The geometry of shopping

[ancient_mariner]

Shapes! Shapes everywhere!

Bicester is an ugly town, though I have a small affection for it, and I'm torn between showing the interst and exposing the ugliness - hence the somewhat brutal perspectives and processing. All shot on 18mm while going shopping.

The Geometry of shopping 1 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

The Geometry of shopping 2 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

The Geometry of shopping 3 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

The Geometry of shopping 4 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

The Geometry of shopping 5 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

C&C welcome - except for the halos - I couldn't find a way to completely eliminate them, but I know they're there and I'll just live with it.

 

[Mr Badger]

Bicester can't be that much of an ugly place, or surely it would have been 'Ros's Altercation Room'?

 

[drsilver]

These are great. Stark, linear, contrasty. I like it.

I can't figure out the medium. Is this digital, film, infrared, something else? Talk about that a bit if you would. Where'd those skies come from?

 

[lindsay]

Nice work. You have given me pause for thought about my own locale - I think it's crap, horrible mix of old and concrete, etc, but maybe there is beauty in its ugliness. Thanks Toni

 

[d00d]

Nice set ... inspirational.

 

[chrism8]

#1 is the pick of the bunch for me, great sky and grunge

 

[ancient_mariner]

Thank you gents, most kind.

I can't figure out the medium. Is this digital, film, infrared, something else? Talk about that a bit if you would. Where'd those skies come from?

The naughty, rude side of me wants to ask "does the medium matter?" and I know for some, what is used to take the picture is as important as the picture.

These were all conventional digital, 18mm lens, processed in Lightroom for a full tonal range and then converted in Silver Efex (this is where the halos come from - this version of the software is old/free and could be better). I use a home grown patch with lots of contrast and a software yellow or orange filter applied to darken the sky, boosted highlights, 0 structure for midtones, amplified whites & blacks (i.e. high contrast). Finish off in LR with white & black levels & often a reduction in clarity to smooth things out, then split toned (highlights 54, shadows 243, 10 units each).

The light was my friend for these, but I find shapes everywhere and no time/patience to capture them. Every town has this kind of stuff tucked away, and I feel that I was lucky to have had an opportunity to stop for a bit.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Bicester can't be that much of an ugly place, or surely it would have been 'Ros's Altercation Room'?

That made me chuckle a bit - must remember your line.

 

[ancient_mariner]

This is the one I forgot to put in.

The Geometry of shopping 6 by Toni Ertl, on Flickr

 

[drsilver]

Thank you gents, most kind.



The naughty, rude side of me wants to ask "does the medium matter?" and I know for some, what is used to take the picture is as important as the picture.

These were all conventional digital, 18mm lens, processed in Lightroom for a full tonal range and then converted in Silver Efex (this is where the halos come from - this version of the software is old/free and could be better). I use a home grown patch with lots of contrast and a software yellow or orange filter applied to darken the sky, boosted highlights, 0 structure for midtones, amplified whites & blacks (i.e. high contrast). Finish off in LR with white & black levels & often a reduction in clarity to smooth things out, then split toned (highlights 54, shadows 243, 10 units each).

The light was my friend for these, but I find shapes everywhere and no time/patience to capture them. Every town has this kind of stuff tucked away, and I feel that I was lucky to have had an opportunity to stop for a bit.

Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure I understood any of it.

Back in the Tri-X days, I was always trying to get skies like that. Used a yellow filter routinely, and carried a red filter if I could get away with it. Your skies jumped out at me.

 

[Brazo]

Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure I understood any of it.

Back in the Tri-X days, I was always trying to get skies like that. Used a yellow filter routinely, and carried a red filter if I could get away with it. Your skies jumped out at me.

The skies maybe seem a tad overdone but I wasn’t there so.... I do recall an orange filter, polariser and ilford xp2 yielding some impressive results.

@ancient_mariner I like these pics a lot, there is beauty in the mundane and you have found it! This is is the antidote to the pics I am bored of thread!

 

[ancient_mariner]

Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure I understood any of it.

Back in the Tri-X days, I was always trying to get skies like that. Used a yellow filter routinely, and carried a red filter if I could get away with it. Your skies jumped out at me.

This was just like that, only using software to replicate the filter and the hand printing of the neg.