ARCHIVE 273 – BUILDING WITH OPEN WINDOWS (MONO)

 

 

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Building with open windows on John Street, off Broad Street, in Bristol city centre; 5 July 2013.

John Street, in Bristol’s Old City, is very narrow.  There are pavements wide enough for only one person to walk, and just room for one vehicle to move along its middle.  Walking along it, the buildings tower up on either side.  I was strolling down to the Baldwin Street branch of London Camera Exchange, en route to having lunch with a dear friend.  The (rare!) English summer sun was blazing along John Street’s facades and, lost in other thoughts, I noticed this but ambled on.

I enjoy visiting the Baldwin Street branch of LCE, simply because the staff there are friendly, and also – a small point! – their photographic expertise is both vast and readily given.  That day, I was asking their advice about a tripod and ball head combination I had in mind – and the issue was resolved and the gear ordered in a very short time.  A shorter time than I’d anticipated in fact, and I was left with time on my hands prior to lunch.

I remembered the sunlit façade, and strolled back to John Street for another look.  It looked good and, taking care not to be swept off the narrow pavements by passing vehicles, I stared down into the G11’s screen and took a range of shots.

In this image, I’ve tilted the camera so that the sunlit, upstanding parts of the façade lean to the right, which I think effective.  The white window frames break up the monotony of the pale and dark mosaic.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window.

Canon G11 PowerShot at 140mm (35mm equivalent); 100 ISO; converted to mono in Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the High Contrast Smooth preset.

UPDATE: as often happens, filling the frame with the subject, which helps to produce an abstract effect, there being no other source of reference, no other clues as to context, in the shot.  I don’t use the G11 much these days, although it remains a capable, compact and not too heavy standby for times when photography may not occur but its good to have a camera along  just in case – visits to pubs, lunches, days out, etc.

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