Thoughts before the shoot

Tomorrow I am going to shoot my Architecture images in Leeds. During my research I found some incredible buildings but I have decided to visit the Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek which is an office and residential skyscraper development.

 I had never even heard of this building before I did my research for i have printed off directions to help prevent me getting lost (not that it will be hard to miss). People walking past the building won’t be a real issue for me as I aim to shoot the building by looking up at it. I have checked the weather forecast and to my advantage it is supposed to be clear with blue skies, fingers crossed, this will make the shoot a lot easier for me. I will be going around midday so that i have most of the day to perfect the shot.

There are also many other buildings I could photograph from old churches to modern building, although I would like to stick to the newly built building as this is something I haven’t yet done. I will be shooting on a Nikon D300 during the shoot.

Artist Research- Peter Defty

I saw some photos by Peter Defty in a magazine and thought they were great. Looking through his images ‘London’ I saw a repetition of having block black sections in the image.  The composition is really interesting because it makes it hard to tell what the image actually is at first glance.

Rule of thirds is used by having the sky, which could be seen as the key image is slightly off center. This image was taken from below looking on at the buildings and the sky. I think it creates a really interesting effect and makes it look more abstract. The clouds create detail in the photograph and help us recognize the sky. Personally I think the image would look plain without them. The building at the bottom of the image shows pattern and texture.

There is a lot of negative space in the image. Sometimes things you don’t capture are more important than the things you do. Peter is stood in-between are framing the sky nicely.  The zig-zag frame creates more detail in the image and makes it look a lot more interesting to if it was just a straight line- good location.

Image found on the AOP

Artist Research

Paul Eccleston- Architecture Photography (found on the AOP)

•      He is the principle photographer for Arthouse Ltd.
•         He has a 1st class honors degree in Photography
•         Over twelve years’ experience working with advertising and architectural imagery.
•         Liaising with Architects and Developers he has vast experience in dealing with corporate clients and photographing large projects from start to finish.

Docklands Night scene

The colours work really well together in this photograph. He has chosen the best time of day to shoot as he’s captured the sun set. The lights in the buildings add detail to the image and works great with the other lights surrounding them. 

Blue Stairs

I love the angle this image has been taken from as it makes the stair case look abstract. This makes the viewers have a second glance as they might not be able to work out what the object in the image actually is. The colours contrast well together. 

There are many leading lines in this image leading my eyes right to the top. This shows us the height of the subject especially as he’s taken the image from below looking up at the building. The left side of the building is slightly out of focus. I think this type of shot needs to be really sharp. 

Again I think he has taken this from a really interesting angle with him looking upwards.  The buildings around the edges frame the subject. The sun light is casting nicely through the buildings onto the main subject. The sky is also creating a nice shape in the photograph. 

Architecture research

I have decided I am going to do my architecture shoot in Leeds as its close by and have some extraordinary buildings in the city. Therefore I am going to research a few places to give me an idea what to expect on the day which will make me more organized for the shoot. Here are a list of some interesting building in Leeds

• Leeds kite tower- Address A58 (M) Inner Ring Road, Leeds. 

• Leeds corn exchange- Call Lane, Leeds

• The Headrow- Leeds LS1 3AD  

• The town hall- Leeds

• The Leeds city Market entrance

• Leeds Met University

• Bridgewater Place

If for some reason I decide Leeds isn't the right city to do this shoot, Manchester is an option to fall back on. Therefor i have researched into more places just in case. 

• Corporation Street Footbridge

• The Great Northern Towers

• Manchester town hall   

• CIS Tower, Miller St

• Manchester Hilton - Beetham Tower

• Manchester United Stadium                                                                       

Statement of intent

Statement of intent

When I first read this module description I thought it was going to be a huge challenge as none of the areas of photography grab my interest. Therefore it has taken quite some time to figure out what I am going to photograph and how.

I have decided to shoot my exterior architecture shoot in Leeds. As I live in Huddersfield I have already photographed most of the architectural building in the area for previous topics and personal pleasure. I wanted to shoot something modern and quirky which I thought I would find easily in Leeds. The weather is important when shooting and will affect the whole outcome of the final image. I have decided to shoot on a clear blue skied, sunny day. The blue sky will create interesting negative spaces when using different compositions such as, rule of thirds and framing. The building I am going to photograph is the Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek which is an office and residential skyscraper development. It is the tallest building in Yorkshire at a height of 112 meters.

For a previous module I had to build and set up a room set. This is a perfect opportunity for me to capture an event of significant. My aim is to capture around 90 frames showing each step on how the room was constructed. You will see the wall paper going up on the walls, the blinds and curtains and what the bed was made up of. I need about 5 frames in a second which will be the right speed for what I am trying to create. 

The cuisine shoot has been the one I am most looking forward to. We have been put into different group to make it easier for us and the catering students. They will be coming up to the photography department in the next couple of weeks to discuss what food we will work with and which is the best way to set it out. The catering student will when go back with our ideas to practice on the dish so he will know exactly what he’s doing on the day of the shoot. Hopefully we will all decide on something as this can be difficult when working in a team. 

YEAR TWO