Two story cell block in Eastern State Penitentiary. This place is worth a visit if you are in the Philly area. I have to give a little nod to Mark Dunlap who to...
Read more
Two story cell block in Eastern State Penitentiary. This place is worth a visit if you are in the Philly area. I have to give a little nod to Mark Dunlap who told me one day that if you point the camera slightly up, it will a photo a sense of space and that is exactly what I did with this photograph.
Read less
Read less
Views
1945
Likes
Awards
Featured
Contest Finalist in Hallways Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
Eastern State Penitentiary, PhiladephiaTime
Morning, They open at 10 AM and I was there when they opened the gates.Lighting
The lighting was tough. It was a prison after all. Most of the light in this place came from the skylights so, if you weren't near a skylight, it was pretty dark. However, since everything was still it just meant I had to keep the shutter open longer to get the shot that I wanted.Equipment
Canon 5D Mark ii, 16-35mm L, Vanguard tripod. Canon Remote shutter release. I just paid off that lens and am trying to save for another but having a mortgage makes that difficult. :)Inspiration
I thought with the ceiling being so high the only way to really shoot this would be to point the camera up to give a sense of space and make it feel like the hallway went on forever. There a lot of hallways in Eastern State with it being a prison so I tried some different things. I liked this photo from the start. It pulls you in.Editing
I did basic color correction, topaz clarity, topaz adjust and NIK color Efex. I had to tone the highlights down a little because they were a very bright. When I got it looking the way I thought it should, I then ran it through Nik Color efex to darken the sides and brighten the middle to create a tunnel effect. It worked for me so I loaded it on VB. :)In my camera bag
I don't carry much, I just carry what I think I will need Like my rubber ducky (air blower) for the lens. The lens pen and filters and batteries. My bag is small because I am usually in the woods and I don't want weighed down. I only have one lens and it never comes off the my camera.Feedback
Take everything in and don't be afraid to try different things. I am always shootings things different ways just to be creative and be different from everyone else. Being different is a good thing. Take a lot of photos, because you never know and take your time editing them. Try to remember how it looked when you took the photo and make sure the colors are accurate and don't go crazy with adding too much contrast. Make it look real, at least, that's what I try to do. I didn't use a flash for this, or any of the other photos because this place is just so big, I didn't know how much of an effect it would have anyway.