Your best URBAN LANDSCAPE shot....and why?....

A landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including physical elements such as landforms, living elements of flora and fauna, abstract elements such as lighting and weather conditions, and human elements, for instance human activity or the built environment. (Wikpedia)

ngari started a post ONE shot thread so we could enjoy the obvious talent on this forum and learn something about our cameras and how we best utilize them.

The last few weeks have been based on a transportation theme. The latest, the ROAD AND RAIL thread, has lots of great shots which could work equally as well, as landscape shots. And all the transportation threads gave lots of great ideas for the upcoming travel season.

So it got me thinking, that while we often see photos of mountain vistas, coastal views, and great forests, we don't often notice our more urban landscapes which, for many of us, are more readily accessible.

Even when travelling most of us do come across urban habitation, and the inhabited landscape can present just as many photo opportunities as the most scenic pastoral setting.

So this week, the theme is the inhabited landscape/urban landscape.

Maybe you have a shot of a Great City skyline, or of an ancient hill town unchanged for centuries. Maybe you have a village of small huts, a quaint backwoods hamlet, or an aerial shot of an industrial zone, a valley vista filled with acres of refinery, or a ground level panorama of sprawling steel mill complex.

Maybe you have an image of endless suburbia with row upon row of cookie cutter houses blanketing the land like a carpet and pushing aside the natural world. Maybe you have a mobile prefab home park, or a refugee camp resplendent with tents and colours. Maybe you have an image of a canyon of glass and steel.

Whatever you have, a landscape is more than a street scene or a building, it is an area of land.

But whether your image is of thatched roofs or post-industrial sprawl, the urban landscape certainly presents endless photo opportunities.

Whatever you have, I'm hoping you'll share it so we can all enjoy the great talent and get fresh (and maybe inspiring) ideas from the images displayed on this forum.

The (modified) one rule is:

1. Post one shot (any camera) not more than one per day.

It helps if you can identify your camera, and what you like about your image. And if you give your post a title, it is easier to follow when others comment on it.

And carrying on and quoting from ngari's original post tell us:

"1) how do you feel about the composition of your shot? Have you cropped it and what did you want to achieve with this choice of composition?

2) what did you do about light and exposure? Available light, fill-flash, bounce-flash, exposure compensation, PP?

3) what does the photo express in your own view? Why did this shot speak to you in particular?"

...

"Let's go!"

I struggle to capture any good urban geography image so I'm hoping I'll learn something from the posts on this forum. So I'll go with this one, not bad technically, but not really inspiring photography.
FZ-30, stitched, auto exposure.

I take quite a few shots like this one, but to date, this is one of my favourites.

The scene is "The Hill" at Newcastle, the earliest of white settlement in the area. Notable is the Cathedral in the bottom, and the barracks and officer's quaters in the top RH.
Shot hand held with my Minolta 7000, 35-70 AF on Velvia 100, low res scan.



BTW, here's much the same scene, shot at the same time, from 180 degrees opposite, using my FZ5. I do rather prefer the colour of the film.



sorry about the 'one shot' rule Rob;-)
--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1

RobOne said:

"1) how do you feel about the composition of your shot? Have you
cropped it and what did you want to achieve with this choice of
composition?

Click to expand...

This is one of my favorite travel shots, because it encompasses both the old and new Paris, including the entire length of the Tuilleries Garden and including the new skyline beyond the Arc De Triomphe, all compressed into one frame.

RobOne said:

2) what did you do about light and exposure? Available light,
fill-flash, bounce-flash, exposure compensation, PP?

Click to expand...

This was shot RAW and processed in Adobe Camera RAW. The lighting was perfect, being shot at just after 9am in the morning, with the sun behind me and evenly lighting the entire length of the image.

RobOne said:

3) what does the photo express in your own view? Why did this shot
speak to you in particular?"

Click to expand...

The minute I saw this in the frame, there was no, not shooting it. From this point, we spent our entire day making this walk, stopping at all the sites in-between.

Gregm61 said:

This is one of my favorite travel shots, because it encompasses both
the old and new Paris, including the entire length of the Tuilleries
Garden and including the new skyline beyond the Arc De Triomphe, all
compressed into one frame.

Click to expand...

Beautifully done.

--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1

Taken with the FZ30, processed in CS3, using LucisArt, AlienSkin, and TiffenDfx.

I don't have any worthy urbanscapes, so I thought I would post an over the top one.



--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50073525@N00/

[FX07]
[LX1]

[FZ30] * IS/L B-300 * IS/L B-Macro * Minolta No. 0, No. 1 & No. 2 * Sunpak 383 * Benbo Trekker

kernow said:

Taken with the FZ30, processed in CS3, using LucisArt, AlienSkin, and
TiffenDfx.

I don't have any worthy urbanscapes, so I thought I would post an
over the top one.



--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50073525@N00/

[FX07]
[LX1]
[FZ30] * IS/L B-300 * IS/L B-Macro * Minolta No. 0, No. 1 & No. 2 *
Sunpak 383 * Benbo Trekker

Click to expand...

Very nice! I love it!

This image reminds me of an architectural
rendering, yet one that was captured as a real image. The contrast
and dramatic sky comes together quite nicely. Way to go Kernow!

Thanks
Kim
--
Shoot first and ask questions later!

Thanks Kim. Funny you should mention architectural drawing. The look is based on an article I read on a photography site about how to create ultra high contrast shots, the article stated they are favoured by people interested in the "bones" of buildings.

I thought with a tinge of indigo it would be more interesting.

Here' is the high contrast B&W version. (only counts as one photo, so don't get upset that I posted 2)



Oll an gwella,
Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50073525@N00/

kernow said:

Thanks Kim. Funny you should mention architectural drawing. The look
is based on an article I read on a photography site about how to
create ultra high contrast shots, the article stated they are
favoured by people interested in the "bones" of buildings.

I thought with a tinge of indigo it would be more interesting.

Here' is the high contrast B&W version. (only counts as one photo, so
don't get upset that I posted 2)



Oll an gwella,
Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50073525@N00/

Click to expand...

Kernow, I could never get upset at any amount of images that
you decide to post...I've been to your site and your work
speaks for itself. The eye that you have for compositon and graphic
interpretation with everything that you see is simply amazing.

Your images are those that I too have been trying to capture
for years and yet you seem to do it with each and every shot
presented! If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you were
out there measuring each and every angle before you pulled the trigger!

Very impressive and the B&W version of the first image, now comes across
almost as an X-Ray of a city skyline. Very hard to capture...but you've
done it!

Nicely done Kernow!

Thanks
Kim
--
Shoot first and ask questions later!

Interesting shot Jim, I like it. Where is it?
--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1

LX2. San Francisco, California, USA



The composition is a basic series of triangles overlayed and intersecting. Pretty simple way to organize information that I use repeatedly. But sometimes a subject just requires it and this is one of those times.

It is available light, evening. widest angle setting on camera. Exposed for highlight (based on histogram and blinking on LCD), RAW, Photoshop.

Part of my interest in this scene is based on the history of the household over the 20 years I have been in this neighborhood. Whether it is genetic or environmental, mental illness does run in families, and there have been periods where police and ambulances have been at this house week after week. The building facade had decayed, the front area was full of junk. For months, the only way to get to the top floor was a ladder, but this certainly helped stop the grandmother with alzeheimers and psychotic delusions from roaming the neighborhood.

A few years ago, piles of used bricks starting showing up in the front yard. Scrap lumber. Then new lumber. The stairs were rebuilt. The front walls were built, then covered with cement or stucco. Windows were replaced. The present paint scheme was applied. Garbage cans started being kept and actually used. A satellite dish went up.

The police still get called out every few months. But it is much quieter. I don't know what has happened to everyone who lives here, but I see many familiar faces and have seen at least four children grow up in this house.

Well, sorry for the long story. I like how it looks in the photo. I like the colors, the design, the satellite dish stuck in the middle, a 'window to the world' echoing the real window on the world to the right and below it. I like the lighting. I think I took a decent photo of it, one that shows and brings out the care and attention that people have put into making something look nice. The building is actually unique for the area, in color and layout, in its homegrown look and clean elegance. It probably drives the gentrifying class who is oozing into the neighbor hood crazy to have a building that 'fits the style' of the Southwest more than the Edwardian style of the area, and I like it even more for that

--
Dan Daniel



http://dandaniel.zenfolio.com/

This was taken in Quincy MA overlooking the southeast expressway to downtown Boston with the FZ8 during the late afternoon hours.

william olive said:

Interesting shot Jim, I like it. Where is it?
--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1

Click to expand...

Thanks, William it is Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, Florida
--
Oll an gwella,
Jim

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50073525@N00/

and it is great to see some of the offerings. But I put up pictures and get little or no feedbcak/comments. And I do give feedback to others. Is the Panny forum somewhat less "dynamic" than it was six month ago? A year ago? Two years ago? Lack of new products probably doesn't help. Maybe we ought to have an unofficial rule... if you post something on one of these "YOUR BEST xxxx... and WHY...?" threads... also take a look at the other entries and try offer at least ONE reply (pat on the back or constructive criticism) -- instead of just posting and being done with it.

I know I am violating the "rules" by posting more than one image, but I'm thinking this might stimulate a response (if the images don't). Each image is well under 1 MB so bandwidth should not be too much of a problem. Sorry about the lack of people in the shots; I don't shoot very many street scenes. All w/FZ30:

Tacoma, WA; 750 KB (FZ30)

This was shot from the South 34th Street Bridge on a hot July day (90F; 33C). I had always wanted to go out on this bridge and take a picture -- for many years -- and I finally did it.



Miami from Brickell Key ; 373 KB (FZ30)

Trying to get away for vacation (difficult to do with so much work to get squared away beforehand), I arrived in Miami and finally sat on my rump out on the hotel deck with a beer (which felt good)... but only for a few seconds! I saw the view and thought "Wow, this looks super" -- so I grabbed the FZ and took a series of pictures... and then finished the beer (several).



Seattle (East Queene Anne & Lake Union) 735 KB -- FZ30

I had always wanted to walk out on the Lakeview Overpass and take a picture of where I used to live. Lighting was great and the sound of the float plane taking off brough back nice memories.



Seattle from Kerry Park (316 KB) FZ30

I took a similar picutre (film) from this classic tourist spot many years ago (and a night shot 6 months ago) -- but wanted to shoot it in the daytime again (digital). It is strange how you tend NOT to get out and capture some of the more obvious views in the place where you live. At least that is the case for me. There were lots of people milling around enjoying the view (and each other) which made for an all-around great atmosphere to boot. In retrospect, maybe I should have moved back 30 feet and captured some people in the foreground. But anyway, I got the daytime shot I was looking for...



--
JF

Nice view. I am guessing this is looking east? I have only been in Boston once and I loved it. Here is a low-res pano (323 KB) of the Charles River looking north over to Cambridge (?). I don't recall the name of the park along the river, but it was very nice.



--
JF

These are nice. How do you rig the camera for accessibility? The best thing about the craft you are flying... no need to deal with ATC. Right? That is probably one of the reasons why I have not gotten back up for the past 5 years. Flying here in Seattle means busy airspace and you need to get 30-40 miles out (at least) before you can squawk 1200 and not have to talk to anybody. But you still have to keep your eyes peeled at all times.

--
JF

Very dramatic. Where? Are these high-rise buildings or some sort of farm structures?

--
JF

Where? Doesn't look like Toronto to me.
--
JF

1971_M5 said:

These are nice. How do you rig the camera for accessibility? The
best thing about the craft you are flying... no need to deal with
ATC. Right? That is probably one of the reasons why I have not
gotten back up for the past 5 years. Flying here in Seattle means
busy airspace and you need to get 30-40 miles out (at least) before
you can squawk 1200 and not have to talk to anybody. But you still
have to keep your eyes peeled at all times.

Click to expand...

JF

The aircraft is a pusher, so anything that can come adrift will likely go through the prop, with possibly catastrophic consequences. So, I hang my cameras around my neck with a strap, and safety tie them to the airframe with a string, just long enough for me to bring the viewfinder to my eye, but short enough so that the camera won't hit the ground if I land with it dangling nor will it hit the prop. So far, I have not dropped one, fingers crossed and touch wood;-)

The airspace here would not be a patch on Seattle, of course, but there's a busy air force base and civilian airport just to the North. I'm right on the edge of the control zone here, but upper level is still 2,500', except for a 500' transit corridor over the water. I'm at 500' where I'm taking the picture, with one eye in the 'finder and one eye keeping a lookout for A320s and F18s, and the odd hang glider and B747 too. It may not be that busy, but there's still plenty of traffic to hit. I have no transponder either, but I usually have a VHF. But you're right, I don't have to deal with ATC where I am.

While many pilots use fixed camera mounts on their planes, I prefer to hand hold as it gives me more latitude.

I don't think I could give up flying.

--
william olive

http://bolive.fotki.com/ (gear in profile)

pana fzed5, fzed30 & ellex1