Encroaching Debris

highton-ridley, on February 22, 2008, said:

Another shot of this fine but derelict building. The pile of rubble in front is from the building that used to stand opposite.

I've just done a video slide show of all the photos in Stge 1 of my Urban Ugliness series (this is one of them). You can see the video here

See my complete fine art collection on www.highton-ridley.co.uk

laughingmackerel, on February 23, 2008, said:

like the curve to this building HR ..nice shot

highton-ridley, on February 23, 2008, said:

Thanks LM :) - the curve makes all the difference to the shot, glad you liked it :)

Marilyn Whiteley, on February 23, 2008, said:

The quality of your Urban Ugliness photos here sent me to the video, and I really like what I saw there. It's a truly excellent series! Marilyn

George Sled, on February 23, 2008, said:

Mark (is it Mark?), your video is superb, moreover, your 'urban ugliness' is really urban beauty through your lens. I have a couple of technical questions (although you may be too busy to answer...I'd understand). Are you shooting in colour and then converting to B/W? Are you using a tripod each time? Are you shooting 3 or more exposures and then putting them together for the HDR? Are skies always cloudy in your area :)?

highton-ridley, on February 23, 2008, said:

:) Well, thanks for the praise, George ..and yes, it is Mark :)

On the tech side, no, I never use a tripod and no, it's not always cloudy here, it's just I've been watching for days with just the right sorts for these shots. I did have a shoot on a clear blue-sky day but wasn't very happy with the results - the clouds really help with the overall ambience of the theme.

Regarding the HDR - no, so far I've only ever made the exposures from a single RAW file and as far as the b&w is concerned, I always shoot in colour then do the mono conversion in photoshop.

You might like to watch a video I made showing the editing techniques and workflow I've been using. Enjoy :)

highton-ridley, on February 23, 2008, said:

@Marilyn: Thanks for saying such nice things - I notice you tactfully didn't mention the music ;-)

Marilyn Whiteley, on February 23, 2008, said:

Well, we each have our own styles!

George Sled, on February 23, 2008, said:

Thanks, Mark. I did watch your video before I commented and I should have mentioned how much I enjoyed it...very well done (I even liked the music). Thanks for taking the time to answer. I have been doing the same from a single RAW, but I found the tripod worked quite well, at least for landscapes in colour. (Sorry, I see that this is a tech video...I'll take a look, thanks.)

© Tom Lussier, on February 25, 2008, said:

Another great shot Mark. This one has a period, or old photo, feel to it. I love to hear the "shop talk" in responses and appreciate you sharing your methods of shooting and post processing(ie. the video on your website). Regards, Tom

LouisSaint, on April 8, 2008, said:

Outstanding monochromes. Perfect technique for the subject matter. Bravo! -LouisSaint.

highton-ridley, on April 9, 2008, said:

Thanks LouisSaint - if you want to try this type of shot yourself, you can if your camera supports RAW. Check out my tutorial on how to do it...

Krzysztof Machulewski, on October 6, 2008, said:

Hi, I like your SEPIA pictures. You can share them now in PANORAMIO's forum "SEPIA PICTURES ARE BEAUTIFUL"