Jim
WE appeared to have picked the only blue-sky day in what had seemed like months. While there’s no denying that a break from the rain makes for a more pleasant day out with a camera, it doesn’t always make for the most dramatic of architecture shots. But there were some threads of clouds to keep things interesting, as well as some fantastic subjects. “There are numerous modern buildings on show, but I felt this image captured a mixture of the past with the present,” says Jim.
Bright conditions mean there will be the occasional compromise in terms of exposure – or not, if you are prepared to do a bit of extra work blending exposures or using HDR techniques later in software. This high-contrast scene was a case in point: opting for a mid-range exposure meant that you ended up with detail-free shade underneath the crane, and with burned-out sky detail and windows above. In order to capture the full tonal range, Jim took three shots, changing the exposure for each one, then blended them in Photoshop.