Architecture in B&W

[Kit]

Amazing photos. I find these truly astoundingly good! And to think some of these were shot in bright daylight! I never saw 'architecture' shots that made me go 'wow'. Until now.

Thanks.

 

[Kit]

i like the 3rd pic! the sharpness of the buildings! are you using any burn tool here? any filters?

Yes, I darkened the corners a little. No filters.

 

[Kit]

Abstract & nice :thumbsup:

Thank you.

 

[hisokaka]

nice abstract view of architecture :thumbsup:

 

[Kit]

Thanks.

 

[emlee]

I dont know how is it possible that I missed this thread. It is absolutely powerful! I especially love the first few with over powering shadows that helps to bring out the details in the limited mid tones and highlights.
I am really curious, what time of day were those shots with large area of shadow. I am thinking it is in mid day, without clouds and you kill all the blue tones?
Lovely.

 

[Kit]

I dont know how is it possible that I missed this thread. It is absolutely powerful! I especially love the first few with over powering shadows that helps to bring out the details in the limited mid tones and highlights.
I am really curious, what time of day were those shots with large area of shadow. I am thinking it is in mid day, without clouds and you kill all the blue tones?
Lovely.

Thank you.

Usually, these were done in the early evening around 17:30 to 18:30 where the sun angle is low. Pre-requisites are blue, cloudless skies and strong ambient light. All were shot underexposed by around 2 stops because I need to deepen the skies further(to almost pitch black after converting to B&W) and at the same time, controlling the highlights and midtones since they were exposed to very strong ambient lighting. That leaves the darker areas appearing to be in shadow.

Knowing what you are shooting is just as important to make full use of good weather conditions. For the Esplanade, the decision to go with B&W is because the sunshaders are reflecting light at different angles. That means I get a variety of grey tones to articulate the essence of the roof design.

B&W is also an excellent way to isolate your subjects. The distraction of colours are eliminated as in the case of Shaw Tower. Also shot in the early evening and strange as it may appear, the setting sun missed the top portion of the building. So the emphasis falls on the lit portion of the building. The shadowed area thus accentuate the converging perspective further.

Some exceptions though. The Church of St. Mary of the Angels was shot close to noon time. In all honesty, I was quite surprised to have the harsh sunlight shinning directly onto the cross. So the idea came, using the light to isolate the cross. Since the light was too strong, I underexposed the shot to keep the highlights under control. Like I said earlier, I don't really care about the darker areas. With a little further darkening of the corners, that's what I got. Flare was an added bonus I guess.

Having harsh light is not the end of the world. It depends on how you use it to your advantage. Think I talked too much.

 

[phazed1]

No please talk more, I found this very very helpful!

 

[phazed1]

this to me is really high class. simple and strong impression of the famous building. i looked at it so many times and couldn't decide how to shoot it. now you've shown the answer. just a little shadow and the mood and essence is brought out. fantastic. :thumbsup:

 

[jonnodotsg]

truly gorgeous and inspiring stuff!

 

[emlee]

Thanks Kit. Very insightful to hear from a master.

 

[Kit]

this to me is really high class. simple and strong impression of the famous building. i looked at it so many times and couldn't decide how to shoot it. now you've shown the answer. just a little shadow and the mood and essence is brought out. fantastic. :thumbsup:

Thanks.

I saw your PM. You can send a over the link to your photos if you want to.

 

[Kit]

truly gorgeous and inspiring stuff!

Thanks.

 

[Kit]

Thanks Kit. Very insightful to hear from a master.

Thanks once again.

 

[Kit]

 

[sweeper]

simple, sharp, stunning :thumbsup:

 

[Kit]

Thank you.

 

[NineEleven]

Simply stunning. Two of my fav subjects, architecture & B+W.

 

[Kit]

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[Kit]