"Happy Birthday, Dear Atomium" Photo

Photographer’s Note

* 50th post on TE! *
* 50th anniversary of the Atomium! *
* 1st post taken with my new camera! *

As I went to Brussels friday, I decided to take my new camera with me! I'm still experimenting but already enjoying 'the world of dSLR' :P

On this photo: The Atomium and the train passing by. I wanted some movement on this photo, which would contrast with the Atomium. So I waited on some kind of bridge, till this train would arrive, and shot.

The Atomium was built in 1958 for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. It was designed by architect André Waterkeyn. It represents a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, and it's 102 meters (335 feet) tall. Each one of the nine spheres is 18 metres in diameter! It was almost completely renovated between 2004 and 2006. I visited it inside and you can go from one sphere to another with elevators (5m/s), escalators and stairs. Some spheres have a restaurant, others show pictures of the Expo in 1958, etc.

So this year the Atomium celebrates its 50th anniversary! (1958-2008)

Thanks for your support, comments, constructive critiques and workshops!

Have a nice week!

Greetings,
ThomasL

abulafia, srgabreu, bibiweb, thor68, hispic has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

abulafia (4802) 2008-05-04 6:35

A lot of anniversaries here Thomas:))
Congrats on the new camera and this nice and bright picture.
Good choice to wait for the train to enter the frame.
Harry

srgabreu (763) 2008-05-04 7:05

Hello Thomas!
Good compo and colors, the vertical format was a good choice.
Sérgio

velocista (881) 2008-05-04 7:55

olá, quite good photo! this is a diferent pov of the atomium that results in a very interesting photo. not all those "turistic photos" that everybody already saw it. nice colors, contrast and sharpness. congratulations. pedro

bibiweb (8) 2008-05-04 8:53

Bonjour Thomas,
Félicitations pour ta 50e photo ainsi que pour ton nouvel appareil photo. Apparemment tu sembles déjà bien le maitriser et cette compo de l'atomium avec le train au premier plan est bien vu. Par contre, pour avoir plus l'effet de mouvement, j'auras choisi une vitesse plus lente afin que je train soit un peu flou... mais c'est une opinion tout à fait personnelle.
Bonne soirée.
Brigitte

kibele66 (2910) 2008-05-04 9:44

Thomas hello,
One of the best photos I saw on TE in these days. I appreciate your patience for waiting for a movement, that the train brings an excellent movement to the scene.
The Atomium is a very interesting structure. I also liked the reflections on each ball.
Congratulations for the Anniversary of the Atomium, 50th post and for your new camera.
best regards
Sibel

BennyV (4614) 2008-05-04 10:37

3x proficiat voor de driedubble verjaardag, al heb je met die ene 50ste verjaardag natuurlijk niet zo veel te maken.

Ik vind dit een heel typisch Belgische foto, niet alleen vanwege de 'ugly beauty' van het atomium zelf, maar ook vanwege die trein. Echt mooi is dat ding niet! Het contrasteert wel mooi met het on-Belgisch blauwe lucht, natuurlijk. De compositie is geslaagd, maar volgende keer moet je inderdaad eens proberen met langere sluitertijd, zoals hierboven gesuggereerd. Het zal interessant zijn om de versies dan te vergelijken.

Groeten,

Benny

thor68 (5537) 2008-05-04 11:03

excellent shot, never noticed that the area around it was so green. i really like the addition of the train in the curve,
add a cool dynamic to the pic of which of course the amazing and shining atomium stands out perfectly for the occasion.
well done & best wishes, thor.

hispic (7399) 2008-05-05 1:56

Hi Thomas
You found a good position for the Atomium! shining silver with green and orange is impressive. it seems that the train has a little motion blur. Still definitely a successful shot.
Congratulations for your new camera and your 50th post, 450D called Kiss X2 in Japan. i will also buy it.
Have a nice day, Hisashi

Jimbal (1221) 2008-05-05 3:11

Bonjour Thomas.
J'aime bien cette composition verticale qui inclut le métro qui passe en oblique au bas de l'image. Grâce à cela ce portrait de notre Atomium national (si on peut encore utiliser ce terme...) sort vraiment de l'ordinaire.
Les couleurs sont parfaites et le ciel joliment nuageux complète le tableau.
JMB

testmaniac (12060) 2008-05-12 20:42

Hello Thomas, good and interesting photo with nice compostion and POV.

Good job!

TFS and regards,
Philip