down to the platform.

The Road to Enlightenment

One of my favorite buildings in Munich is the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Modern Art Museum. I recently spent a couple of afternoons walking around and capturing some photos of the interior architecture. Similar to many modern art museums, the building itself is a work of art. Clean lines, interesting shapes and ever-changing shadows created by the open atrium present a lot of opportunity for photographers.

This image was taken on a staircase that winds around the circular atrium walls. While most of the atrium is open to all levels of the museum, this particular staircase is separated by a partial, curved wall. Looking straight up, you see the natural light bounce off of the ceiling creating a great glow effect. As you get closer to the top, the area becomes brighter and brighter. 

I particularly liked these vertical lines that are spaced evenly as you ascend the stairs. Some of the lines are filled with light, while others are a dark gray. I positioned myself here because the alternating light and dark line reminded me of a center line of a roadway leading into the light.

If only enlightenment could be reached by climbing a short flight of stairs…

The Theological Hall

While wandering around Prague, I decided to go into the Strahov Monastery. It is not high on the list of attractions in a city that includes so many amazing towers, castles, bridges and churches…but I found myself right next to it one day and decided to pay the entry fee to have a look around. It is mainly a museum these days, fairly plain in exterior appearance, but it contains two amazing interior rooms. This one is the library, known as the Theological Hall completed in 1679. 

You can’t actually enter the room as ropes keep you restricted to the outside hallway, but from the entrance you can look down its long corridor and view the ornate ceiling, paintings and bookcases. Based on the simple design of the rest of the building, I was completely surprised to walk down a hall an find this! 

In order to take photographs inside, you must donate 5 euros to the monastery. I happily made the donation and consider it money well spent as this is one of the coolest rooms I have seen. Exploring lesser-known attractions occasionally results in surprise finds like this one…especially in cities as rich in history as Prague…and can provide unique opportunities to capture something that few others have.

Ascend

One of the things I find myself doing a lot in NYC is looking up. It is hard for me to keep my eyes straight ahead, being surrounded by so many towering structures...I suppose this may be true for most people (at least for those who do not live there).

While I am always impressed at the engineering necessary to erect these buildings, I find it difficult to photograph them in interesting ways. Your perspective and composition at street level is rather limited. 

However, while walking through this semi-circular courtyard I loved the way this group of buildings complimented each other. Facing this direction, the one across the street closes the open-end of the horseshoe, while the taller building behind ascends at a different angle into the sky. The opposing lines, angles and curves work so much better together than as individual parts. 

As a side note, the most difficult part of getting this image was avoiding the numerous Town Cars that were picking-up and dropping-off people inside this courtyard. I had to wait my turn until there was a pause in the car traffic coming through. I thank those drivers who waited (somewhat) patiently, while I clogged up traffic for a few brief moments to capture this.

Fingers to the Sky

This is the Diagonal ZeroZero building in Barcelona. I think it is one of the most interesting buildings in the city. The exterior of the building features numerous white colored beams that stretch from the ground up to the top. Some of the beams are straight, others are bent, and they help form a unique carapace around the structure.

This was taken at street level, facing the sharpest point of its trapezoidal, asymmetrical shape. From this angle, the beams seem to reach for the sky.  There was a perfectly clear, deep blue sky this afternoon which provided some nice contrast to the white building. I knew I wanted the final image to be monochrome…mainly to help emphasize the lines and texture…and the blue sky was easily turned into an almost pure black during processing. No other nearby buildings are visible from this angle, so isolating the building was rather simple.

While Diagonal ZeroZero is a cool name for a building, it has nothing to do with its design…it is simply its address as it sits on the origin of Diagonal Avenue, Barcelona’s main thoroughfare.

Escher in Berlin

I hope some of you are fans of M.C. Escher…he is easily one of my favorite artists. His works always grab my attention and then hold it, as I admire his creativity and how his lines and angles constantly change your perspective and play with your mind. 

As I wandered through this shopping mall in Berlin, specifically this atrium, I immediately thought of his ‘Impossible Construction’ works. This place was just filled with dizzying shapes, lines and patterns. My eyes seemed to jump all over the place…from the escalator over to the stairs, circling the floor until a pillar takes me up and it starts all over again! It was so similar to what my eyes do when viewing something by Escher… 

To capture this, I grabbed my widest angle lens and leaned over the balcony so that nothing obstructed the floor below. I decided that, to me, the beauty was really about the chaos…so I settled on a perspective that included all of the pieces that kept my eyes bouncing around. 

I would be interested in hearing what you first notice in this image…or where you end up. Bonus points will be awarded if you can find the man having coffee. Yes, there is a man having coffee in this image…or perhaps it is Escher’s ghost. :)

For any of you interested in having a look at Escher’s Impossible Construction works, you can check out some of them on the M.C. Escher Foundation's website.

Divers Down

This image was captured inside one of the largest shopping malls in the world…the Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. I am not an avid shopper…in fact, I had no interest in visiting any of its 1,200 shops, but I did want to wander through the numerous atriums and art displays that make this a fascinating indoor space.

This is from the human waterfall found inside “The Grove”. It is an immense, curved waterfall, cascading down four stories (the entire height of the building). Human sculptures (representing pearl divers) with their hands spreading sideward are positioned across the falls. Although the sculptures are stationary, the cascading water behind them gives them a sense of motion that is captivating…and is what I was hoping to capture in this image. 

To give you some perspective, each of the statues are about 5 feet tall from head to toe…so this shot spans more than 25 feet in each direction. I found the symmetry I wanted by going up to the second floor. At this height, was even with some of the statues and there was minimal distortion from looking up or down. I experimented with a few different shutter speeds, settling on this one where there is some movement in the water while still providing some great texture in the image.

Garching Ghost

Last week I ventured back into the Munich U-Bahn to capture some images. I always enjoy photographing these stations and since it snowed almost every day here last week, it was a good time to explore the underground again.

I had photographed this station, Garching, once before. However, I didn’t love any of the images I captured and wanted to try some different compositions. 

This station is at the end of the U6 line far north of the city, so there are never many people here and it is empty most of the time. It is also predominantly white, so while it is futuristic and cool, it is also a bit sterile. Fortunately, it has some colored tiles scattered about (mostly red and yellow) and in this particular corner, you have these bright green tiles that provide some nice shapes & contrast.

I liked the empty station, but wanted a subject to make a more interesting image. So, I set up at the far end of the station and waited for the next train to arrive. I started a long exposure just as the train was entering the station. The end result was this “ghost” train…just the subject I wanted. :) 

Zig-Zag

While wandering around Barcelona, I walked past this concrete structure and it caught my eye. It is basically a wall-like structure made of concrete planks that are laid out in a zig-zag pattern. I am not sure what purpose it serves…perhaps it is only there for decoration. Regardless, I found it unique and spent some time walking around it and viewing it from various angles.

It was shortly after sunset and the street lights and city lights were just turning on. As the sky became darker and the city lights became brighter, the dull gray concrete started reflecting the color of the nearby lights. I thought “now this is getting more interesting” and captured a few different compositions.

This view is my favorite…looking in-between the horizontal planks with the lines zig-zagging smaller and smaller in the distance. It seems to me that M.C. Escher may create something like this! 

It is a little gritty and dirty, but I actually like that…otherwise it may pass as a computer generated graphic design. :)

The Birth of an Idea...

While wandering around the Old Town of Prague, I walked into a building called the House of the Black Madonna. Why?…because anyplace with this name must be cool, right? 

Actually, I went in because this building currently houses the Czech Museum of Cubism and is the first example of Cubist architecture in Prague (built in 1912).I saw some images of the building and the exhibits on the museum’s website and thought there may be some interesting things to see here. 

After walking through the Grand Orient Cafe located on the ground floor I arrived at this staircase and I looked up…I thought the curves & lines tracing the shape of a light bulb all the way to the top of the building was so unique. This staircase ended up being my favorite part of the entire building.

Strangely, in researching the building after I left Prague, this staircase is not mentioned in any materials I could find online. I assumed it would be featured as part of the architect’s design, perhaps even named, but I was not able to find anything significant mentioning the staircase. I find it somewhat sad that this place is hidden away in the interior of a building thousands of people walk by everyday and never see. But now you know, and I recommend you stop inside if you ever get to Prague. 

Oh, and if you are curious, the building was named after a stone statue that originally adorned the facade and still remains to this day.

Looking Down On Darwin

This amazing place is the Natural History Museum in London. It is easily one of the most interesting buildings I have had the opportunity to visit and photograph. This is the massive main corridor filled with arches upon arches upon arches. 

I arrived when the museum was opening and was one of the first in the door. I thought it would fill up with people quickly, but I had time to walk around for 10-15 minutes as one of the only people inside. I took several photographs from various spots and kept climbing the flights of stairs until I reached the top platform. From here you have a great perspective of the entire hall, looking down and seeing all three levels. If you look closely, you will see a white statue at the far end of the hall…that is a statue honoring Charles Darwin.

I did not have a tripod, so I had to take this handheld…which presented a bit of a challenge. Aligning a camera properly to avoid distortion in lines, shapes and arches takes a steady hand and careful positioning. It has taken me a lot of practice, but I have become better at this technique was able to get the symmetry that I wanted for this image.

I could hear several people entering the hall as I finished shooting. Moments later, a group of about 30 elementary kids came charging up the stairs. All of them were wearing the same bright yellow “field trip” t-shirts and shouting Harry Potter phrases. Looking back, I probably should have taken a picture of that scene as well. :)

Swhirling

I have always had an affinity for interesting architecture. When I visited Barcelona in 2015, seeing the numerous buildings designed by Antonio Gaudí was high on my list. His work is prevalent all around the city in both residential and community structures. He is probably most famous for the incredible Sagrada Família (to be featured in a later post). 

I captured this image in Casa Batlló, considered to be one of Gaudí's residential masterpieces. The floor plan features hardly any straight lines or flat surfaces…it flows and weaves, creating a sense of fluidity everywhere. 

You may have been asking yourself “What is this?” when you first saw the image. If you knew right away, good for you! If not, here is your answer…it is actually a light on a ceiling with wavelike swirls spiraling out from the light’s base. Easily a one of a kind ceiling light!

I am sure I got some odd looks as I positioned myself for this shot…standing directly under the light, bending over backwards and trying to place the light & swirls in a pleasing composition without falling over. It was fairly crowded in the room, but oh well, I got the shot I wanted. :)

I took a lot of images while as I walked through the house, so I thought I would include a second image below of the the main staircase. What a crazy, cool place…Alice in Wonderland anyone?

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Exit the Frame - Hamburg

While exploring around the port of Hamburg, I walked past this modern building with an open atrium and a floor to ceiling glass wall. Being a fan of architecture, I walked in just to take a look around and immediately gravitated to the symmetry of the grid pattern on the wall and how it framed the port scene outside.

It is rare to have such straight lines in a landscape image and capturing them without any distortion took some time to compose. It was a unique scene…the cranes in the middle were perfectly framed by the door, the clouds were dramatic & moving quickly across the sky and the grid pattern, well, was just cool! That said, it was still a bit sterile…it needed a subject…and then a man walked by, and that made all the difference.