International Building in Fort Lauderdale
Reflections
D200 with wide angle lens
Early morning light on the International Building in Fort Lauderdale. The reflection of the clouds, the building itself, and the palm trees and the size of the building left me with a feeling of a powerful place. Maybe because this building is where many high ranking South American foreign government officials meet.
This picture was taken with 55mm and getting the lines correct, almost, was the challenge.Which one do you like and why? Does it give you any feelings?
posted by Dolph Brust at 3:59 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Hi Dolph,
I like them both very much, primarily because of the interplay of the lines in the building with their own reflections.
Of the two, I lean to the wide-angle view because of the feeling of expansiveness. Close call, though!
I am a big fan of wide angle shots. I would say I favor the first one because of that. The distortion of the driveway in front of the building is a little distracting so I would prefer to see it cropped out. That's always the challenge with wide angle shots looking up; the bottom of the photo shows somewhat exaggerated distortion. I also like the second one for the symmetry. Cropping that one for better symmetry would make it even better.
Hi Dolph, great pics! You must have a clever eye to find such an interesting subject! I like the first one a bit more. The building looks like a book almost -- pages wide open to the chapter about the vast complexities of corporate America. I love the sky above the building being a part of the picture too. The second one is a terrific complementary photo to showcase the image inversion in the reflection, which is something I might have not noticed in the first. Nice photos :)
Dolph, sorry for the late comment. I like both of the shots, but for different reasons. For me, the wide shot has more impact. It gives me a feeling of openness despite the massive building that dominates the picture. The shot is more indicative of the title of the post, "Reflections". The striking sky and cloud reflection from the building makes me appreciate the architect's genius at blending the massive structure into the surrounding environment.
The close-up shot is nice because it is a study of the geometry of the building's design, with the reflections as a secondary feature.
I agree with Benson that the foreground of the wide is just a little distracting (but not too bad). I like the fact that you included some trees at the corners to frame the shot a bit.
Also, I notice that in both shots, the horizon is ever so slightly tilted, just enough to be a little jarring when viewing the pictures. Sometimes just a little correction of the tilt may be the difference between a good shot and a real standout shot.
The tilt can be corrected with Photoshop, but it would have been best to have seen it and corrected for at the time the pictures were taken.
Do you have the grid line feature turned on in your D200? I have mine activated on my D100, and it really helps with visualizing things in the viewfinder sometimes. That's why I also use grid screens when possible on my film bodies.
--Warren
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