lizvantonder
FollowViews
2951
Likes
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Love it
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Top Ranks
Categories
William_Harding
February 06, 2016
Very dark (not in lighting) - great composition says so many things at a multitude of levels depending on how one wants to interpret it.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an abandoned house in Pretoria North. It must have been a beautiful four story home once but now it is home to the homeless, rats and bats.Time
Early to mid morning MorningLighting
I wanted to emphasize the dirt and filthy nature of the house and the dim light inside the building was ideal. I used a wide angle lens to get the shot at low aperture.Equipment
Camera: Canon EOS 60D Aperture: f/9 ISO: 100 Exposure: 1/10 Focal Length: 14/1Inspiration
Cornelius Gerhardus van Rooyen or 'Gert van Rooyen' was a South African paedophile and serial killer (although never convicted) who, together with his female partner Joey Haarhoff, abducted and apparently murdered at least six young girls between 1988 and 1989 Their victims were never found as the pair committed suicide when faced with arrest after the escape of their last kidnap victim. This story and the girls he abducted was the inspiration behind this photo. I grew up when this story was in all the newspapers and it made a big impact on me. I always wonder what happened to the girls Gert abducted. Are they still alive somewhere or did they die and are now trapped in an abandoned house of hell. The house the photos in this series were taken is a few houses down from where Gert's house stood (since demolished).Editing
Some lightroom adjustments. I bumped up the clarity a bit and did some Dodging on the model and some burning on the background.In my camera bag
I normally carry a Canon 5D Mark III with kit lens. A 50mm fixed and a 100mm Macro lens. When I go into dirty and dangerous places I prefer the Canon 60D since it is much lighter to carry around. When I shoot with the Canon 60D I use the kit lens or the 10mm wide angle lens.Feedback
Don't be scared to get dirty and try new angles. Lie down in the dirt and (possibly animal or human excrement like I did for this photo). Try different lenses and see what effect they give you. I find that wide angles give a nice creepy feeling to photos. When going into dangerous, abandoned building take other people and photographers with you. This way you have more fun and you are a lot safer since there is safety in numbers. On this day we were two photographers, 3 models and the models brought their boyfriends and family with. Don't waste money on elaborate make-up and costumes if you have a location with lots of character let it be your canvas.