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final photo assignment: eastern state penitentiary

final photo assignment: eastern state penitentiary
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upload_dateSep, 2015

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3 Comments |
lans Premium
 
lans February 05, 2016
A fantastic capture of a piece of history.
nandicmb
 
nandicmb March 19, 2016
Congratulations on your Contest Finalist win in Into The Void Photo Contest!
adavies PRO+
 
adavies March 15, 2017
Awesome image! Really well done! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my Beautiful Urbex challenge:)
https:// viewbug.com/challenge/beautiful-urbex-photo-challenge-by-adavies

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Tags

#black and white #decay #abandoned #philadelphia #beauty #beauty of decay #texture #perspective #history #architecture #mystery #strange #dark #philly #eastern state penitentiary #penitentiary
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was used as a penitentiary for a long time, then closed, and was opened again for tours.

Time

This was taken in the afternoon during winter time, about a year ago. I remember it being absolutely freezing in there, and standing next to the few heaters they had to warm up, but I had to go and photograph this place. I had been there once before and every time I go I find it just as intriguing.

Lighting

I think the lighting in every photograph is crucial to how its portrayed, no matter if it's natural, artificial, or hardly lit at all. Since this was a penitentiary, there wasn't many sources of light besides the natural light shining in at the end of the hallway, occasional light from the ceiling or run down parts of the building, and tiny windows allowing light into some of the cells. It makes the place quite mysterious, but I find it beautiful. The strong perspective and light at the end of the hall really drew me into this photograph and made me love it.

Equipment

This was taken with a Nikon D3100 with a 18-55mm lens.

Inspiration

We had a final assignment in a photography class, primarily based in black and white photography. I knew I had to go back to this place. There's something about the history behind it, the mystery it holds, and so many stories, kinda creepy, that really intrigued me. There's not many places you can go that is quite like this, or at least I haven't found too many penitentiaries to tour yet. There was a beauty to me in the decay of the building, it almost takes you back to another time. In one part of the building you can walk up steps and look down the hallway and that's when I took this photograph. The perspective, lighting, texture, and lack of many people in this photograph really played into what I was trying to capture.

Editing

Generally when I post process I use Adobe Lightroom and adjust the exposure, shadows, highlights, and the clarity. That's what I did for this photo by experimenting a little and adjusting it to best enhance the photograph.

In my camera bag

I carry my cameras with me almost everywhere. For digital I have a Nikon D3100 with a 18-55mm lens. I also have a Nikon N90s 35mm film camera and have found love for the darkroom world as well. I also have a Holga 120N to get a taste of the medium format film world for a cheaper price, and Holga's can take some pretty funky photos. They're a blast to experiment with. Sometimes I'll carry an external lighting source with me if I plan to use it for photographs, or a tripod, but a lot of times it's just the camera and me without much extra.

Feedback

My advice would be to photograph things you enjoy. If you enjoy decay and abandoned buildings, find them(without getting hurt), and photograph them. Look for what intrigues you the most. I take a wide variety of photos because so many different things capture my eye, and at that time, this is what I wanted to capture. Pay attention to the lighting and what will bring the viewer into the photograph. A lot of times the way we perceive our own photos is different than how others perceive them, and that's totally okay! But it's good to be aware of. Also, I love to mess around with going between black and white and color, and deciding which one I like better. Sometimes black and white can add to the photograph, when maybe you hated it in color. Or sometimes you may like it both ways. Experiment, mess with the post-processing, take a photo from multiple angles. You may go into something with one vision, and come out with something totally unexpected, and that can be great!

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