Ok, so it’s becoming more and more difficult to photograph people. Privacy and all that. So let’s try a bit of landscape. Perhaps a cityscape or two. I’ve always loved the views of the City of London seen from the South Bank. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to get any shot without encountering a herd of cranes, the metal lattice-work variety. Just look at this photograph taken earlier today. Nothing but cranes. I now despair of ever shooting a view of London without everything being spoiled by cranes.
Is it my imagination, or has this proliferation of building excess just happened in recent years? I could swear that at one time it was possible to put up new buildings without these enormous lifting engines. Maybe newer building techniques require large units to be lifted into place more often than was the case in the past. Our loss as photographers.
I fear the same is happening all over the world. Not a decent cityscape to be snapped without a crane in sight.
Whatever, I hate them. Who will rid us of these troublesome cranes? No one, I suspect; there is no hope.
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I admire your folks photographic skills so why not make a project of cranes as mini moveable Eiffel towers say in black white,
Regarding our cranescape… I am with Bill…
London is one of the four, perhaps THE most important city on the earth…
It is no wonder that the EU and the establishment are playing dirty and are going to get dirtier before long, that organisation is seriously peeved that their assumption that London would continue to look inward and imprison itself within the stockaded prison that the politicians have created has been dashed.
Hello world.
London will not look back though and as you say Mike. their multiplicity is very much to do with current techniques and fashion.
Just like the hoary old tale about the best camera, the most important city on earth, for most city dwellers, is the one they are living in right now.
William
Er no William…
This is not nationalism or any such thing… indeed the majority of Londoners are not from the British Isles, or even the EU… Although I understand that London is the 6th largest French city.
London is international, which is why I made the point above about the European Zollverein.
Stephen
Does being ‘international’ make a city ‘important’. I’m all for multi-culturalism myself, but there are many other criteria for making a city ‘important’. There are some cities that I visit that I like and others that I don’t like. London is somewhere in middle (along with Dublin) but it would not be a favourite. For what it is worth, my favourite Irish City is Cork. And what is more, the people who live there think that it is not only the most important city in Ireland but also in the whole world! I believe that you have there and you should, therefore, know what I mean.
William
I have only been to Cork once William and I don’t know whether it is still the same, but I seem to remember a very weird meeting of two ‘one way’ traffic systems, resulting in what is apparently a main street where the cars are driving on the wrong side of the road…. Most disconcerting.
My favourite city is Naples.
I notice an interesting phenomenon in the above picture–when viewed on my screen a see clear moiré effect on the Walkie Talkie building (it is a prime moiré creator at the best of times). However, the moiré doesn’t appear in Lightroom (or I would have noticed it before exporting). Nor does it show when clicking on the picture to enlarge. Not sure what to make of this. Can anyone else see the moiré or is it just something peculiar to my iMac screen?
To your point, I find that when I post my photos online, they never look as well as they originally looked in Photoshop or Lightroom. Could you or Bill share with us any tips for ‘preparing’ photos for online posting?
William
Sorry to say I don’t have any magic recipe. I just prepare the pictures as normal. One clue, though, is that you always think your photographs look good on this site. I don’t do any tweaking, of course, so the only explanation is that Squarespace have things well sorted. Other web sites may be less accommodating.
Not really getting it on my NEC display… Perhaps it is because Apple displays are not as good as Apple make out… I have to say that since they abandoned the old 23 and 30 inch cinema displays, I have not seen one that I like… I am an ex (nay technically still) iMac 27" owner and when I replaced it, I went for the MacPro (MacMini would have done me really), simply because I did not want another iMac display to fight with Apple over, my last display was replaced three times and even though my daughter Phoebe is still using it… it is a case of beggars can’t be choosers.
Anyway, who is this Moiré, is she a Scottish chanteuse or something?
They are a sign of economic prosperity too. There was a time, not that long ago, when for a short period there wasn’t a spare crane to be hired anywhere in the UK. The net result is that the daily charge for these beasts has also skyrocketed. I agree that they are an eyesore but they are also part and parcel of the cityscape, so I suppose we should get used to them ;0)
I can’t disagree with you or William. They are sign of economic prosperity; it’s just that I cannot remember the situation being this bad. There are people who suggest photoshopping them out but I believe that photographs should record the moment and not something that never existed. The number of cranes in the above shot is quite dramatic and, in a way, tells a story.
Its called ‘progress’. Without cranes their would be no buildings and without buildings there would be no……….etc You get the point. There are millions of acres of countryside without cranes waiting to be photographed. You can also shoot low to avoid the cranes and you can also make the cranes into a feature. The possibilities of photography are endless.
William