From High on Flickr.
Continuing my short study of the Selfridges building in Birmingham. This was taken from high up from the car park opposite.
‘henry’ on Flickr.
Another shot of the Selfridges building in Birmingham, this time showing the bridge that connects it to the car park on the other side of the road.
2012 on Flickr.
Well at this time of year I like to look back at the year if nothing more to remind myself what I’ve been doing. Its been one of ups and downs both photographically and elsewhere, but I have to say the ups this year have outweighed the downs, in no particular order:
- I’ve experimented more than ever
- I’ve learnt to develop film
- I have a new camera
- I’ve learnt to manually focus
- I cracked my ribs trying to get that last photo
- I smashed my camera / lens / tripod to smithereens
- I shot lots with my Rollieflex
- I was runner up in LPOTY (urban)
- I was paid by a magazine for some shots
- I grew a beard
- I’ve travelled
- I met old friends
- I met new friends
- I lost touch with people
- I’ve been in so much pain I cried - twice
- I took lots of pictures and published very few
- I’ve started a long term project
- I’ve been to the beach very rarely and took very few seascapes
- I moved to google+, and then back again to flickr
- I was published in magazines and a couple of books too
So all in all its been an eventful year, one that I’ve really enjoyed, but I didn’t hit my goals for the year although they probably weren’t that realistic.
As for next year who knows, I do have some goals for the year - hopefully they’re more realistic and more achievable.
Trinity Bridge 5 on Flickr.
This is the final shot of the series of Trinity Bridge in Manchester by the architect Santiago Calatrava
Gherkin on Flickr.
A few years ago I published a shot which I entitled Finally - the Gherkin - it had taken me ages to get a shot that I really liked. The building is wonderful its shape so curvaceous - but its this very shape that made it so difficult to shoot. The shot was straight up to the top with the clouds whizzing over head. I was really pleased to get the shot. But over time I’ve looked at it and grown to think that the shot really didn’t do the building justice - it didn’t show off the beauty. So since then I’ve hunted all over the city for that view - and I’d pretty much given up it just didn’t exist. That was until recently (well earlier this year) when a view opened up as the ever changing cityscape devoured another nondescript 60s building to be replaced - well by another probably nondescript office block. I’ve no idea how long this view will last below and the right the construction is well under way (one of the reasons for the long exposure) - but for now its there - I feel this shows off why I like the building so much.
Inner Dock on Flickr.
Canary Wharf across Millwall Inner Dock taken early one morning on the way to work. Hadn’t planned on shooting really just had my camera with me and as I walked by the clouds just seem to be in the perfect direction so just had to shoot. Plenty of time before I had to be at work too.
This is a vertorama 2 landscape shots stitched to form a square, both heavily vertically corrected
b e z i e r on Flickr.
Taken from Old Street Station looking up at the apartments of the Bezier. For nearly 18 months I worked 5 offices down from this - and still occasionally visit that office and yet I never really took any shots of it - I could never get the composition I liked. I went back a few weekends ago and immediately saw the angles I’d been looking for - as I said recently over on Google+ - its that old adage that familiarity breeds contempt - and this is a case of walking away and coming back to the subject.
This was shot mid afternoon with the sun having burnt most of the clouds away - but the scene came alive - for me anyway.
Firstsite on Flickr.
On 29th September 2011 a new visual art’s centre was opened in Colchester. Colchester for those who don’t know is Britain’s oldest recorded town, but wandering around it might not seem it, with a mixture of the old and mostly not so old. And now Rafael Viñoly’s spectacular new arts centre has brought the town kicking and screaming into the 21st century! Its controversial for sure – but then aren’t most public art spaces especially in hard times, but it is a wonderful addition and a great piece of architecture to boot.
You can see more shots of this at my web site www.kantryla.net/blog
Number 7 on Flickr.
A shot of Number 7 More London Riverside - commonly known as the ‘batman building’. I’ve revisted this building so many times to get the right conditions and back in November things came together at last.
More form More on Flickr.
Very much a labour of love this shot, I’ve been around a dozen times to get this shot and the conditions have never been right - but finally a few weekends ago the light the cloud everything (even security) was just right.
In terms of location this is More London on the walk between London Bridge and Tower Bridge
