S Curve
Nov, 2015Views
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aphotogenicworld
July 18, 2016
Thank you - I just stuck my head in the door out of curiosity and couldn't believe my luck!
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Behind The Lens
Location
In Barcelona, Passeig de GraciaTime
I was soaking up the incredible moderniste architecture in the city and had spent the morning in Le Pedrera, one of Gaudi's masterpieces because it was such a wet and miserable day which meant that many of the colours that I'd wanted to highlight in my pictures were subdued. I decided to break for lunch and was headed down the city's main shopping street when I passed a building whose entrance was reminiscent of a medieval palace (I think it was a bank) and so I entered to porch to explore when I saw this great staircase, but also the way it gelled with the arched entrance. With light at a premium and no tripod, I crouched and bent until I found the right balance between the arch and the stairway beyond and then shot the three exposures needed in case I wanted to process as an HDR image, whilst holding my breath to keep steady because I wanted to keep the ISO down.Lighting
The lighting came from the interior lighting in the building which gave some warmth, but also from the ambient light of the doorway which was much cooler. Light was at a premium generally and so I shot a much slower exposure than I would normally want when shooting handheldEquipment
Shot with a Canon 5D III and 24-70 lens.Inspiration
I was drawn into the building by its robust arched entranceway, and then when I saw the detail of the staircase I knew I wanted to capture it. Moving around the scene while composing through my viewfinder I saw a way to incorporate both the archway and the staircase to create a sinuous line.Editing
I used post to increase what was already there, adding warmth to the highlights and more blue to the shadows, and because of the effect of the light falling off from the doorway I increased the contrast slightly to make more of this.In my camera bag
I love walking cities and capturing details that most people never realise are there because they are often above the eyeliner, so I normally have a 70-200m lens as my default, but when I have a larger scene before me I opt for my 24-70 or 17-40 as appropriate. I tend to only carry a tripod for planned landscape shoots and so sometimes have to improvise by using my camera bag as a support for longer exposures. Rarely carry flash but always have polarising filters and ND filters for brighter days.Feedback
Be curious. Even in cities that you know well be prepared to venture down alleys and poke your head in doorways. Be polite to security guards and they will normally allow you to photograph interiors from public areas.
