LMK_Photography
FollowCorridor of an abandoned school.
Corridor of an abandoned school.
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in an abandoned building near my hometown. The building was originally a hospital and then used as a school for many years before being abandoned. The building had been sitting empty for approximately 5 years when I shot this, just enough time for the paint to start peeling from the walls. I was lucky as there was still a few items of furniture about to help enhance the scene.Time
The image was shot in the autumn time and would likely have been taken in the afternoon. The weather was cloudy so conditions were good.Lighting
Lighting was difficult in the building as quite a few windows were boards up and there was no lights working. This particular area was one of the better areas with the main light sources coming in the window. The challenge with the lighting was trying to expose for the interior while controlling the strong natural light coming in the window. The windows in the room beyond the door at the end of the corridor also helped to light that room and create a point of interest for the viewers eye to travel to within the image.Equipment
I shot this with my first real DSLR which was a Canon 550D. This is an APSC camera and the image was shot with a Tamron 17-50 lens f2.8. The image was shot using a tripod as I was shooting HDR and required a number of exposures for blending. The tripod meant I could should with no movement between shots. The lighting was all natural and no flash was used.Inspiration
I was working on a personal project about abandoned Ireland, a friend told me he had got access to the building and I was so excited when he told me how well it looked. It was very much a case of a one time opportunity and I had to grab as many shots as I possibly could. This turned out to be one of my favourite abandoned locations and I would like to visit it again, but sadly there is no longer safe access to the site.Editing
Post processing was a big part of this image. For all my abandoned images I normally shoot multiple exposures for blending in Photomatix HDR software. I believe the grunge effect created using this software helps enhance all the decay in the scene. After using Photomatix to create the initial HDR image I would then use both Photoshop, NIk Colour EFX and Lightroom to further bring out the detail, improve the contrast and balance the highlights and shadows.In my camera bag
Since I took this image I have upgraded my gear and I have somewhat started again with a new system. I now carry the fantastic Sony A7RII, its a real game changer for this type of photography as I can now shoot in much higher ISO setting than that with the Canon. I'm currently using the Sony 24-70mm f4 lens but intent to add a high quality wide angle lens which would help in these type of buildings. I also normally have a air duster to keep the lens clean, a Gorillapod for those times I don't have a tripod with me. The other important small piece of kit is my remote timer so I can keep the camera as still as possible for multi exposure shots.Feedback
The hardest part of taking this image was handling the light coming from the window in the corridor, with no indoor lights the corridor was very dark in parts and required a longer exposure time. To get around this I shot multiple exposures and blended them later in post. My best advice for shooting in general is always think about what your going to do when you process the image and never be afraid to shoot different exposures, even if you don't end up needing them in post. The other advice is be very careful when entering abandoned building and do your research first, you can capture a great image but your safety should always come first.