Image Set From Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL







All the new images (as well as the older ones) are finished being edited and have been uploaded to my website. www.naterossphoto.com

More in progress images

New Set of Images

Proposal of work

Interior Architecture

1. Project Overview

I will produce a series of black and white interior photographs of architectural structures. I want to use people in these photographs to create a sense of movement throughout the space. The intention is to create a more balanced portfolio to work from.

2. Aim

The aim of this series is to create a series of interior photographs of multiple different architectural locations. With the use of people in the photographs, I also hope to achieve a sense of movement throughout the spaces. Farshid Assassi and Alise O’brien are two photographers who I am using as references for this project. They are both admired architectural photographers in the profession. However, unlike these two photographers, I am thinking of using a grayscale in order to exemplify the shadows and highlights throughout the architecture.

(Farshid Assassi)(Alise O’brien)

3. Objectives

Due to the nature of interior photography, I will be using a large combination of filters to create the desired effect. I will have a remote in order to control the length of the multiple exposure I will be taking. I am also considering the use of colored gels to help with the interior lighting. To create a balance with the images already in my portfolio, I will create a series of 20 images at the same size, 17 x 24” prints. The images themselves will be a bit smaller, with a 3” border on all sides. An inkjet printer will be used for the duration of the project and the images with it. Many of the interior spaces being photographed will be located in Kansas City and the surrounding areas.

4. Procedure

I will be using a Canon, Rebel T2i, DSLR for all my images. Through past projects, I have already purchased multiple filters (Such as Red and High Density) as well as a remote timer that I will need to be using for this project. I still need to research and possibly purchase a series of gels to help with the interior shots. While many of the interiors photographed are part of public spaces, I will be obtaining permission for the numerous private locations I have already scouted for this project. Using a tripod and a sketch pad for notes, I will experiment with multiple exposure times as well as angles in which to shoot the locations. As always, I will finish the prints by enhancing them from within photoshop.

5. Plan of Work/Schedule (Using Class Dates)

August 22 - 31: Finalize my idea as well as begin research

September 5 - 12: Begin experimental shooting, begin receiving permission to photograph spaces

September 14 - 19: Prepare for the first Critique 1 and have a solid plan going forward

September 26 - 28: Travel to Kansas City and begin photographing interiors

October 3: Critique 2 (Print at full size)

October 5: Begin photographing the spaces chosen around Manhattan

October 10 - 12: Have a private critique with colleagues in the school of architecture to get their opinions

October 17 - 19: Critique 3 (Print at full size)

October 24 - 26: Schedule a time to photograph the interiors of the new College of Architecture building on campus

October 31: Critique 4 (Print at full size)

November 2 - 16: Continue editing and enhancing all previously taken photographs. Finish photographing all spaces on and around campus

November 21 - 30: Thanksgiving -Finish photographing all spaces in and around Kansas City, Finish web updating and editing web portfolio

December 5 - 7: Finish everything still not completed. Final Critique (print final images), Hand in all work.

Three images I have attempted in the Bloch Building by Steven Hall in Kansas City

At this point in the project, I am steering towards interior shots such as these three, and towards this image by Joel Tjintjelaar. I am trying to emulate the ghost trails.

Blog Entry 7

This is my 7th and last blog entry for this series. I have 18 of 20 images completed, edited, and printed as 18 x 14  prints on 22 x 17 sheets. The last two have been scouted and are ready to shoot. The weather has been an obstacle as of late because it has been raining so much. Below I am showing the newest images I have been working on.


IIT Campus Union / CTA Stop


Skyscrapers in Chicago


Dallas Theater


Frank Lloyd Wright House at Crystal Bridges, Arkansas

Blog Entry 6

Blog Entry 5

I have, since the last blog entry, been to Chicago and returned with a series of images that I would like to work with. The union/CTA stop on the IIT campus, the Frank Gehry amphitheater, the Aqua Tower, Marina Towers, and numerous others. I hadn't got to editing them yet as I had been waiting for the critique to see what everyone else thought. Below are some of the compositions that I thought may work well with the series of work.


Aqua Tower


Union CTA Stop


Marina Towers


The Art Institute of Chicago

I have also begun printing the final images on an ink jet printer on 17 x 24 in matte, luster photo paper. The images themselves are around 14 x 19 in size. It adds a sizable border and makes them seem a bit more professional. I have also given thought into the display options for my B.F.A. exhibition next year. Some of these images are possible candidates for that. I would like to show them using a technique where the photos are mounted with plexiglass. The 1/4" thick plexi adds depth into the photograph.

       
(Gallery Mounting and display ideas)

Blog Entry 4 - Chicago Ideas

Since buying the red filter and polarizer, I have been able to begin photographing exposures of clouds for my previous compositions. I used a technique of combining the photographs and stacking 2 or three different compositions to create the whole work. The complication with this method is that I have to shoot multiple exposures of each and every cloud formation. The struggle is shooting these formations at an angle that exemplifies the primary structure in the main photograph. The horizon lines must match up. I shot these exposures with another building or landscape as an anchor point to explore this. They lasted anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

           
(Right image: The Kansas City Star | Left image: Museum of Prairie Fire)

I began looking through some older photo's I had on record, from cities like Manhattan, NY and Dallas, TX. I found two buildings in Dallas that I felt would enhance this project. One was an iconic looking theater, while the other is another museum. I also took an image taken at Taliesin West (FLW) in Arizona.


(Above image: Taliesin West  FLW)


(Above image: Dallas, Natural History Museum)


(Above image: Dallas Theater | raw photo, still needs a cloud layer)

Know with almost 12 complete pieces, and still wanting to capture the shots of the Manhattan Discovery Center and Airport, I have turned my attention towards photographing the buildings of Chicago and the surrounding areas. I am going to begin by visiting the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). There I can photograph the Dorms on State Street and also the CTA Stop at the Student Union. Downtown, the James R. Thompson Center, Marina Towers, Aqua Tower, and the River City Condominiums. I wanted to shy away from the tall glass boxes that are skyscrapers. There is the stage at Millennium Park and the Chicago Art Institute next door. The Shed Aquarium and Adler Planetarium on the pier. And finally, there is Frank Loyd Wrights Unity Temple, located in the suburb of Oak Park.

I plan on getting a large variety of photographs from each location. I want the luxury of choice in the development stage of the photographs. It is also difficult to find a large enough amount of time to return, so I want to capture all the compositional angles that I might use.

Blog Entry3

Blog Entry 3

After the initial effort at creating the exposures of the clouds, I was unsuccessful at creating the contrast I needed. I discussed the problem with Shree and was suggested to use a Red Filter.

I began researching different types of Red Filters and their effects.

I also began to research the effects of glare and how it could be minimized with the use of a polarizer.

I talked with my friend, Assassi (an architectural photographer), while he was in town and was able to borrow a red filter to practice and take a few exposures of the clouds. Although I no longer have it, I have ordered a Red Filter, sized for my camera, to arrive this Thursday.

More images have been taken from the locations Kansas City, Overland Park and Wichita.

Entrust Bank Arena, Wichita

Exploration Center, Wichita


Cerner Complex, KC

Kemper Arena, KC

Park Place Parking Garage, KC

AMC Theater Support, KC

Methodist Church of Resurrection, OP

Museum of Prairie Fire, OP

Two of these photos, the Cernet Complex and the Exploration Center, are comprised of 4 to 5 images each and are using cloud movement to show time in the pictures. The exploration center went a step further and is using the water movement as well.

Artistic Statement Draft 2

I want to enhance regular architectural photographs by adding some extreme contrast variants to add depth into the photographs. I also intend to combine the static nature of architecture with the dynamic movement of the clouds and water. This adds another layer of context into the whole story. To create the effects of time, timed, long exposures were used to create movement. With the timed exposures, the clouds will no longer represent any real shape, only the movement created from the timed shots. Water was also used at times to create a floor of ice within the image to represent architecture as frozen in time. This series will show that the still beauty of modernistic architecture can withstand the prolonged effects of time.

I wanted to photograph and document a more modernistic style of architecture because the method of creating these photographs can be enhanced by the organic shapes of these structures. The unpredictability of the architectural structures complements the un-recognizable shapes of the clouds. The abundant use of glass also adds strong contrast within the images gray scale. The long exposure of the photographs make the glass look opaque and foggy, rather than transparent. It really added to the whole idea of how architecture can be frozen in time. The curves of the structures, combined with the longer exposures, creates strong highlights and shadows throughout the photographic piece. Frank Gehry uses his modernistic style of architecture to make a bold statement, in an already normal and dull skyline. The eccentric shapes cut into the city skyline like a knife in butter. As strong as a compositional piece that modernistic architecture creates, the abundance of the type of architecture isn’t very readily available. Manhattan, Kansas has few, if any modernistic structures (i.e. airport and discovery center). Their are other areas, within the midwest, that are abundant in this type of Architecture. Kansas City is within driving distance, while Denver and Chicago are only a short flight away.

A few names that will help me along with my research over this subject are Bernd and Hilla Becher, Helen Binet, and Joel Tjintjelaar. Bernd and Hilla Becher are interesting to say the least. Their images are not necessarily interesting to look at or of any historical relevance. Much of their work relates to the industry of mining, some of which are disappearing. Their photographs work to preserve these structures as architectural landmarks. Styles of architecture that may no longer be around, or are on the verge of disappearing.

Tjintjelaar combines architectural photography with longer exposures using Neutral Density Filters that amass from anywhere between 1 and 16 stops.  Each of these exposures were taken around noon, when the sun was highest in the sky. They lasted between 4 and 7 minutes each. Although the building remains static. The timed exposure makes the clouds look much more dynamic, and no longer represent any real shape. According to Joel Tjintjelaar on BW Vision, his long exposure prints are meant to capture moving elements during the day, aka. Clouds and water. These elements represent the prolonged effect that time has on moving elements within a single still frame. It changes static images into dynamic ones. In order to optimize the effects of these filters, I will use a method referred to as stacking. Stacking is a method of combining multiple filter types into one composition. Strong contrast is key to this project. So, while shooting the movement of the clouds, I want the blue of the sky to become black on the images gray scale. And the clouds to become the whites part of the images. This strong range of contrast can be obtained by combining a Red Filter onto the Neutral Density Filter already attached. Another filter that has the potential of working in the project is to use a Polarizer. During longer exposures in the middle of the day, it is easy and common for a glare to appear in the final image. A polarizer minimizes and extinguishes any glare that may have appeared regularly in the composition.

The majority of these photographic works were made up of several photographs. With the camera attached to the tripod, multiple exposures were taken. One image would capture all the highlights, and another all the shadows. Another image would be used to capture all the neutral tones. And then their is a shot for the windows. And, depending on the building's proximity to water, their would be about a two and a half minute exposure of the water to create a crystal like floor. Cloud movement was shot separately as it was a weather phenomena that did not always work out they way you want. These images are later stitched together using Adobe Photoshop.

The images were also put into a gray scale of extreme blacks and whites. The intent of the grayscale was to take the viewers eye away from the color of certain parts of the image, and towards the beauty of the buildings structure and design. The strong grayscale of the clouds intensified the effects of the timed exposure, to show movement.

Blog Entry 2

Blog Entry 2 - Feb 15

Artistic Statement Rough Draft.

I want to enhance regular architectural photographs by adding some extreme contrast variants to add depth into the photographs. I also intend to combine the static nature of architecture with the dynamic movement of the clouds and water. This adds another layer of context into the whole story. To create the effects of time, timed, long exposures were used to create movement. With the timed exposures, the clouds will no longer represent any real shape, only the movement created from the timed shots. Water was also used at times to create a floor of ice within the image to represent architecture as frozen in time. This series will show that the still beauty of modernistic architecture can withstand the prolonged effects of time.

I recently purchased a ND filter to help with creating longer exposures.

Kauffman Performing Arts

ND11 F16 ISO100

3 Min
2 Min
1 Min


On top of practicing these long exposures. I took scouting shots of the majority of the city. Buildings include: Bartle Hall, Sprint Center, Kansas City Star. I also explored the legends and got shots for Sporting Park and the Cerner Complex.

Blog Entry 1

Architectural Photography




Images by Joel Tjintjelaar


Long Exposure Effects with ND Filters

• Blurred Skies
• Cloud Streaks
• Ghost like image of people (Long Exposures also have the ability to make this disappear)

Building in New York City, Shot on a sunny day.
65% sky      35% cloud
ISO100  F/8.0  16 ND Stops Filter
6 min and 46 sec

Neutral Density Filters


Stacking Technique allows for multiple Neutral Density Filters to be stacked and allow even less light to enter.

10 Stop + 6 Stop = 16 Stop


Buildings in Kc to begin looking at
Bartle Hall
Kansas City Star
Sprint Center
Kauffman Center


http://www.bwvision.com/