Architecture The Mitchell Library

The Mitchell Library · 04:00 PM

Hi all, just one for this thread as I went to get a specific capture.

The Mitchell Library in Glasgow is an Edwardian building that houses the largest amount of reference material in Europe. It has a lovely spiral stairwell and a large bronze dome on the roof, so I set off today to get a shot for an architecture themed competition.

The composition is like the building's angry eye looking back at me.

Here is the shot:

The large sized version below:

Flickr Photo Download: _IGP6318

flippedgazelle · 10-24-2009, 06:10 PM

That's a sharp lovely shot. Great eye on your part, IMO.

Andi Lo · 10-24-2009, 09:34 PM

Very good composition and light... If it's me I'd PP it a bit so that the Eye is focused on more but that maybe just me

Good luck with the competition!

**Ash** · 10-24-2009, 10:15 PM

All the best for that comp.
It's a good one, leading the eye quite well up the geometric stairwell.
May have even suited perhaps an HDR series.

MRRiley · 10-25-2009, 05:18 AM

This is a step above the usual image you see of these kinds of subjects. The framing and juxtapositon of the straight lines, curves and circles work perfectly.

Mike

Big G · 10-25-2009, 05:26 AM

Cheers guys, your eyes are as always appreciated.

Ash, I agree - I think HDR would be of use here as I struggled a bit with the lighting that was in behind the pillars in the stair well, so I underexposed slightly to keep the highlight under control and then brought the levels up subtley in the shadows in the post processing - the comp doesn't allow HDR. Another challenge in this shot was the colour temperature - the dome is lit with daylight but the stairwell was lit with tungsten light. I managed to tweak this in Camera Raw by moving as close to blue as possible and then slightly desature yellows and oranges. It's killed the tungsten and retained the sandstone colour.

Sadly, the competition doesn't allow HDR and the post processing needs to be kept to an absolute minimum (hence no masking, no selective adjustments and absolutely no HDR).

Big G
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10-24-2009, 06:10 PM	#2
flippedgazelle Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,270	That's a sharp lovely shot. Great eye on your part, IMO.

10-24-2009, 09:34 PM	#3
Andi Lo Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 2,924	Very good composition and light... If it's me I'd PP it a bit so that the Eye is focused on more but that maybe just me Good luck with the competition!

10-24-2009, 10:15 PM	#4
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	All the best for that comp. It's a good one, leading the eye quite well up the geometric stairwell. May have even suited perhaps an HDR series.

10-25-2009, 05:18 AM	#5
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	This is a step above the usual image you see of these kinds of subjects. The framing and juxtapositon of the straight lines, curves and circles work perfectly. Mike

10-25-2009, 05:26 AM	#6
Big G Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 581 Original Poster	Cheers guys, your eyes are as always appreciated. Ash, I agree - I think HDR would be of use here as I struggled a bit with the lighting that was in behind the pillars in the stair well, so I underexposed slightly to keep the highlight under control and then brought the levels up subtley in the shadows in the post processing - the comp doesn't allow HDR. Another challenge in this shot was the colour temperature - the dome is lit with daylight but the stairwell was lit with tungsten light. I managed to tweak this in Camera Raw by moving as close to blue as possible and then slightly desature yellows and oranges. It's killed the tungsten and retained the sandstone colour. Sadly, the competition doesn't allow HDR and the post processing needs to be kept to an absolute minimum (hence no masking, no selective adjustments and absolutely no HDR).