Parasol (Re)Visited

Slithering │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 14mm F5.6 2s ISO160Finally, here are the photos I promised you from on top the Metropol Parasol towering over Seville's Plaza de la Encarnación. Controversial in some circles, there was nevertheless a huge queue to ascend the mechanical clouds to view the sunset over historic Seville. I'll spare you those rather cliché photos.

Instead, these are photos from the undulating walkway that meanders like a roller coaster over the roof of the structure. It climbs and curves around to a viewing platform, before dipping and diving back down into the structure itself.

Looping │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 14mm F4.5 1s ISO160My wide angle zoom was ideal for capturing the curves doubling back on themselves. One photo is able to take in the full sweep of the undulating walkway, the concave roofscape and fragments of the city below.

It was dark, so I wedged my mini tripod against the railing to stabilize the long shutter speeds I was shooting at. Surprisingly, the bigger challenge turned out to be the whole walkway which trembled every time someone walked by. I had to wait for gaps in the steady flow of visitors. When my area was clear, I was able to take a shot. It required some patience to get the shot, but that's a lot cheaper than buying a full frame camera with a giant bazooka of a lens mounted to it. Never mind lugging the thing around all day.

Swallowing │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 7mm F5.6 1.6s ISO160My 7-14mm zoom is very good but doesn't let in that much light. In low light conditions, I always wonder if I'd be better served by a bright, wide angle, prime lens. Olympus is about to announce a 12mm F2.0 lens. Coupled with a higher sensitivity, that would have gotten me into hand holding territory on top of the Parasol. But there's always a trade off. In this case, I would have missed the extra wide angle capability of my 7-14mm zoom. For that all encompassing, super wide angle I'm more than happy to work around the limitations imposed by a starting aperture of F4.0. Having both lenses doesn't make much sense either: for me the whole point of switching to the Micro Four Thirds system was to have a lighter, more travel friendly kit. Having two wide angle lenses with me defeats that purpose.

Diving │ GH2 + Leica 45mm F2.8 │ 45mm F7.1 2s ISO160Link to an overall photo of the Parasol from ground level

Cross Towers

XXX │ GF1 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 7mm F4.5 1/800s ISO100Another extremely dull day, so I'll post a photo in my architecture series. This is the Ernst & Young Tower in Amsterdam's new Zuidas office district. Designed by Lord Norman Foster, I know the building intimately as Lindsey works there. The extreme wide angle and the converging verticals work well here in accentuating both the diagonal structure and the height of the tower. When using super wide lenses, I need to be very careful that distortion doesn't overpower the subject. So, for most wide angle shots, I tend to hold the camera level to keep verticals vertical – like in this photograph (click red link to open).

The photos was taken on a gorgeous October day. That seems so long ago now...

4 Towers

Foursome │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 7mm F4.0 1/2000s ISO160Crystal clear blue skies provide the perfect opportunity for delineating the edges of modern architecture. These residential towers, designed by Wiel Arets, are located in Amsterdam's western suburb of Osdorp.

The Other End │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 14mm F5.6 1/800s ISO160

Split

Split Sky │ GF1 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 14mm F5.0 1/2500s ISO100Yesterday, a good friend of mine and talented photographer took a critical look at some of my photos with me. These sessions always help me to gain new insights into my own work. Afterwards I can identify interesting photos I missed in the first round, as well as personal styles, themes and compositional elements I hadn't noticed before. We didn't find that many noteworthy photos from my recent trip to Canada, despite me using my brand new GH2. It seems I had a far higher percentage of good shots using my old GF1 in Rome. Rome seems to have inspired me more. It seems equipment isn't everything after all.

Descending Edge │ GF1 + Lumix 20mm F1.7 │ 20mm F3.5 1/640s ISO100These two photos both feature a vertical element that bisects the photo exactly in the middle. They're not symmetrical, but rather structured by the vertical line. It's one of the compositional methods I used repeatedly while in Rome.

More Colour

Composition in Blue and White │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 13mm F5.0 1/400s ISO160Many northern societies tend to have a preference for bland colours. As a consequence, built up areas can become downright dreary in the short and often grey days of Winter. There's neither much light nor much colour. So I'm always on the lookout for some unexpected splashes of colour. In the photo above, blue façades contrast the white ground and sky at Purdy's Fish Market in Sarnia, Ontario. Below a woman wearing a similarly coloured coat stops so she won't be in the photo I'm taking of the fluorescent yellow window frame. This time we're on Ossington Avenue in Toronto.

A.W.O.L │ GH2 + Lumix 7-14mm F4.0 │ 13mm F4.0 1/200s ISO160