Picture This

Architecture/Composition

Staff | Apr 25, 2014 | First Published: Mar 1, 2014

Our Picture This! assignment this month was “Architecture/Composition,” and we were seeking compositions that created an abstract from the entire form. These details often echo the overall design sense of the building itself, but also create an interesting composition in their own right. Readers sent in a wide variety of images that honed in on the play of shadow and light in building interiors and exteriors, with quite a few more than usual in black and white. No wonder, since black and white can often distill subject matter down to its most essential nature. We also received numerous examples of images subject to post-processing and HDR techniques, and we always appreciate getting details about processing workflow. Overall, this assignment brought many great pictures to the site and it was a tough but rewarding edit.

At The QVB
Using a Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye on his Nikon D300, Jim Mitchell gave us this sweeping view of the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia. Exposure was f/5.6 at 1/8 sec at ISO 200.
© Jim Mitchell

Gathering Place
Taken inside the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, Jeff Signorini worked the shadow and light interplay to perfection. He worked with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens (at 24mm). Exposure was 1/250 sec at f/5 at ISO 1600.
© Jeff Signorini

Steps
Ed Kreider found this mélange of line and form and color and light in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He photographed with a Canon EOS Rebel XSi and an EF-S 55-250mm lens and an exposure of f/7 at 1/250 sec at ISO 200.
© Ed Kreider

Interior Of The Sagrada Familia
Nick Van Zanten made this amazing photo of the miraculous interaction of light and interior in Barcelona, Spain, with a Nikon D300 and an 18-200mm (at 18mm) lens. Exposure was f/5.6 at 1/30 sec.
© Nick Van Zanten

Walt Disney Concert Hall
The smooth and subtle light shapes and complements the forms of this concert hall in Los Angeles, California. Susan Liepa worked with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 and an exposure of f/1.9 at 1/80 sec at ISO 200.
© Susan Liepa

MOMA Interior
The architecture of the Museum of Modern Art in New York sometimes fights the art on the walls for attention. Jim Lynch played with color temperature and a minimalist approach to bring us this unique view. Exposure with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a 24-105mm L lens was f/5 at 1/50 sec at ISO 3200.
© Jim Lynch

Hotel, Peru
Photographer Alice Cahill wrote: “I was very taken with the strong design I saw in this interior of a hotel in Lima, Peru. By positioning myself on a middle floor I was able to get a view of the different floors ‘radiating’ outward.” She worked with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 and an exposure of f/3.2 at 1/20 sec at ISO 640.
© Alice Cahill

NY State Capitol Building
The mixture of Classical/Romanesque and Renaissance Classical style has to make this one of the most interesting building interiors in Albany, if not New York State. This photo of the Grand Staircase was made by V. James DiPerna with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. No exposure information was supplied.
© V. James DiPerna

Touching
Gary Larsen wrote: “The positioning of the pointed roof on the Denver Art Museum in Denver, Colorado, was perfectly aligned with the pointed tower on the Denver Public Library to create my ‘point touching point’ perspective.” Photo was made with a Nikon F100 and a Nikkor 80-200mm lens at 150mm on Fujichrome Velvia 100F film. The image was scanned via a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 and processed in Photoshop CS5.
© Gary Larsen

Oklahoma City
Pete Purvis incorporated sculpture as a way to frame the jutting towers in the center of Oklahoma City. He photographed with a Hasselblad 500C/M and an 80mm lens on Kodak Portra 400VC, which he then scanned with a Canon CanoScan 9000F and processed in Aperture.
© Pete Purvis

Straight Up Justice
Bob Larson made this striking point of view of the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott, Arizona. He photographed with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i and a Sigma 10-20mm lens with an exposure of f/10 at 1/40 sec. After processing the Raw file in Canon DPP he converted to monochrome using Nik Silver Efex Pro 1.
© Bob Larson

Denver Art Museum
Alan Bogart made effective use of exposure and processing to keep rich texture in the highlights and bathe the shadows of these jutting forms in moody shadow. He worked with a Nikon D70 camera converted to infrared and exposed at f/9 and 1/320 sec.
© Alan Bogart

Notre Dame, Paris
Alan Weinschel shows us the massive forms and intricate details inside one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. He worked with a Leica M (Typ 240) and a 35mm Summilux lens. Exposure was f/2.8 at 1/30 sec at ISO 1000, processed as a single-frame HDR in HDR Efex.
© Alan Weinschel

Farmhouse
Keri Harrish shows all the weathering and time past in this photo made with a Sony alpha 330 and a Sony DT 18-250mm lens with an exposure of f/10 at 1/160 sec. Processing included tone mapping with Photomatix and conversion and grain supplied by Photoshop Elements 9. She dropped in an enhanced sky she assured us was “shot on the same afternoon.”
© Keri Harrish

FlowerPots
Don Inman’s photo of a staircase in San Diego appeals in both design and processing technique. He made the initial photo with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 lens at an exposure of f/7.1 at 1/400 sec. After processing the Raw file in Lightroom 4 he converted to black and white in Nik Silver Efex Pro. He then added color selectively and refined further in Lightroom and Nik Sharpener Pro 3.
© Don Inman

Picture This! – Our Next Assignment
Silhouettes
Silhouettes create forms in space that are defined by their lack of detail, yet within the context of the frame they add both a strong graphical and important compositional element. Direction of light and proper meter readings are what make this work.

This photo was made while coming off the monorail in Las Vegas and was shot with a Canon PowerShot G11 in Manual exposure mode at an exposure of f/2.8 at 1/15 sec. A spot metering pattern was used on the static of the video screens with AE Lock to hold exposure when reframed.
© George Schaub

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2. Check the assignment and closing dates in the magazine. When the magazine is printed we will create an appropriate gallery for your images. The limit is two images per assignment.

3. Select and prepare your images. We only accept files at a maximum 5MB size, JPEG format. Save the JPEG at a quality level of 10 or higher. Note that file size in your image folder directory will determine upload size, not the “opened” file size, as JPEG compresses at 1:4 at higher quality ratings. If your images do not load it probably means you have exceeded the file size or have not used JPEG format.

4. Click on the Galleries tab on the homepage. In the Category section use the drop-down menu to select the Picture This! assignment. Note that images are simultaneously loaded into the assignment category as well as your own personal gallery. When the Picture This! assignment deadline date has lapsed the assignment gallery will be removed, but your images will still reside in your own gallery.

5. In the Description box add title, camera, lens, exposure information, and your full name. Also add any other comments or anecdotes you think relevant. We reserve the right to edit comments as needed.

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9. Please feel free to comment on images submitted by other readers.

Scorecard
Deadline For Submission: April 15, 2014
Images will appear in our July 2014 issue

Our Next Topic: Super Deep Depth Of Field
Deadline For Submission: May 15, 2014
Publication Date: August 2014 issue

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