Look Up | Weekly Photo #62
I do love a good look-up shot. Whether it’s an urban, architectural shot like this, the inside of a cathedral’s dome or the tall trees in the middle of a forest, as long as you are surrounded by much taller objects you can capture some fresh, unique photos wherever you are.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/210th Second | f/4 | ISO200
Not too long ago, I didn’t think much of the “look-up” city shot and I’m sure many of you feel the same but now I love to capture this type of photo when I’m in the city surrounded by these new and impressive high-rise towers. So, what’s changed? Well, after giving it some thought, I think the reason why these photos didn’t appeal to me is that I saw them as a cheap snapshot, an easy photo to take when walking about the city. There was no time needed, no real compositional thought, just point the camera up and take the photo.
In some ways, that’s still true. As long as you are surrounded by tall buildings, the shot is there to take, but after taking quite a few over the last year or so, I now think that to take a half-decent look up shot that is compositionally pleasing to the eye, sharp, well-exposed image, some time and thought needs to be invested into the photo.
I took this photo while photographing around the city earlier this year during a foggy morning in London. After taking a few pictures from across the river, I decided to head into the city to try to capture a look-up photo with the tops of the buildings disappearing into the low clouds. No sooner as I started walking, I noticed the cloud was lifting and by the time I got amongst the high-rise buildings to take my shot, the cloud had lifted to just above the tops of the buildings so the shot I had in mind was no longer on. One for another time then.
I still took the shot, however, as I still liked the way the scene looked even without the low clouds. I used a wide-angle 10-24mm lens at 10mm to get as much of the scene in as possible which also helps to emphasise the many converging lines that run up the buildings. The dull, colourless day gives the image a cool monochromatic look and the subtle reflections in the glass add some more interest in the shot. Finally, I placed the top of the buildings on the right-hand third so that 22 Bishopsgate coming in from the left looked as tall as possible.
When I next come across a foggy London, Ill head into the city and try to capture the image I originally intended but I’m still happy with the photo I came away with.
Until next week.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.