Category: Urbex

Blog, HDR, Tips, Urbex

In the undergrowth

Dave Wares

Sometimes it takes a little while to decide on how to process an image, if at all, and this is one of them. The car itself was almost all obscured by trees and twigs but there was enough showing at the front to make an interesting picture. I like the way nature has enveloped it, as if to hide it from view as it slowly decays.

I had an idea that I wanted to remove the colour from the scene to help enhance the sombre feel. Sepia toning was my first thought but something didn’t sit right when I applied it. Then I had an idea…A while back I had put an exposure through Photomatix to try and enhance the grunge within the scene, this was then exported back into Lightroom and I started to play with the different presets the you can use to give your pictures certain appearances. And what a difference these effects have on your photos after being tonemapped. I found that the one that really stood out was the ageing preset, though initially blowing the highlights and giving a bleached out look, this could be easily brought back playing with the exposure and brightness sliders. It was a revolution in how I was to go about working on some of my images, especially my dereliction shots.

So this was to be the approach I used for this shot, and it worked a treat. I was still unhappy with the slight sepia colouration that the preset gave, so I changed the colour temperature sliders until I settled on this very subtle blue tone. With some additional dodging and burning and a slight vignette I eventually ended up with a shot that satisfied the initial feel that I had in mind.

So have a play with those presets, not as a one click solution, but as a bases to take your shots in a different direction. Remember, photographers have been working on and changing how they present their work for years and years, well before the digital age. I was listening to a recent podcast from Chris Marquardt interviewing a chap by the name of George Smyth who develops his pictures using a process called Bromoil . It was very interesting indeed and although this is very different from my working digitally, the ethos is very much the same. I highly recommend checking the podcast out.

Blog, HDR, Urbex

A glimpse of the past

Dave Wares

Another shot from the trio of rusty cars I found the other week.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was keen to get an interior shot of one of the cars, but unfortunately all the doors were either locked or jammed. I did accidentally pull the back door off this Morris Minor as the wood frame had totally rotted away, but there was too much junk in the back to try to climb through, plus I was wearing a half decent pair of jeans that I wasn’t prepared to ruin.

I was really taken with the view through the drivers window and though initially I would have preferred to have shot this without looking through the glass I now think that it has worked out for the better. I’m rather fond of the reflections and think this helps with the overall effect, making you feel like a person who is having a nose around.

I love how simple cars used to be too. No air-con or fancy electrics, even a radio was probably a luxury in some cars, and with the amount of fancy gadgets to go wrong in modern vehicles I sometimes wonder if going back to more simple controls wouldn’t be that bad of an idea. I could live without having to use a choke though. I remember having to use a washing peg to keep the darn thing out during the winter months.

On a separate note, I would like to thank all of you who have visited, commented and spread the word over on  Twitter. I’ve only been doing this for a week and the response I’ve had has been fantastic. Cheers!

 

Blog, HDR, Tips, Urbex

Back alley revisit

Dave Wares

The great thing about locations that attract graffiti artists is that they are constantly being changed. I took a visit to a back alley behind my local library in June of last year and was delighted to see such a photographic feast, with all sorts of art, tagging and detritus to hone in on. Looking at the version below shot in June of last year, you can see that all of the graffiti in this section has completely changed. The picture above was taken about a week ago and I decided that I would replicate my past attempt to see how the scene had changed. Somebody has also come along a tidied up all the rubbish that was scattered about the floor, which was nice as I didn’t see any rats this time.

I processed the version above without the intention of wanting to totally copy the first version but it turns out that I seem to like a certain look when it comes to this particular place as they have ended up looking very similar. There is a slight difference in light but that is because the shot below was taken on a bright day, whereas the shot above was taken in overcast weather.

I’m sure that in another six months time it will have totally changed again, I’ll definitely be making another visit to find out. So if you ever have been to a location and thought that you had photographed every possible angle you could think of, give it six months, maybe even a year and revisit it, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Oh and the first time I went here a pigeon pooped on my head. I got away with that this time.

Blog, HDR, Urbex

The door? It’s just a Minor problem

Dave Wares

I have a confession to make. When I approached the back of the car, the door was still in place. However I was eager to get an interior shot so I tried the door…And it fell off!

I present to you the back end of a Morris Minor Traveller 1000, a car with the back end based on the blueprints of a shed. Couple that with years of neglect and wood rot sets in, and before you know it the thing falls apart. How about that, a car you need to creosote.

I would have loved to have taken a wider view but alas 18mm is the widest I can go and my back was against a wall. Pretty pleased with how this one came out, even if it was slightly encouraged by my heavy handedness.

Blog, HDR, Urbex

Getting in close

Dave Wares

 

We all love getting the wide shots,  be it a sweeping landscape or a wide angle shot of a derelict corridor, you just can’t get enough of them. I know I can’t. For me it is always the small details that I seem to forget, not because I don’t see them, it’s just that I can get carried away in taking the whole scene. These days I make a concerted effort to look at all the angles, wide and close.

On the morning I found the trio of decaying cars I knew that getting in close could result in some interesting pictures, with lots of detail in the badges and rust to focus on.  For this shot I decided to get in really close with my 18-50mm at the 50mm end to really focus on the badge, while using an aperture of f2.8 would ensure the background would be nicely out of focus adding a sense of depth.

So don’t forget, get in close and get those details. Happy shooting.

Blog, HDR, Urbex

Junk Jag

Dave Wares

I took the opportunity to get out with the camera this past Wednesday as work has become slow again. I only had a couple of hours to spare so I decided to stay local and investigate some of the back streets in my home town. Oh and I’m so glad I did, a quick glance in a small parking area revealed two Morris travellers and this old Jag, all rotting away. Funny thing is, I’ve walked down past this location many times and can’t believe I missed them all. O_o

I spent an hour alone on these cars taking all sorts of angles, bracketing everything in case I wanted to go the HDR route. So here is the first in what will be a mini series of shots. ISO200 3exp +/-2ev F4 Sigma 18-50mm F2.8EX HSM.