Thoughts on my brief of bridges

Having started with capturing bridges of Manchester I get more and more confident with the topic which I have switched to literally the very last minute. It is such an interesting subject, showing the differences in architecture, objective, connection, style and their environment. Having gone crazy on bridges in Castlefield in Manchester city centre I am very happy with the results. It is a knotpoint of different railway bridges crossing canals so a lot of graphic structure in there. Since it is in the centre of Manchester - although a bit remote from the buzzing Deansgate - there are the occasional pedestrians bringing a personal element to the pictures. One of my favorite pictures is a bit out of focus so I need to get back again to take the perfectly focused shot and I'd be content with that part of town.

Another bridge I like a lot is the one leading from the Lowry Hotel to Deansgate. A very contemporary bridge, symbolizing for me the new English self-confidence that came with the economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s. I have tried to capture this bridge in daylight but if just wouldn't work out the way I hope. I think, I want to photograph this bridge in the blue hour to catch all it's aspects. The modern architecture, people using the bridge to cross the canal, the lights flanking it and the lights of the buildings in the background, showing its urbanity.

Last week I took pictures of another modern bridge crossing M60 from the Trafford Water Park. I started at the early beginning of sunset till it was dark and caught some very good images using long shutter speed and catching the lights of the cars crossing under it. The pictures turned out really well although the setting of the bridge itself is rather dull and grey - well, what do you expect from a motorway?

A friend of mine who knows about this brief showed me a snapshot of a bridge leading from Picadilly station to a parking garage. The bridge itself is a very bland concrete bridge leading to a rather spectacular parking garage that is covered with what appears to be rusted iron plates. Giving a strong contrast of textures and colors. I want to get round there within the next days to figure out the right angle, right time of day for the right light to capture this image. I hope I can capture the textures the way  I have in mind.

In my brief I also want to add an image of an abandoned bridge and asked the same friend wether he had any idea. Him being a dedicated train driver for over 30 years now, he certainly knows his way around all tracks in the north. He suggested one to me and I am going to check it out this weekend, although I don't have a clue where exactly it is.

I hope to finish my brief next week latest the week after to be able to concentrate on my second interior brief. But this is worth a seperate post in this blog.

Topography Photography

Having been introduced to the idea of Topographic Photography today our assignment was to take images that will be arranged in a collage. This particular kind of photography is strongly influenced by the 'Neue Sachlichkeit' a movement from the Duesseldorfer Schule and their main protagonists Hilla & Bernd Becher. 

This kind of photography is highly polarising. Many view it as being banal, clinical, bland, dull or sterile. Others - as myself - consider it as highly observant and analytical stating a social issue. Make up your mind yourself. My favorite photographer of this genre is Frank Gohlke. His images of American landscapes reflect the soul of contemporary American society. Beautiful and disturbing to me. 

Frank Gohlke

Coming to todays assignmend. I have decided to photograph the empty plates, cups, packages on the trays in the college canteen. Reflecting the eating habits, waste, messiness, transformation of food and our way of dealing with it. I plan on keeping up with this topic and following it as a long term project. What do you think of it?

Trays, Andrea Anneser, 2012

Brief 1 - Outdoor - Manchester Bridges, (Test-)shoot 2

Here some of todays captures from the pedestrian bridge crossing the M 60. They are not edited at all yet, just giving an idea of what I tried to achieve. Again, some I think are quite good.

Assignment 2 - Shutter Speed

To capture movement, or freeze the moment shutter speed is the tool of choice. By varying the time the shutter opens to let light on the lens the capture of movement will be controlled. Depending on the mood of the scene the photographer wants to reflect or a statement of a picture is supposed to be stressed shutter speed is an important part of the adjustment of the camera. To illustrate the idea of shutter speed I have attached some photographs of the same object with different usage of shutter speed.

Long shutter speed creates 'soft' image of the waterfall in this fountain. Shutter speed 1/4 sec

Short shutter speed 'freezes' the motion as the image of the same fountain doesn't show the movement of water but displays perfectly single drops and splashes of water.
Shutter speed 1/500 sec

On a sunny Saturday on Exchange Square. A rather dull photograph. 

Shutter speed 1/500 sec

Same day, same place, by extending shutter speed the motion of people passing by is captures, giving the picture dynamics. Shutter speed 1/2

An 'upside down photograph'. The street scene is captured in a puddle (a rather common object in Manchester) and a pedestrian walking by. Shutter speed 1/500 sec

Same puddle, different pedestrian, different shutter speed = different dynamics of the photograph. Shutter speed 1/3 sec

Brief 1 - Bridges in Manchester - Test Shoots

Test shoots on bridges

First results of my test shoots on bridges. Quite happy with these although I'm not sure yet which will go into my brief:

I am not so happy with the caption of this bridge. I want to go back there this week to catch it in the evening or night with city lights.

Depht of field - Photographers - William Eggleston

“The trouble is whatever it is about pictures, photographs, 
it’s just about impossible to follow up with words. 
They don’t have anything to do with each other.”

—	William Eggleston

I have quoted William Egglestons famous words since they reflect my difficulties with proper wording of images I see - especially not in my mothertongue. The way photographs and photographers touch and influence us in one way or another is impossible to capture in full extent with words. A German saying "An image tells more than a thousand words" is oh so true.

Coming to the work of William Eggleston, born as a son of wealthy upper middle class family in Mississippi was the first photographer bringing colour into documentary photography and photographing 'unworthy' objects and subjects. He used the dye-transfer printing which was used for advertising purposes and give an almost over saturated look to his pictures. He used the effects of shallow depht of field a lot to bring the subject/object of interest into focus.

Out and about - Manchester

Been to Manchester city center on Friday with the Level 3 course and took some shots in the streets. I quite like the outcome...