The Daily Blog #69
Cityscapes with Tamron
For me, architecture is all about lines and composition. When I shoot a building, I am not looking to necessarily represent the building as it is, but instead interpret the building photographically. Sometimes that means a towering building appearing ominous and foreboding, or strange and cold- kind of like these shots. Depending on the lens you use, where you stand, and how you render the the building in post-processing, the final image can vary greatly. I usually prefer more abstract architectural photographs, while others may like more natural looking renderings. I like to make photos that are more about the geometry than the building itself.
When the skies are gray and overcast, I usually prefer black-and-white over color. When the light is bright and beautiful, I will choose color. I think that the simplicity of black-and-white allows the compositional elements and lines to show through clearly. Sometimes a color photograph is more about the color than the content, while black-and-white lets the graphic elements become the content.
The Tamron 15-30mm lens has virtually no distortion at 15mm, making it an optimum wide angle lens for this style of shooting. Add image stabilization, and you have the only lens you will need to shoot architecture and cityscapes.
Gear used:
- Nikon D610 FX Body
- Tamron 15-30 f/2.8 Di VC USD lens
- Lexar 32GB Professional 633x UHS-I SDHC Memory Card
