If you read my post about how I enjoy finding lines in the day-to-day world, you can just imagine how my heart skipped a beat when I first walked into the cavernous atrium of the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta last weekend. Once the tallest in the world, John Portman’s architectural centerpiece is another one of those places that has probably been photographed by thousands of people over the last 25 years. I think, though, that many people go there in the evening to capture the orange/yellow glow given off by the numerous lights or employ the use of HDR photography. But I was downtown during the middle of a sunny day for the Peachtree 10K Expo, when I took a few minutes to walk over to the hotel. I couldn’t return later, so I had to work with the light that I had.
I decided to make these black and white because the sun shining in through the huge skylight made the color from the artificial lights very muted. If I tried to expose for the interior lights, the light from the sun would overexpose the entire scene. So, I opted to adjust my settings for the sunlight and just sacrifice the luminous orange lighting entirely.
Here are a few of my favorites from the series.
Great choice to go black and white on these–it really helps to emphasize the form and structure. The shots up the elevator shafts look particularly Gigeresque. I love all of these!
Thanks! Yeah, the ones on the front side of the elevator shaft definitely remind me of HR Giger. But the one on the backside (the last image) has a bit of a Fritz Lang “Metropolis” feel. Though that could just be me. :)
Wow, Mike, these are crazy beautiful! The contrast gives such a strong punch, and they’re dissociated from recognizability just enough to have a surreal tinge that I find really compelling.
Awesome work!