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Nov, 2012Views
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JPTerlizziPhotography
January 26, 2013
Urban exploration at its best!!! Love love love. So dramatic and narrative. Well done. I have to ask, is this abandoned theatre open to anyone? Very lucky to have this gem in your backyard
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an old, dilapidated theatre in Youngstown, Ohio called the Paramount. After several months of attempts to obtain grants, the theatre was demolished in July of 2013 and replaced with a private, 24-car parking lot.Time
What I believe makes this photo so unique is the lighting, which was completely unplanned. When we climbed the stairs up to the balcony, our footsteps kicked up dust revealing perfect streaks of light bursting through the theatre. I remember two good high school friends of mine and I were home for Thanksgiving and it was unseasonably warm, so we decided to go on a photo adventure. This was shot on November 21st, 2012, at 4:49pm, just before sunset.Lighting
My goal was to show off the beauty of the entire theatre. By shooting wide, I could show all the detail in the theatre from deteriorated to excellent. I do recall wanting the light streaks to lower the viewer’s eyes toward the stage. The magic hour lighting was perfectly spilling in from the fire escape door in the rear. I did nothing but arrive at the perfect moment.Equipment
This was shot on my old Nikon D90 with a Sigma 8-16mm (@8mm aps-c). I had an old heavy duty, Manfrotto video tripod with a 3-way pan/tilt head swapped out for the stock video fluid head.Inspiration
The short answer, warm weather. Being able to shoot with friends in November without coats on was the real inspiration that allowed this day to happen. However, this particular shot was inspired by all the huge abandoned places that I gawked over while scrolling through social media feeds. Like all the abandoned buildings in Detroit that I dreamed of exploring and shooting. In a large way, it was the urban exploring community that inspired this photo.Editing
Oh my was this photo processed. I shot this photo back when HDR in was. Back when I early in my learning stages shot photos to look “cool.” The only way I knew how to make photos “cool” was to experiment with technical characteristics. I didn’t pay attention to composition. The three raw included in this photo were individually processed in Adobe Camera Raw (basic white balance, lens correction and minimal exposure adjustments to get the most dynamic range) I then merged the with HDR pro in Photoshop. I don’t recall adjusting any of the HDR settings (this was shot and edited 7 years ago), but I do recall trying to keep it more on the realistic side vs. the popular (at the time) surrealistic HDR tones.In my camera bag
Things have changed significantly since I snapped this photo. I’m mainly shooting photos in the wilderness, focused on night/astrophotography. I now shoot with a Nikon D7100 and always bring along my “astro” lens, Tokina 11-20 f/2.8, and I usually bring along my Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens to capture some tighter/medium shots. I’ve recently been getting into low level lighting, so I’ve added a small battery-powered LED light to experiment with. The most crucial tool *on* my bag is my tripod. The carbon fiber Fiesol 3441T has been the gem in my collection. The versatility and sturdiness of this guy is unbeatable. I also bring along an ultra-pod to mount the LED light to.Feedback
My best advice to capture any photo that you’re personally happy with is to find inspiration in other work. Find images that move and inspire you to create a style that is meaningful to you, instead of shooting just to shoot. But on the flip side, shoot as much as you can and make mistakes. The only way you’ll ever grow is by learning from the mistakes you’ve made.
