The Palm House

The Palm House at Kew Gardens in London was designed by Decimus

Burton in about 1844. It maintains a tropical climate and is filled

with a jungle of large exotic plants and trees. This is an end view

of the building. All comments welcome!

I should say this is a view on the end of the buildng which is over 500 feet long. The shadow in the foreground is of a little palm (?) sitting on top of a wall.

Good geometry. Curiosity... I note you used a WA - but I think you'd get a spectacular effect if you captured much closer to the subject. Which focal length?

Colin, nice choice You made,Palm Houses are very attractive.This one is a beautiful Design.I like the Distance You give towards the Building and arround.how you can peak in the Window,see Part of the Plants. The blue Sky and the green Grass with the silver Building is perfect.For the mysterious adventure.

Gul, I find with digital I dont miss nearly so much as with film where each shot costs money. Yes, I have a closer version as you suggest and others from all sorts of different angles. I ust lked the shadow of the palm in this one.

 

Alexandra, thanks, yes it does look a bit mysterious doesn't it!

Colin, this is great work. It's also exactly the shot someone asked for when offering a critique of one of my Palm House shots. The Palm House is one of my very favorite places in London. What time of day was this?

Peter, thanks! This would be late morning I guess. I've seen your Palm House and Temperate House shots and will be revisiting shortly. I see you were there when the Palm House was being restored - interesting! I liked this view as it had a slight 'Silent Running' feel of a biosphere. I found it is a tricky building to photograph due to its enormous length. regards - Colin

I want one of these, Colin, but it can be round, not 500 feet long.

 

Nice shot. Yes, digital is fun, isn't it?

Colin, I prefer the color one and see the green inside the Palm House. Very good geometry, even the sky seems to curve to adjust to the dome.

Love also the detail of the palm shadow.

Yes, I I prefer the color one, too :-)Everything else have already been told... Good capture.

My head's going round and around on this one... can't decide. I like the idea, and I definitely like the inclusion of the shadow. It breaks the symmetry of the building, adding tension. The question is... does it actually need the tension? Let's see... close up, many plants are organised and symmetrical. From further back, and in groups, its often chaos. Does the shadow represent these two varying states? On the left foreground you have the shadow, and on the right, in the background, the higher tree-line... even the asymmetry is symmetrical!!!

 

And then I find myself asking myself if I'm thinking far too deeply about this and should just learn to shut up...

 

P.S. the colour version's the best.

I too like the colour version as it reflects a beautiful day. The path leads us straight to the dome shape palm house, then brings us in circles. Very well composed.

Lannie, Paula, Elina, Stephen, Cherlyn - thanks for commenting!

 

Lannie - yes the round version would be good for the more compact garden. The 500 foot one only for show-offs.

 

Paula, Elina, I think if I could only have one it would be the colour one with the green things growing away inside.

 

Stephen, Yes I think you may be going deeper into this than I have - but I appreciate it!

 

Cherlyn - You are right it was a superb day and right at the height of when all the spring bulb flowers are out. They say there are 4 million bulbs in the gardens. I did not count them but I believe it!

Colin you didn't mention it here, but it looks as if you used a polarizer, correct? The geometry here is what catches my eye. I'm not so sure about the shadow, it seems a bit distracting. Did you take a shot closer in? I would like to see it posted if you did. The distortions emphasizing and exaggerating the geometry would be of interest. What might get lost in such a version is this beautifully shaped sidewalk. These doors too are magnificent...

David, yes I took a shot closer in and I'll post that in the next few days. I didn't use a polariser. I still have not bought one but must soon with summer approaching. The sky came out pretty much that colour (beautiful day!) and I tweaked the glass especially one spot which had a strong reflection from the glass just to the left of the door.

Hello Colin.

 

For once, I'm on the side of colour, as opposed to B&W. I think what I like here (in addition to the superb composition), is the simple colour range, where the blues, greens and bieges are concentrated in bold, well defined regions with in the frame (just like the grey tones within a B&W image). As this is essentially the architecture of nature, it is right that nature's colours are integral to the image!

 

I love it!

 

6/6

 

Regards, Nick.

 

P.S. Thats a great lens that you have there!

Thanks Nick! I usually go for colour myself but I'm a little ambivalent about this probably because of the lines of the building.

those shadows add extra dimension to this picture and sets it apart from any other building picture , very well done Colin !

My mother always used to say, "head for the round house, they can't corner you there!". She was a colorful person.

 

I like the color version. Not much more to add, just wanted to put in my 2cents!

Love the color! Is it a bit too centered? Seems to me a couple of steps to the left would make the composition more dynamic, I just love that shadow, 6/6

Like them both, but think the simple colors, specially the beautifull blue, add to the photo, so this one wins :-) nice composition (couldn't you get the right part of the cirkel included?) and a plant that is pointing it's shadow ahead to the subject.

Tuhin, Regina, Jim, Hans - thanks for your comments.

 

Tuhin - yes I particularly wanted to get the shadow of the plant in.

 

Regina - your mother sounds like quite a character!

 

Jim, I usually don't go for a centred composition but in this case I thought the formality of a centred shot worked best. (But you might be right!)

 

Hans, no I missed that bit of the circle on the right. There is always something isn't there? I think I prefer the colour too.

 

I like this shot. Now I want to go visit this place!

:-)

I prefer the color version and I really like the shadow on the pavement to the left. I do not think it break the symmetry. Indeed I think it makes a nice balance against the higher trees in the background to the right. Very beautiful!