information exchange
Took a while to set this up and a lot of removal of colour casts thanks to the sodium vapour lights
Took a while to set this up and a lot of removal of colour casts thanks to the sodium vapour lights
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Apr, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this in the little hamlet of Cleish in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The old phone box was bought by the community when BT ( British Telecom) no longer wanted it. Once the old payphone had been removed, it was refurbished and is now has been used as notice board, book exchange etc. Since I took this photograph it has been modified to include a community defibrilator and so seeing in is harder and no longer entirely possible from this angle. It is however used regularly by the local community.Time
I remember packing my gear and walking in the starlight down a country lane. The trees arched overhead with stars peeping through their fine branched fingers. This would have been around 1 am and there was not a light on in any of the houses. I felt very self conscious but also fortunate as I was the only one there to experince the magic of the moment. I had planned to bring all the lights I needed but forgot about the cast caused by the neon lights that I thought would have possibly gone off by then, unfortunately not. Being disabled and in pain I have to go very very slowly so I have to be sure of as many outside influences as possible to make the effort worth while.Lighting
This was taken in the small hours of the morning and whilst some of the street lights were on, there was no light working in the phone box any more. I got round this by standing my torch between the books on the top shelf and pointing it to the ceiling of the phone box. This directional bounced light had the desired effect of creating some good shadows on the ground. Everything else unfotunately had a very yellow cast from the sodium vapour lamps that I had to deal with in post. I also used a small flash to illuminate the actual box but I knew it would be a long exposure so wasn't too worried.Equipment
I used an old Sigma 14mm rectilinear 35mm lens that I had ripped the electronics out of and used a small bit of guitar wire to control the aperture. The lens was originally for an early Canon Eos fit that no longer worked so I had no compuctions about taking it apart and jury rigging it to work and now I use it on my Sony with an adaptor. I love old lenses and as I do everything maunally I can get away with it. If I was doing more sports photography then that would be different. This was taken on a first gen Sony A7 mounted on an old Gitzo Studex tripod that when placed will not move as it is reticent to moving even when you want it to ! I must get a lighter tripod !Inspiration
I have seen this ex-phone box for over twenty years and have been meaning to photograph it but when it became an information exchange I could only think of us making first contact with an alien race. Hence the keeping in of the lit shadows as it the phone box was about to take off and not correcting the verticals, as I wanted it to be like a rocket reaching to the stars.Editing
Yes mostly involving getting rid of the colour cast that was caused by the sodium lights. This was more of an issue than I thought as I had used mixed lighting so I had to mask a lot of tricky areas off such as all the glass panels in the phone boxIn my camera bag
I normally have a good broad-range travel lens such as the Sony 24-240mm , Its not especially fast but the fantastic range is great. Sadly bokeh is not really its strong point and I tend to be selective on what other lens I then take with me depending on what sort of shoot. Recently I have been using a 500mm Mirror Macro a lot . Otherwise spare batteries, a remote release a small manfrotto pocket tripod and some ND filters are all a must. Being disabled, weight is a major consideration.Feedback
Don't be afraid to go out when everyone else is tucked up in bed and check your forecasts and stellar times is you are after a particular alignment. Make sure you have spare lights and batteries and warm clothes as you may be there for a while.
