Abstracts in Architecture - the Serpentine Pavilion 2016
Serpentine Pavilion in London, England, 2016
Serpentine Pavilion in London, England, 2016
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Mar, 2017Views
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Runner Up in Monochrome Geometry Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Monochrome Geometry Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Patterns In Black And White Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Geometry And Composition Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
This is a view of the exterior wall of the 2016 Serpentine Pavilion at the Serpentine Galleries in London, England. As luck would have it, I had seen a video on the architect, Bjarke Ingels, on a series on Design on Netflix just before our trip to London in the fall of 2016. This awesome building quickly made it to the top of my must-visit locations in the city. While I am primarily a nature and landscape photographer, modern design and architecture is the yang to that ying in my photography that occasionally gets to sit front and center.Time
This was shot mid-afternoon, under mostly sunny skies. The fairly stark lighting and more exact shadows add to the feeling of light-vs-dark and help draw the eye up through the shapes of the wall.Lighting
All natural light, mid day, you know, those times of day that most landscape and outdoor shooters would hate to shoot in. But, I had a small window to capture this awesome exercise in architecture so I worked with what I had.Equipment
While my primary cameras are the awesome Canon 6D, this was captured on a 'non-photography' trip with my wife to London last year. Leading up to that trip I decided I wanted something a bit smaller, easier to pack and travel with when the 'main gear' didn't really fit the need. So after much decision (and deciding that a Fuji really wasn't in the budget!) I opted to go with the Sony a6300. Paired here with the kit 16-50mm lens at 23mm (crop sensor)Inspiration
Shortly before leaving for London, I had started watching the series 'Abstract: Art of Design' on Netflix. Originally finding the episode on Photography, I also watched several other of the series including the episode on Architecture. I found the design concept behind Bjarke Ingels work interesting and seeing the shape and design of the building saw in it an amazing opportunity to explore different compositions. In this frame, I loved the contrast both between light and dark, but also between the very geometric shakes of the cubes in the small scale and the almost fluid and organic shape of the curve that the cubes make up in the larger scale.Editing
Black & White post processing was done in a combination of Nik Silver Efex and Photoshop. It was quite a challenge to bring out the slight texture of the material the blocks were made out of, but yet not introduce noise and artifacts into the edit. I love how differently the photo looks depending on what size / how far away you're viewing the image. Something that all compelling images, especially those in monochrome, should have in my opinion - the ability to draw someone in from any distance.In my camera bag
My primary kit consists of the Canon 6D and a set of lenses covering 14mm up to and beyond 200mm. However, as mentioned above, for 'on the go' and 'non-photography' travel trips, I now also have the smaller Sony a6300, the kit lens, the 55-210 and Samyang 12mm f/2 packed into a small messenger style bag that's great for city and urban excursions where less attention is ideal.Feedback
Sadly, this structure is no longer at the Serpentine Gallery, the 2017 season brings with it a new pavilion from a new architect. I'm not aware if this was re-constructed elsewhere or not. As far as the style of photo, monochrome is something that I both struggle with and pursue at the same time. Thinking in terms of B&W when taking photos makes you consider more the elements of contrast and composition, instead of relying on color and saturation to draw the eye. While it is entirely possible to take photos that you considered first in color and convert them to B&W, it is a fantastic learning and self teaching tool to try to think in terms of B&W, especially in urban and architecture shots. Even if the photo remains in color, you should ultimately end up with a stronger image in the long run.
