EMERGENCY ! Spiral Staircases... Photo

Photographer’s Note

The spiral staircases were taken during my trip through the Harbour City. They are part of the Hanseatic Trade Center (Office Complex) which is like a modern copy of the historic Speicherstadt Warehouse District which is close by.

Postprocessing - my usual workflow: This time no cropping, then auto colours and contrast and contrast
masking all done in PS.

rabani has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Ebbe (9585) 2004-02-12 13:36

Wow, I am getting drunk I don´t have to pay!!!
This is a great geometric challenge Jan! The spirals and the arhes twisting in different directions and just two colors, brick and grey. I am very impressed. Maybe the DOF could have been a bit deeper or is that possible to fix with unsharpmask? I think you can make it even stronger with a bit tighter crop from the sides, but I am not sure.

pamastro (7213) 2004-02-12 14:10

Interesting view. It looks like the same image cut and pasted over and over. I like that feeling. It's really disorienting in that way. I think this is a photo that would benefit from some kind of evening or morning lighting, depending which way it faces, because I would think the shade would play nicely and add to that repeated feeling. Very nice image and well captured.

[2]

RandomCameraGuy (3063) 2004-02-12 14:35

Cool shot. ...but I think it could be better. I like the repeating patterns (metallic spirals on red brick), but I'm not so fond of the bridge breaking that pattern. Also it looks flat because of the bland lighting. I recommend getting a shot without the bridge and with a dramatic sun (the gleam of a late afternoon sun and the shadows would look cool).

Hope this critique is useful Jan! :) Cheers!

[2] +

dominique (11414) 2004-02-12 16:24

A very original photograph, it is really a good idea, I like the strange colors and forms, well considering.

eelliott305 (776) 2004-02-12 16:58

What a strange looking place. The shot is definitely interesting but I agree it needs something to liven it up. Good to see it though.

richtersl (3544) 2004-02-12 18:00

I like all the steel: the curved staircases and the curved arch of the bridge. I also enjoy how the straight bridge supports appear to slice the lower staircases into several pieces. Well seen!

tdanny (663) 2004-02-13 1:51

Well capture Jan. Good point of view here esp the spiral stairsand the contrast brick and steel!

airin (172) 2004-02-13 2:59

Great structure. Repeating of spiral stairscases and "cutting" them in the bottom part by a bridge are nice details. Also the combination of grey and red colors is nice. Well done, Jan.

avigur_11 (21307) 2004-02-13 5:28

A great addition to my spirals theme. A great shot, Jan. Those spirals are amazing, and the brown bricks wall makes an excellent background. I wish we could see thespirals without the bridge. Excellent shot!

Isabelle (9018) 2004-02-16 5:56

oh, my! i feel dizzy only by looking to them!
great composition, Jan.
nice colors and textures.
thanks for sharing.

Didi (36654) 2004-03-08 9:26

Très bonne composition répétitive en forme d'ADN.
On peut penser aussi à West side story.

Very good repetitive composition in the shape of ADN. We can also think about "West side story".

maciekda (19599) 2004-03-13 8:46

nice one again, i really like all those shapes here, the bridge is an interesting addition here, i dont mind it at all. interesting colors - mostly reds and grays. Hamburg must be an interesting place.

ianmcall (1213) 2004-03-15 6:44

Nice composition of the spirals and the arch. I think the soft lighting works with the neutral colours of the metal.

I'd like to see the bridge arch a bit lower, cutting off the metal railings which are a little "busy" and see more of the brick wall and spiral stairs at the top.

secondsite (114) 2004-03-16 23:19

Excellent photo! The dissymmetry of arc of the steel bridge breaks up the awesome spirals well, and gives us some anchor and a feeling of safety after the scary flight down.
Very cool.

Jean-Luc (5488) 2004-03-22 14:10

C'est une photo qui fait penser à un tableau abstrait!
La composition est originale, la succession des spirales donne une belle dynamique à l'ensemble.

claudiaf (4406) 2004-03-31 16:39

Amazing shot. Really strange place.

rabani (9429) 2004-04-05 2:44

This is my critique Jan. I spent quite a long time enjoying this patterns.Not just the spiralling staircases but also the brickworks.I usually spent more than a few minutes looking and enjoying, as well as learning from photos. Thank you Jan.

cmartos (6086) 2004-04-10 18:48

Well Jan, a awesome amount and mix of lines, curves and spirals! I like the way you composed his picture with a front bridge structure giving some assymetry. The duotone brown/grey is also interesting and usefull here, as that allows to seek all those lines and structures in a quiet manner without being distracted. An excellent architecture shot.

pavel_k (310) 2004-05-21 5:37

Very rich geometric urbanistic dance!

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