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Sunshine in Manchester! [img]

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John Bean (UK)

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There's an old saying in Manchester that if you can see the hills it's going to rain, and if you can't see the hills it's because it's already raining... :-(

However while this is largely true, today the sun was doing it's bit over the city, as this picture of the Beetham tower (2006) from the Bridgewater Canal (1763). I like the mix of new and old in Manchester.



E-1 + 14-54 @ 25mm, 1/800@f/8, ISO100, raw converted with Silkypix.

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
The new tower has a bit of strange HDR look to it whereas the rest of the shot looks perfectly normal. Strange, but interesting/provocative.

Best,
Oly

--



http://www.pbase.com/olyinaz
 
Olyinaz said:
The new tower has a bit of strange HDR look to it whereas the rest of
the shot looks perfectly normal. Strange, but
interesting/provocative.
Click to expand...
The tower is very reflective but with lots of apparently random shades of glass. When the sky gets busy like here, the panes all reflect differently. That was exactly what attracted me to this scene as I was walking to eat my lunch by the canal.

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
Brian Mosley said:
Wow, that is a fantastic shot John, well done... and you're really
getting the best out of that E1. Just out of interest, how long have
you been shooting with that E1/14-54 combination?
Click to expand...
Thanks Brian. I bought it last year as a "wet weather" camera to supplement my Pentax, but it's taken over as my main camera. I like it a lot as a general-purpose camera.

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
That's a great shot, John. The colors, the clouds and the quality of the light are jus so interesting. I even like the contrast between the two buildings. But then I'm overwhelmed with disgust for the modern colossus that is utterly without any graceful features and which seems arrogantly indifferent to its impact on the look of the town. Am I way off base here? Maybe other people are used to seeing it in the context of other modern buildings, in which case the tower wouldn't look so out of place.

Anyway, nice shot!
--
Steve

 
Brian Mosley said:
you've raised an interesting point, I think the modern building in
this shot is very handsome, and unusual in this part of the
country... so in that context, I find the image very attractive.
Click to expand...
I agree. The Beetham tower is much more thoughtfully designed than most glass tower blocks, that's the only reason this particular image works. Most glass towers are either garish and gaudy or blindingly dull, in both senses. This one is neither, it's actually visually interesting, encouraging me into to explore its interaction with its surroundings. That can't be bad in my book :-)

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
... the Beetham Tower has the highest living space in the UK and is the UK's tallest building outside London.
 
As always a magnificent image from you.

Bob
--

Doing my part to support PIC (Photographic Industrial Complex) and always blaming bad images on the camera :-)



E-1, E-330, C-5050, C-2500L, 7-14mm, 14-54mm, 18-180mm, 35mm, 50-200mm, etc
 
In Holland, people like to call wellknown buildings by a nickname. Some of our better known buildings include the Coal Bucket, the Swan (a bridge), the Punchcard, the Shoe, the Pencil and the Envelope.

If this same phenomenon exists in England, I'd venture a guess that this Beetham Tower's popular name must be the 'PEZ Dispenser'. Somehow that is what it looks like to me :-)

Congrats on a great photo!
 
that what struck me about your magnificent image was the contrast of old and new architecture and the traditional English landscape scene combined.

You have an excellent eye.

Bob
--

Doing my part to support PIC (Photographic Industrial Complex) and always blaming bad images on the camera :-)



E-1, E-330, C-5050, C-2500L, 7-14mm, 14-54mm, 18-180mm, 35mm, 50-200mm, etc
 
Danielvr said:
In Holland, people like to call wellknown buildings by a nickname.
Click to expand...
If the building is outrageous enough we do it too, like the infamous "Gherkin" in London. But it's not common here.
Danielvr said:
If this same phenomenon exists in England, I'd venture a guess that
this Beetham Tower's popular name must be the 'PEZ Dispenser'.
Somehow that is what it looks like to me :-)
Click to expand...
I'll take your word for it since I had no idea what that is, I had to look it up. Now I know what it is but I've still never seen one.
Danielvr said:
Congrats on a great photo!
Click to expand...
Thanks :-)

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
Do you have any problem with the resolution of the E1?

The E1 is such a bargain price at the moment, and will possibly drop even further as the E3 is introduced... I'm seriously considering it as a robust backup to the E-400.

My only concern would be the much lower resolution than the E400. Having said that, I rarely print anything, and my old D1x printed to A3 for portraits quite easily.

Another factor is the nice collection of 4/3 fit lenses I now have... I'd replace the focusing screen with a KatzEye, but is the viewfinder larger than the E400? possibly someone else, having both cams could help me with this question?

Kind Regards

Brian
--



Click here to help Olympus compete in the DSLR marketplace...
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=24004364
 
Brian Mosley said:
Do you have any problem with the resolution of the E1?
Click to expand...
None whatsoever, but it forces me to maximise my use of the pixel count I have ;-)
Brian Mosley said:
I'd replace the focusing screen with a KatzEye, but is the viewfinder
larger than the E400? possibly someone else, having both cams could
help me with this question?
Click to expand...
Much bigger, much brighter, accurate 100% view. I've looked through the E-400 and didn't much like what I saw. You'll love the finder on the E-1 if you're used to the E-400.

One final point, although the E-1 has large photosites it's got poor high-ISO ability compared with a modern camera, but at lower ISO the big pixels really come into their own giving amazing performance in "difficult" lighting. Just as an example here's another from yesterday in Manchester showing showing the tunnel carrying the Rochdale Canal under Oxford Road:



This image has little photographic merit, I shot it just to test something. I'd previously tried (and failed) to capture the DR of this scene in a single exposure with my Pentax, so as I was walking through I snapped this with the E-1, exposing to avoid loss of highlight detail in the daylight parts outside the tunnel.

I should have known it would be a piece of cake for the E-1 :-)

--
John Bean [BST/GMT+1] ('British Stupid Time')

PAW 2007 Week 35:
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/2321711/3/190590092/Large



Index page: http://waterfoot.smugmug.com
Latest walkabout (30 July 2007):
http://waterfoot.smugmug.com/gallery/3247039
 
I have E-1, 330 and 410. The vf on the E-1 is bigger... not by a big margin but it is noticable. It is easier to use I think as the text is below the screen rather than to the right.

I do print occaisionally up to A3, and at that point do just start to notice the loss of resolution on the E-1.

While it is nice to have a weather-sealed body, and it is a loveley camera to use, the 330 is my landscape body of choice, simply because of the liveview and screen. Coupled with WA it's a nice combination and I like the output of the 330. So I find myself mostly using the 330 when I'm out to photograph, and the 410 plus diddy kit lenses when I'm out to do something else but think there might be at least some photo opportunities.

Isn't it annoying how each body has it's own pluses and minuses!

Alistair
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twonker/
 
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