Wednesday 24 January 2007

In the City



So I know you are all wondering if I am sticking to my new years resolution. Well so far I am two weeks in and I haven't fallen off the wagon.

The first Friday was a baptism of fire, well a baptism of overcast skies and rain really. A miserable grey day led to me wandering around The Barbican studying the patterns and shapes in the grey concrete blocks. Eventually I wandered over to The Citypoint building which I never fail to find interesting with its roller-coaster curves and unusual shapes.

This shot is an attempt to capture some of the feel of the building in an abstract way.

Canon 20D & 17-85 EFS
(Click to view large)

A week later and things had brightened up a bit so I headed for Canary Wharf and its brutally modern landscape of tower blocks and under-used docks.

The environs of Canary Wharf have been photographed so many times that everywhere you look is a photographic cliché. So I elected to use my lensbaby2 which never fails to give an unusual view of a scene. The lensbabies manual focusing and sweet spot you can move around the frame make for a very rich and involving way of making pictures.

I ended up at the base of One Canada Square, by the clocks that were really only placed there to give photographers something to shoot. Yet still the magic of the lensbaby provided a new interpretation of the scene.


Canon 20D & LensBaby 2
(Click to view large)

The thing I like about this shot is that I would never have thought of this as a shot I took. Its so far removed from my usual style that it surprises even me.

So, so far I am keeping to my resolution and stretching the boundaries of my work and making pictures that I like. So I reckon it's working.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Chris,

The shot of the clock in the city square works very well. There is something about the rythm of the people walking through, and the three clocks, that I like. Well bent!

Sam Pardue
CEO
Lensbabies, LLC

Chris Shepherd said...

Wow,

How cool is that! Mr Lensbaby himself pops by to look at my Lensbaby shot.

Thanks for popping by Sam - it's appreciated.

Chris