January, week three:
This image was taken geographically between my two previous entries. Last week's shot was taken in Shenandoah National Park, and the first week was on the blue ridge parkway, just south of the park. This is of an abandoned hotel that overlooks Interstate 64 that is between the blue ridge parkway (which runs south from this point) and Shenandoah NP (which starts north of here). Between these two great examples of the beautiful Virginia outdoors is a set of old abandoned buildings which stick out like a sore thumb.
Since I was worried about the structural integrity, I didn't go inside, so I got these pictures while standing just outside. Since there was a low light situation, I considered grabbing my tripod or increasing the ISO. I was too lazy to grab my tripod (even thought the car was only 20 yards away), and I didn't want to introduce graininess with the high ISO, so I decided to try holding as still as possible and count on the IS. I think it turned out pretty good, but I plan to go back and use a tripod. I'm actually very happy with how this looks given it was hand-held at 1/13 (IS is awesome!).
After doing slight exposure adjustment in Lightroom, I switched over to photoshop for black and white conversion. I stuck with the channel mixer primarily focused on the blue channel data, with slight modifications. The sharpness is even better on the full resolution version, and I can't wait to reshoot this with a tripod. Maybe next time I'll poke my head inside if I have someone to go exploring with me (Chris... that means you! better get your XTi soon!)
Since the sagging support structures in the ceiling can be seen, i chose the name "exposed skeleton." this is another reference to the different type of digital images i look at as a radiologist.
(PS: No dad, this is NOT my new apartment :-)
Image details:
Date and location: 1/14/7 at 13:21 EST, Abandoned hotel in Afton, Virginia
Equipment: Canon 30D, 17-85mm IS lens, Hoya SMC UV filter
Settings: 28mm, Handheld with IS, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/13 sec, shot in raw
Processing: +0.65 exposure, raw to tiff in lightroom beta v4.1, b+w in PS7 (channel mixer 5,5,100,-10%)
Photo-a-week goals addressed: #1 (b+w), #11 (architecture), #13 (junk)
11 comments:
wow ... cool shot. interesting old building. the wide open space makes it seem quite desolate.
cheers
david
super-dave.com
I like the look of the ceiling. Looks kind of scary to be standing under!
Nice photo, interesting.
What an interesting building. I would also not have risked going inside. Glad you were able to get some shots from the outside showing how it looks in there!
really nice photo, I like the starkness of it, it really suits the B&W treatment.
Another nice B&W shot, especially with the building being unstable. I know you mentioned you tried to avoid graininess with the high ISO, but I wonder if it might have worked well for this image.
Fascinating shot...
Lightroom actually does a good job of black & white conversion itself. There's a good tutorial here - www.lightroomkillertips.com
Intriguing shot and nice use of B&W tonality, too.
I have a few of these 'skeleton' shots myself. It's real interesting.
You might consider making a chain-pod for those lazy moments without a tripod. Its a thumbscrew with a hole drilled thru. I put a keychain on it and keep a dog leash in my pocket.
when I need stability, I clip on the leash and step on it. Pulling up against it really helps.
Looks like a great place for a photo shoot.
I like the bw conversion. Nice work. I'd be interesting to see what a tripod might allow you to do.
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