Pushing Down

Looking up a brick wall into the lamp. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm f/22 1/20 ISO 160

Looking Up 3

(Cont. From Previous Post)  The light turned green and she pushed off the curb, walking quickly at first then running.  There was an insistence in her stride that propelled her forward.  The sense of purpose in her eyes was reflected in the rapid sure step of her feet and the set of her shoulders.  She took a quick glance around, he wasn’t over across the street or in the intersection she was crossing but she couldn’t be completely sure.  She had almost reached the alley when she felt hand on her bicep, she wrenched a way turning quickly.  It wasn’t him… it was Phillip.

This image, in some respects, brought elements from each of my first two images in this series together.  It has the strong visceral pull of the colours combined with the form elements of the ivy.  I felt like having the lamp looking down on me brought a dynamic push to the image that was lacking in the first one.  It almost seems to push down against the viewer.  Here we also see again the benefits of image stabilization and good camera position to eliminate shake.  I am still constantly amazed by the benefits of image stabilization.  When I shot film I would never even think about going below 1/60 of a second.  Now part of the benefit is a result of pushing the base of the camera against the wall but this shot is a 1/20 of a second and it still is very sharp.

The Ivy Pull

A striking brick wall covered with winter ivy. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 10mm f/22 1/30 ISO 100

Looking Up 2

She stood at the edge of the curb, her toe over the edge ready to go, her scarf flung over one shoulder in a businesslike manner.  She breathed deep ant the winter air flooded her lungs pushing cold into the deep corners.  The winter light was bright and hard and she brought a gloved hand to her brow as she looked down the street.  It was right near here, she was sure of it, down the block where the alley joined the street?  Maybe.

The winter ivy on this wall was very interesting and I took a few pictures of it but they were not very interesting.  I started to play with the perspective shift that looking to one side or the other gave to the image.  The wide (10mm) lens exaggerated the shift in perspective and gave the ivy a life all its own.  It almost seems to be racing away from the viewer towards the upper corner of the frame.  I bright sunlight allowed me choose a very small aperture and my position leaning against the wall helped prevent camera shake at this slow shutter speed.  The position of the wide angle lens gives the vertical wall an interesting angle that further heightens the dynamic pull of the image.

-Russell Berg

Sky Wall

Red brick wall reaches into a deep blue sky. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 10-22mm at 12mm f/11 1/160 ISO 100Looking Up 1

Wandering around and shooting whatever you are inspired by can be a lot of fun and generate some interesting images but I have found that it is also worthwhile to go out with a goal and focus in mind. You tend to approach the work of photography with a different mindset and it can often produce much more than what you intended if you don't get to slavish about following your plan. One weekend when I was in Victoria I gave myself an assignment called "Looking Up" so I wandered around looking for interesting images above eye level; I will show you the most interesting results over the next few days

Victoria, BC is known for its turn of the century brick architecture and I came across this bare brick wall with a brilliant blue sky above it. I used a wide angle lens and put the base of my camera directly on the wall to flatten my perspective as much as possible. I was looking for two almost abstract bands of colour the, like a painting in a modern museum and I was very happy with the contrasting colours that resulted.

-Russell Berg

Cobbles

Dramatic cobblestone street in the older part of Portland. Canon EOS XSi EF 17-85mm at 17mm f/4.5 1/2000 ISO 800

I first noticed the fluttering piece of silk as I stepped out of my apartment and on to the sidewalk.  It was caught in the grate around a tree and was rippling a little in the light morning breeze.  I looked up the street and down the other side, there was a woman in the distance.  I glanced down again at what I now saw was a luxurious turquoise silk scarf with a fringe on the ends.  I bent down for the scarf to untangle it from the grate and ran towards the woman.  She had turned the corner ahead of me and as I rounded the corner I found myself on a completely empty street.  I stopped short, confused; in my run I had gotten quite close to her before she turned the corner but now she was just… gone.

I was walking around downtown Portland, which has beautiful old architecture and wonderful streets.  I was crossing the street above and I was struck by the beauty I saw.  The cobbles had the shine of the morning dew and the glistening rails pulled my eye off along the shallow curve deep into the frame.  I wanted to emphasize the cobbles so I laid down on the street and got the camera on the ground, the wide angle emphasized the size and shape of the stones.  The image cried out for a black and white treatment and with Nik Silver Efex I brought up the texture of the bricks and the silver sheen on the tracks.

-Russell Berg 

A Moving Painting

A pedicab parking lot hidden amongst graffiti covered walls. Canon EOS 7D EF-S 17-85mm at 66mm f/8 1/100 ISO 100

The splash of colour and shape is filled with movement and energy.  The images move so much it seems to belie the fact that they are painted on walls.  Monsters, and fairy’s, letters and words dance around the parking lot and every time I look I see more. 

I am always looking for interesting graffiti to photography but it is more interesting with something in the foreground.  I was driving around Victoria when I caught a bright flash of colour out of the corner of my eye.  I turned around and came back to see a very interesting pedicab parking lot.  The whole area was covered in graffiti.  I wanted an image that made the eye work a little to discover what the place was so I positioned myself to hide the front half of one pedicab and the back half of the other.  In the riot of colour and shape the viewer gets to discover what the image is all about and that makes the experience richer.

-Russell Berg