Architectural Harbour in La Palma
This is the interesting architecture of a newly built harbour in La Palma in The Canaries. It's just a whole bunch of concrete curves with some sunlight creatin...
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This is the interesting architecture of a newly built harbour in La Palma in The Canaries. It's just a whole bunch of concrete curves with some sunlight creating the shadows, that all offered a black and white shot.
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May, 2015Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
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Contest Finalist in Depth In Black And White Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Textures In Black And White Photo Contest
Superb Composition
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Outstanding Creativity
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BendtheLens
June 22, 2015
Superb shot honey. Congratulations on yet another award. You put me to shame. Wife. X
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Behind The Lens
Location
La Palma is one of the smaller, less visited islands of The Canary Islands and mostly covered in lush green volcanic mountains. Cruise ships are frequent visitors to the larger sister islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, so the local government have recently built an enormous concrete harbor at Puerto De Tazacorte. The mass of concrete and tarmac is in stark contrast to the lush greenery of the island and I'm sure for some, is a 'blot on the landscape'. However, the gigantic concrete arches that support the impressive sea wall create an architectural gem, hence this photo.Time
This was shot where the 'golden hours' of after dawn or before sunset just wouldn't have worked. This shot needed the nice sociable hours after a relaxing breakfast but before lunch.Lighting
This is a shot of pure natural light, using the sunlight of late morning coming from the south east, being blocked by the arches that created the shadows on the north west wall, but the light color of the immense walls reflected light everywhere. All I had to do was kneel down out of the direct sun, compose the shot and press the button.Equipment
I use what is now a rather dated entry level Sony A380 with its standard 18/35mm lens and just increased the fstop to bring the far arches into focus as well as the near ones. I was able to lean on some safety railings, so no need for a tripod or any other equipment.Inspiration
My treasured Viewbug followers will know that wildlife and coastal landscapes usually catch my eye, but now and then 'man' comes up with architecture that just says "photo me" and this brand new, so far unused, harbor is one such place. I have to say that next to the steep volcanic mountain sides of La Palma, it's ugly, but seen on its own merit, it's beautiful. Besides that, my wife loved the view.Editing
I fractionally played with the contrast, but I have had the odd debate with Viewbug photographers about post-processing (I'm not a fan of it). I kind of take the attitude that extreme use of a computer stops you from being a photographer and turns you into computerised creator of photographic images. To me, that's a different medium, no less impressive, but not photography.In my camera bag
I am a complete amateur, using an old Sony A380 normally with its standard 18-35mm lens. I rarely set out with a specific picture in mind, so usually take the Sony 75-300 lens with me, along with a spare battery, a lens cloth, graduated UV filters and a bottle of water. If I know that wildlife is the aim of the day, then I attach a Sigma 150-500mm and a monopod.Feedback
I am not a professional photographer, so rarely feel qualified to give advice on anything to do with cameras. As a Viewbug Curator my most frequent advice is to photograph, anything and everything that catches you eye. Zoom in, zoom out, f.3 - f.32, 1/4000 and 2 seconds, just play with the camera, taking the same shot with different settings and enjoy the outcome. I can go out for 3 hours, take 300 pictures, get home, upload them and delete 299 of them.
