Battersea Power Station

This is interesting, Colin. My eye goes directly to the great sky and to the darks & brights reflected in the water. But I know that you have a love for all things mechanical ... and so I realize that the power station is your main subject. I like how your wide angle bends the shoreline so that you can see just a bit more of the buildings.

 

By the way, I recently posted an image (speaking of all things mechanical) on which I have been looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Whenever you have time.....

Battersea is one of two disused coal fired power stations by the

River Thames in London. It is an empty shell while Bankside now has

a new life as Tate Modern art gallery.

 

I am slowly working my way up the River Thames as it winds through

London and this is from the latest walk from Blackfriars to Albert

Bridge.

 

The clouds are due to the last remnants of hurricane Gordon, a

category 3 hurricane that found its way across the Atlantic and gave

us some interesting clouds for a day or two.

 

All comments welcome!

Colin, did you post an earlier colour version of this image - perhaps last year? In any event, the black and white works well with the industrial setting. I like that you have so much sky in this image. Good combination of sky, earth and water.

Colin.i like it again. Even it is quite an area,the b&w has that intemate european Style. Like Lou mentioned,Your love for mechanical objects,you put that all in a calm atmosphere.The spacy foreground, the huge active sky frames the industry neatly in place.The light is beautiful.

Thanks Lou Ann, you are right that the power station is the main subject but the power of nature is also on the agenda :-). I had a quick look at your latest - I'll be commenting soon.

 

Amar, glad you think the b&w goes with the industrial setting - that was the intention - but also shooting againt the light made the image almost b&w anyway! I took this a couple of days ago so you must be thinking of a different shot.

 

Alix, thanks, I'm pleased you picked up on the space - I was trying to make the power station (a very big building) look small against the big sky.

Colin, the power station do look small vs. the vast sky, but the whole line of building has a strong presence with the sky as a "backdrop". It looks like 3 layers, water, buildings and sky with interesting shadows of buildings in the water, and lighted parts by the sky that connects nicly the whole. The sky are very impressive with the semi circle pattern , and their upper dark hue connects as well to the dark water line. B/W fits the subject. Nice work with your wide angle.

Is Battersea still owned by the property developers who took the roof off hoping the place would fall down (it has a preservation order but roofs are not covered afaik - pun not intended)?

The power of man against the power of nature. The man-produced energy versus the energy of nature. Grteat photo, Colin

Pnina, thanks, I took some closer shots with a longer lens but I liked the ones with the big sky.

 

Ben, yes, no roof, ongoing wrangles about what to do with it, suspicion the developer wants to clear the lot and build something new, shiny and more profitable.

 

Alberto, it helps when nature sends clouds like that!

Impressive, waving sky that leads us to the station. Made me think of the prints that usually go with Dickens's novels.

I think I would prefer it after some perspective and lens correction (the barrel distortion is quite prominent, hmm... I use the same lens and have not observed yet such a distortion; with 24-105 f/4 L we have plenty of that). I never was in England but for me Battersea is one of the landmarks that should be preserved rather than destroyed. Are there any projects for adaptation? I guess that your photo which could have a title "clouds over Battersea" was to evoke the atmosphere of decline. It does.

For me that distortion is the unavoidable effect of pointing slightly upwards a extreme wide lens. As a consequence, one may use it to enhance the grandeur of a secene, as Colin has done here. Rather than pursuing the natural rendition of things -that is done with a 50 mm lens - this lens may be used creativily as Colin, again, has done here very well.

Paula, thanks, all fims of Dickens books I have ever seen all show London to be a gloomy, foggy place where it rans all the time. That is true only part of the time bt I couldn't let these clouds go by unphotographed could I!

 

Michal, Alberto, thanks for your comments. I think what Michal is seeing as barrel distortion is a combination of things :

 

1) as Alberto says thae camera is tilted upwards giving strong wide angle convergence.

 

2) I have partially corrected that in PS but left some in as complete correction often looks quite strange.

 

3) The river here is curved which gives a slight sag to the line of the far bank.

 

4) the verticals of the left side are difficult to see as the crane jibs are at odd angles.

 

When you combine all these the effect is a bit surreal but then so are the clouds!

Indeed, those clouds are very interesting. And the power station too, of course. When I saw it, the first time I went to London, I regretted to have no camera. And the other times, I could not find it anymore. The power station, not the camera. I like your composition for the sky but I would have liked that the power station would be more imposing, photographied from nearer and toward the sky.

I guess it was the wide end of your 17-40 ? The perspective and barrel distortion make sense for me - I like it when sky and land are somehow connected. And they are connected twofold: first, with the industrial buildings and cranes, rising up to the sky. And second, the concave line of the waterside is nicely repeated in the clouds lines, kind of array of parabolics. The buildings reflections on the water fill the empty space and lead me into the scene. Grandiose sky, well exposed in backlight

Cloudscape is always interesting. There is a sense of forboding here, maybe due to the B/W mood & the sweeping clouds.

Henri, thank you, the power station is a ittle to the west of the centre of London, not so much on the tourist trail so that is probably why you could not find it. I took one or two closer shots but then that lost the sky. But I know what you mean.

 

Carsten, yes, 17mm :-) the clouds came and went quite quickly. In a few minutes the sky was clear.

 

Cherlyn, thank you. I like foreboding clouds - very atmospheric!

 

 

Hi Colin, that sky is really an eyecatcher, but it does draw my eyes to the power station, which I know is your subject. Well seen and captured.

Great sky - makes the composition rather ominous. Looks like the power station is causing the uproar in the sky, so makes it interesting to view.

Already been said much about this photo, I will add some more.

 

-- I would like it brighter, I think that works.

 

-- What are those horizontal lines in the top right and left corner?? If it was film I would say it was from the wheels of the developing machine, but now???

Sondra, Kim, Hans thanks!

 

The shot was meant to look ominous. I saw it as the cloud hanging over the building - will it be demolished? - rather than it causing the problem. Though I expect it added to London smog in the past.

 

Hnas, I had not noticed the lines - bad P work - I will make a better version soon. The shot was meant to be dark as I felt that suited the building and the sky was quite dark at the time.