STILL LIFE 126 – WHITE CAR

 

 

.

The dominance of the private car in modern society but, as a driver myself, who am I to express an adverse opinion?  Still, there are many here for whom using public transport is largely unthinkable, quite close to anathema really, while walking any distance is at best infrequent.  I’m not sure I’m writing these words as any great Green or Health activist, but one thing I am sure about is that walking allows me to see, sense and experience so much more in my surroundings which, to me, is a distinctly desirable thing.  And photography, of course, fires my curiosity, keeps me looking at things, all sorts of things, which is equally desirable.

And, talking of photography, here are the effects of using a very wide angle lens tilted downwards towards the subject – the car pushes and swells right up to the front of the picture to get a better look at us, while the buildings in the backdrop tilt nightmarishly, like something from a Surrealist artwork.

Click onto the image to open another version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it.

Technique: X-T2 with 10-24 Fujinon lens at 17mm (equiv); Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; King Street, central Bristol; 28 Apr 2017.
.
.
.

STILL LIFE 124 – MORNING SUNLIGHT

 

 

.
Slivers of morning sunlight on a city centre façade.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 113mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom; Narrow Lewins Mead, Bristol; 26 May 2017.
.
.
.

STILL LIFE 123 – PUTTING ABILITY FIRST

 

 

.

Snapshot of city life.

The black margin to this image has not been applied with software, it is the outline of a window –  I was standing in one street, and looking right through a building, via its windows, to a scene in the next street.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click again onto this image to enlarge it further.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Classic Chrome film simulation; shot from Rupert Street, central Bristol, looking through a building into Colston Avenue; 19 May 2017.
.
.
.

STILL LIFE 120 – WINDOW BOX

 

 

.
Window box in Christmas Steps, a narrow and ancient alleyway in the city centre.

May sunshine was flooding across Bristol, but one side of the deep cleft of Christmas Steps was still in deep shadow.  I’m not usually someone who waits around for photos to happen, I’m usually on the move, if only slowly.  But the sunlight was inching its way around towards the Steps’ northeastern side – you could almost see the light creeping across the masonry – and I decided, this once, to be patient, because I wanted to see the light flooding across the textures of the buildings’ facades.

It seemed like an eternity, but a cat came over to see me and that passed some of the time.  And then the blazing light hit a window box, with the wall behind it still in deep shadow, and I took this picture.  The slightly open window frame is glowing in light reflected from a shop sign just out of shot on the left.

What does this picture do for me?  Well, it talks to me about peace – something not in limitless supply in the UK on this particular Sunday morning – and quiet; it talks about warm air, warm breezes and warm shadows to relax in, and some release from the pace, stresses and lowered quality of modern life.  It reminds me of pictures from more southerly climes, there’s something Mediterranean here perhaps, something not experienced over large parts of the year by us relative northerners.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that image to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 195mm (equiv); 200 ISO; spotmetering for highlights; Lightroom, using the Provia/Standard film simulation; Christmas Steps, central Bristol; 26 May 2017.
.
.
.

STILL LIFE 119 – TWELVE REFLECTIONS

 

 

.

Windows in a block of flats: each reflects the world slightly differently.

The image has been horizontally flipped to make the text more easily readable – which may or may not be a good thing!

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

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 250mm (equiv); 800 ISO; Lightroom, using the Astia/Soft film simulation and horizontal flipping; Temple Way, central Bristol; 26 May 2017.
.
.
.

PEOPLE 275 – GOING TO WORK 22

 

 

.

Morning light in the city centre: blazing, angled glare, deep shadows, shiny cars, graffiti –  the walk to work through a very human, if dehumanising, landscape.

Earlier images from this series can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.  Each will open in a separate window.

Click onto the images to see enlarged versions in separate windows, and click upon these enlarged images to enlarge them yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 400 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Fairfax Street, central Bristol; 19 May 2017.

.

.
.
.

STILL LIFE 118 – WINDOWS, CHRISTMAS STEPS

 

 

.
Looking up, in Christmas Steps.

Windows with blue and cream frames catch the light;  and the fresh greens of a pot plant just make it into the frame. 

At upper left, metal brackets supporting a shop sign are fixed to the rough, ochre frontage – although, in another world, they might be the antennae and front leg of some giant, climbing insect intent upon who knows what chaos and mayhem.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto that version to enlarge it yet again.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 200 ISO; Lightroom, using the Velvia/Vivid film simulation; Christmas Steps, central Bristol; 26 May 2017.
.
.
.

STILL LIFE 107 – FRONT GARDEN

 

 

.
A front garden’s greenery, thrown into silhouette by the sunlit house behind. 

The golden colour of the stone is true: this is one of the honey-coloured Jurassic limestones that we are fortunate in having right on our doorstep – around Bath and in the Cotswolds – and many buildings here have this warm presence.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click again onto that image to further enlarge it.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm; 200 ISO; Lightroom, including the Pro Neg. Hi film simulation; Meridian Place, Clifton, Bristol; 7 Apr 2017.
.
.
.

ARCHIVE 291 – RED WINDOW (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

.
Penzance, Cornwall; 8 Oct 2013.

Technique: D800 with 70-300 Nikkor lens at 300mm; 400 ISO; Silver Efex Pro 2’s Film Noir 1 preset, with selective restoration of colour.

.
.
.

STILL LIFE 105 – ARTIFICIAL FLOWER (MONO + COLOUR)

 

 

.
Artificial flower on railings.

Click onto the image to open a larger version in a separate window, and click onto it again to further enlarge it.

Technique: X-T2 with 55-200 Fujinon lens at 305mm (equiv); 1600 ISO; Lightroom, using the Classic Chrome film simulation; Capture NX2; Silver Efex Pro 2, starting at the Film Noir 1 preset, selectively restoring colour and adding a tone and black border; York Place, Clifton, Bristol; 21 Apr 2017.
.
.
.