Hi folks!

I hope everyone is well, and enjoying life!

You may have noticed that the blog has been taken up recently with a proliferation of portraits, so to keep you all focused and entertained I thought I would drop into the blog an exciting architectural photo. “Oooohh”, I hear you all say, well get ready to mutter a double “oooohh” as for the first time ever I’m going to post Tilt Shift images on the blog…”amazing” I hear you all say! 

Now, I can hear you all muttering again (don’t worry, I can’t really hear you…that would be mental), why would Matt want to ruin a truly exciting architectural photo with tilt shift effects? Well, to be quite honest I don’t know, aside from the fact I thought it might look cool!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tilt Shift Photography, it’s a technique normally associated with expensive lenses and even more expensive medium format cameras to address perspective issues when photographing buildings.

For those really techy people (like me ;-P) the technique is based upon the Scheimpflug principle, which I won’t bore you with (because I don’t know anything about it and don’t pretent to) but the results of which are photos with isolated areas of focus and very shallow depth of field, which I will go into a tad more detail later in the post.

Anyway, to help set the context, I recently visited the Natural History Museum in London, which under normal circumstances should have been a truly epic geek experience, but due to a combination of about ten pints of beer the night before, millions of school kids, and a very warm building, my trip to the museum was pretty grim.

Whilst the exhibits didn’t recieve the undivided attention for which they deserve, the architectural splendour of this building certainly did, simply because it was so impressive you couldn’t help but be amazed.

With camera in hand I started snapping away and here are the best results:

And the tilt shift versions:

As you can see, the tilt shift effect can be used to selectively focus the viewer on specific parts of an image. Normally, when I want to bring attention to something I do this using shadow, so this blurring approach is quite new to me. At the moment I’m not sure as to whether I actually like the effect, it may just be that I have used it in on the wrong photo….who cares anyway, still looks kind of cool!?

I mentioned a few posts back that I was getting ready for another big photoshoot, utilising models, flash, props etc…well, weather permitting it’s this weekend and I can’t wait. I can assure you that it’s likely to be one of the darkest shoots I’ve done yet, did i say it involves a sack?

The finished results will be posted in a fortnight, subject to everything going alright on the day…no pressure

Untill next time…..

Hi folks!

I hope this post finds you all well!

I had some great feedback on my last post both here on the blog and on various forums, which is always greatly appreciated as it’s nice to know that the work you are doing is liked by others, so thank you!

I always try and mix up my posts each week, just to add a touch of variety and to this extent I thought I would try all my architectural shots seems to be of old buildings, be it towers, churches, cathedrals etc.

I don’t quite know why I have this bias towards all things old and dusty as I don’t think it’s an accurate representation of my tastes. Anybody who knows me well will know that I am somewhat of an aficionado of all things science fiction, in fact some of my friends would even go as far as calling me a bit of geek! Anyway, to indulge my technocratic side I’ve been deliberately keeping my eyes open for more modern and unusual buildings to shoot and I’m pleased to say that I have found a few that I think will make great images so intend to shoot a few of these buildings in the forthcoming weeks.

The shot below strangely enough was not one that I had staked out, instead being quite a surpise find. I recently went to the Imax cinema in Birmingham to watch the new Batman film “Dark Knight” which in itself is a fantastic movie, but when seen in the Imax was truly amazing! Anyway, on exiting the cinema I realised that the interior of the building looked a bit like something out of Bladerunner or Terminator and so much to the dismay of my friends, I grabbed my camera and tripod from the car, and after dodging the security guards sneaked back inside the building!

It really was a clandestine shoot, with me having to sneak around columns and staircases to avoid capture and for about 3 minutes I did, which gave me just enough time to fire off a handfull of shots, before being busted.

After explaining to the security guards that I was not actually a terrorist and instead just a geeky photographer they believed me and let me go. Que even more embarrasment for my fellow Imax going friends!

Anyway, time is pressing and I need to work out my lighting set up for a Dave Hill style shoot for this weekend….so, untill next week!

Happy snapping!

]]> http://imagespike.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/132/feed/ 3 ImageSpike Cyber Cathedral http://imagespike.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/st-marks-bassilica/ http://imagespike.wordpress.com/2008/07/02/st-marks-bassilica/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:43:24 +0000 imagespike http://imagespike.wordpress.com/?p=80 ]]>

Hi people,

Well, another week has passed and as always my time has been largely taken up with photography. For those of you who are interested, my time has been largely spent retouching a set of wedding photos.

Whilst I’m quite sure the original photographer was capable of turning on a camera (I think) that was about as far as his photography capabilities extended, with many of the shots being both poorly composed and exposed. Fortunately most of the shots are salvageable, and whilst only being Jpegs, have turned out looking good. If I can get permission from the bride and groom concerned, I make post some before and after shots on a dedicated ‘Re-touch’ page on the blog.

Anyway, moving swiftly on I thought I would drop into the blog a nice architectural photo from my recent trip to Venice. I think I mentioned earlier that a few church shots would be creeping into the blog and here is one of them.

The shot below is taken from inside St Mark’s Basilica. For some reason which is completely beyond me, the powers that be in many of the churches I visited would not allow any type of photography in the inside of churches.

Now I understand fully this attitude when it comes to those idiots with point and shoot cameras, trying to illuminate an entire cathedral with some naff in built flash, as at the end of the day the building is a place of worship and nobody wants to be at peace with god whilst the strobe lights are going off. But what about those folk who don’t use flash? I did try it on, whipping out my tripod whilst hiding behind a curtain. Unfortunately I was quickly busted by the security though, much to the dismay of the missus!

Well, that’s enough of a whinge from me, I’m sure that they have a genuine reason for banning all cameras…maybe the almighty is camera shy??

Regardless, I still managed to grab a quick hand held shot, which I think came out rather well.

….maybe I need to invest in a dog collar and go undercover next time !!??….

Hello world, ImageSpike is finally back up and running!

As I’m sure you all gathered, since making my last post I didn’t manage to get my broadband connection sorted, thus the lack of a post last week. Although I’m still without an internet connection at home, I did manage to get my PC updated with Photoshop at a friend’s house and so the photography workflow can now continue I’m pleased to say!

I’ve recently been on a trip to Venice, which is an absolutely stunning place. Whilst wondering around, much of the time in awe at the historical architecture, I noticed the incredibly high number of Americans and Japanese who had come to see the wonder of the city. This reminded me as to how lucky we European folk are at having such incredible destinations right on our doorstep and this has motivated me to get further afield with my camera.

I spent a long weekend in the city and on the first day the weather was terrible, hot sun, blue sky with not a cloud in sight…what I consider to be the worst conditions for photography! All was not lost, there are in total 16 churches in Venice, many of which are plastered by some of the most amazing frescoes you have ever seen, by artists like Giovanni Bellini, Tintoretto and R. Harris, obviously I have stacks of photos from inside the churches which I’m sure will make it into the blog!

After undertaking my naked rain dance through the streets of Venice on the first night (facilitated by the Chianti) much to my relief over the next few days my prayers were answered and the heavens opened.

One of the main attractions in the city is the Rialto bridge which spans the Grand Canal. Whilst I didn’t actually take a photo of the bridge itself, I did get this shot looking from it, and which I believe is far more dramatic!

For those of you interested in the rain dance, I wasn’t kidding, a handy video showing the main steps can be viewed here.

Until next week!

Hi guys,

For those observant readers out there, I’m sure you will have noticed that I didn’t make a post last week. The reason for this omission is the fact that I start a new job in a fortnight so I’ve been really busy tying up loose ends before I leave my current job. Very hectic!

Anyway, my new job will have me working down in Bristol, so at the weekend I decided to make a visit to the city and have a bit of a recce. As a town planner I’m always interested in architecture and the design of urban space. After wandering around the city I was really pleased with what I saw, with the parts of Bristol that I visited being quite impressive.

Being in the city I thought I would indulge myself in a bit of architectural photography. I did try and get a few shots inside Bristol Cathedral, but rapidly decided against it. With the Sunday afternoon service being in full swing my stealthy camera maneuvers weren’t going to be popular so I made for a sharp exit!

Instead I ended up at an attractive church in the centre of town called St Mary’s
Redcliffe. On a personal note I found the church to be more attractive architecturally than the Cathedral which I felt had a more somber look.

The photo below is a candid shot of the young girl. I decided to use selective coloring of the girl to bring attention to her in the shot as she’s a great little indicator of the scale of the building. Also, if you look closely you will see that she has a bible in her hand which I thought was rather sweet…aah!

Anyway, I’m back on top of things on the work front now so my posting routine will be back to normal now!

Until Wednesday!

Hello people,

Whilst driving around with work I’m always looking out for new locations for my landscape shots. I don’t know what it is at the moment but all of a sudden I’ve started noticing towers all over the place. Maybe it’s because of my post a few weeks ago of blacko tower that has sparked my observational skills but their is no doubting the fact that I feel as though I have driven my Renault Clio straight into middle earth.

For those of you who don’t know, the vast majority of these towers are classed as folly’s, which basically means they serve absolutely no purpose at all, simply being erected by somebody ages ago just for fun. Now to be quite honest, building a 100 ft stone tower is not me idea of fun and on a sliding scale is probably down there with cracking open rocks with a heavy blunt object, but hey, whatever made the ancestors happy.

The folly below is quite a local one to me here in Tewkesbury and is probably one of the more famous examples, particularly in the Cotswolds. It was designed by a chap called James Wyatt under instruction from Lady Coventry, who basically wanted the tower built to see if she could see it from her house in Worcester, 35km away. Nice.

I suppose it’s worth remembering that this was 1794 and they didn’t have TV, so what could be better than spending time of an evening, seeing whether or not you can see a dot of a tower 35km away!? This is starting to bring me back to ideas of fun and splitting rocks!…….

Anyway, here is Broadway tower in all it’s glory:

Anyway, that’s about it for this week, until next time!

Hello people!

As you will all probably know, I’ve recently posted some shots from my recent trip to Blackpool, with the photos being taken from the top of Blackpool Tower. Although Blackpool tower is probably one of the UK’s more iconic buildings with the majority of the population having at least some vague notion of what the tower look likes, at the same time I’m pretty confident that the majority of the population have absolutely no idea as to what the tower looks like on the inside.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Blackpool and the weather is bad (which it is on most occasions) then make an effort to go inside the tower as it’s a right laugh. Aside from being a fantastic example of Victorian design, both internally and externally, the tower has quite a wide array of attractions, ranging from the extremely tacky to the extravagant, the tower has it all, including at least a dozen bars which helps add to the experience.

However, my favourite attraction is the Tower Ballroom located at the heart of the tower. I don’t know whether it’s the fact that everytime I visit the tower I have a killer hangover, but the ballroom is a really surreal experience. As the image below shows the ballroom is a very beautiful example of Victorian design, with some aspects of the room being visually stunning. The best bit of the ballroom has to be the dancing, with people of all ages gliding around the massive dance floor to the sound of organ music. It really is a sight to behold, and a great place to sit and nurse a hangover with a cold beer, and if your really lucky you may see a pair of couples collide!

Due to the crazy tonal range within the ballroom I merged about 9 exposures together for this shot, this wasn’t easy either due to the sprung floor, which made keeping the camera steady a nightmare! I then worked the contrast quite a bit in Photoshop to bring out the detail.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

Hey people,

Below is another shot taken whilst on holiday in Spain. I took quite a few photos on holiday a number of which I’m currently working on so apologies now for the current Spanish theme of site. However, as you can see from the earlier images such a theme is hardly obvious so lets just shout Ole and crack on!

I mentioned in earlier posts how it was quite refreshing to see that the local authorities had finally managed to bring under control much of the over zealous development that has peppered the coastline. The juxtaposition of these types of development is really noticeable, especially after wandering around the traditional Spanish villages in the area.

Below is such a village, the lanes were largely quiet giving me plenty of opportunity to creep around, camera in hand!

I’m afraid I’m away over the weekend, so my next entry will be Tuesday next week. I’m also hoping to install an RSS feed on the site to make it possible to subscribe.

Watch this space!

I know that I’ve already stated in the ‘About’ page that the blog will be updated weekly but as today is a special day in that it’s when the blog officially started I thought I would make a second post!

Below is another shot taken whilst on holiday in Spain. The shot was taken from inside Malaga’s cathedral, La Manquita. The shot is a view of the main tower. The cathedral should have had two towers but as a result of insufficient funding only one was ever completed. La Manquita, for those who are interested actually means “one armed woman”. Exciting stuff!

Compared to other spiked images this one is pretty tame, being compiled of several combined exposures to bring out detail in the light and dark areas, a process formally known by us nerds as high dynamic range photography or HDR for short. Aside from that further post processing was pretty limited.

On a side note, photography isn’t allowed inside the cathedral so you can imagine the fun I had trying to smuggle my camera and tripod inside, let’s just say fake limp…but that’s another story!

Untill next week!