IMG_1180
Sweet building in Saint Lewis (StL)
Sweet building in Saint Lewis (StL)
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Jan, 2013Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
In college a group of friends and I were walking the streets of St. Louis, Missouri. We were downtown somewhere, but honestly I don't know where because I was new to St. Louis and it was becoming dark fast. I remember seeing an intriguing church building with gothic architecture near by. I don't think this building is well known but I could be wrong. My friends and I are adverterous and were waking in some sketchy back allies and checking out parking garages to get good views. As we walked out of one alley, this towering structure was smack in front of us. My friends keeps walking and yelled at me to hurry up. So I took only one quick photo.Time
This was literally taken within about 10 minutes of complete darkness. The photo of I took of the church I mentioned above is completely dark, and I'm thinking it was only a few blocks away. It was also Fall time, so the sun was dropping early and fast.Lighting
the lighting in this photo caught my attention immediately because of how it interacted with the architecture of the building. Opportunity was my greatest tool on this day. The building easily cool have been too dark or too bright during another time of the day, even within 20-30 minutes either way. It was a great teaching moment and one of the most impactful trips of my life, planting the seed for my passion of photography.Equipment
Haha, well... This was taken with a state of the art iPhone 3GS. (Shun me oh great photo community). As I mentioned above, this day planted the seed for my passion of photography. Opportunity reigns victorious when battling against equipment. The best camera in the world can't catch a better photo of the building without the proper lighting. This photo as well as my photo of the St. Louis Arch were completely opportunistic and impromptu. They were also both used as background on my phone and friends phones for at least 4 years. The iPhone photos on my camera roll are filled with mediocre photos, but it the handful of good ones like this that lead me to agree that, "the best camera in the world is the one that you have with you when opportunity presents itself."Inspiration
In high school I took an Architectural Drafting course as an elective. I loved it. I thought about becoming an architect for a few years, but ultimately chose to be a mental health therapist instead. My mind was also on photography because on of my friends on the trip was a photographer for our University and he had all of his gear with him.Editing
I used something in iPhoto... But can't remember what it was. I initially tried black and white but thought it looked bland. I still remember changing the setting on this photo and really liking the uniqueness of coloration and thinking how complementary the light was to color, while he same light created the contrast of the shadows.In my camera bag
I now have a Cannon T4i, 18-135 is STM, 28mm 2.8, 50 mm 1.4 USM and a 70-200 L IS-II. Also like the battery grip (canon brand) to help with different angles. Typically if I'm walking around a city I would rock the 50 mm or the 70-200 depending on what sort of subject I'm looking to shoot. The 70-200 is very hand for taking photos of people. Someday, I hope to save enough to buy the 24-70 L... Someday.Feedback
Think about things from a slightly different angle. Initially I was taking the photo straight on and it looked... Bad. So I tilted my camera, positioned the building in the corner and then took the shot. Also, take photos within the first and last hour of light. It will do wonders for even mundane photos.
