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chromasia.com

I went down to Crosby yesterday evening (just north of Liverpool) and we set a new record for northwest photoblogging as there was six of us; myself, John, Paul, Steve, Ioannis and Jessy. Hopefully, between us, we should have managed to get a few decent shots.

This shot, and the next two, are shots of Anthony Gormley's Another Place, an installation of 100 iron, life-size figures along a 3km stretch of the coast. And if you're wondering about the sky: I did try a more natural looking shot, but I just couldn't get the balance between the figure and the sky looking right, hence the colourisation.

And I don't know if anyone else will experience this shot in the same way as me but it looks as though the sky is moving behind the sculpture, particularly on the left side of the image, and especially if you focus on his right ear (your left). Either that or I'm over-tired ;-)

On another note: chromasia will be on auto-pilot from first thing tomorrow morning until Tuesday as I'm down in Southend for a few days. Fortunately I managed to take just enough shots yesterday evening to keep things ticking over, but I'll have to take something while I'm away to cover Tuesday's slot.

And finally: thanks for all the kind words on yesterday's entry – we live in dark times.

Update: chromasia won't be on autopilot as 'future posting' seems to have stopped working – the database updates, and MT reckons that the entry has been published, but none of the relevant pages get rebuilt. So, I'll still manage to get things posted but the times at which they go up may vary.

9.07pm on 7/7/05

Canon 20D

EF 17-40 f/4L USM

17mm (27mm equiv.)

f/5.6

1/80

aperture priority

-1/3 (-2/3 FEC)

evaluative

100

580EX

RAW

C1 Pro

no

captured
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?

 
3x2
comment by Broch Gerling at 08:34 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Absolutely beautiful. I love the contrast of the colors, and the forboding sky.

comment by dp at 08:41 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

The effect is absolutely stunning! Dave, you should really have a small write up of how you achieved these kind of photographs (rather than a bland "colorization") for lesser mortals like me ;-)

comment by Eli Vergara at 08:41 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Amazing shot, love the clouds. Definitely off the chromasia style, but hey, it's nice to see a change every now and then.
Congrats on getting together. I am trying to create my own photoblog, but I am having lots of difficulty with setting it up (HTML, PHP and such), any suggestions?

I really enjoyed the contrast in today's shot, the sharp figure against the sky really defines it.

comment by laurent at 08:52 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Wow! This is like the doomsday clouds in end of the world movies, very nice! And the statue is like some post-apocalyptic being rising in power. Awesome shot!

comment by Stuart at 08:53 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Lovely effect here... :)

comment by owen at 08:55 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

How did you do that?!? I can definitely see the sky moving!! Superb.

comment by tark at 08:55 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Wow... Nice shot, but ... the clouds are unwonted. :-)

comment by djn1 at 09:00 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Thanks.

owen: I have no idea! When I look at it it appears as though the clouds are slowly drifting from left to right, but I don't know why.

comment by mark at 09:01 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

wow...the contrast in this shot is stunning...and i didnt believe i'd be able to perceive the clouds moving, BUT I DID!...Too Cool!

My only nitpick is that the figure is slightly tilted to the right...

comment by chris at 09:08 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

for me its more like the Sentinel is leaving the page - coming towards me. Slightly disconcerting! Nice shot though. I'm looking forward to the rest of the this series. NorthWest Tonight didn't seem to do it justice . . .

comment by Rico Bergholdt Hansen at 10:00 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

I like the transparency of the 'new' mouse over effect. However, I could do without it. I don't see how it contributes possitively to the site, since there is no new info in the box.

As to todays photo, I have to say bravo. It is not often I feel inspired by a motive like this. The material looks almost more like stone than iron. And yes, the sky is moving or maybe it is the wine I had... cheers.

comment by TN-Mike at 10:05 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Fantastic.

comment by Neil at 10:11 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

err... wow! definitely not your normal style, but i love it, the man really stands out. superb

comment by ps at 10:31 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

no, no... i must say, this photo is quite poor. sorry ;/

comment by Kath at 10:35 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

this artwork was placed on a beach in Stavanger on the west coast of Norway a few years ago. I doubt if anyone captured them in quite this way. Your colors are as usual incredible.
I try to make use of your photoshop tips on this site, so thank You!

comment by hbz at 10:52 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

I think the cloud illusion is a real-life version of this classic illusion:

http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/plaidm2.jpg

(By the way, if you want to look that the other illusions on the site, have a sickness bag handy)

comment by Jenny G at 11:48 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

stunning. very good choice of colour!

comment by Andreas F. Bobak at 11:53 PM (GMT) on 8 July, 2005

Wow, this one is very strong. I like the color choice, the red contrasts very nicely with the turquish colored sky.

comment by Thinh at 12:43 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

Creepy photo, it looks like the clouds have eyes and are looking upon the statue...freaky.

comment by Brian at 12:46 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

Amazing shot - the sky is the main interest here for me, but the contrast between the statue and the sky works well.

It's very unfortunate what happened yesterday - I hope they are able to find those who are responsible. The photo seems almost fitting, as the sky feels dark (in nature) to me, while the statue seems to be standing tall amongst it all.

comment by willy at 12:55 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

wow that is a freakin trip!

comment by paul at 01:14 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

stunner dave, that background is freaky on the eyes. wonderful contrast.

comment by jcyrhs at 02:17 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

This shot doesn't really appeal to me...but i like the idea.

comment by Alec Long [Shutter And Pupil] at 03:03 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

How very sinister. The color pallete is richly soothing and foreboding at the same time. Good stuff.

comment by aashish at 03:48 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

nice effect of rust! and the blue-ish skies behind. gr8 shot!

comment by W at 05:51 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

love the color contrast

comment by Superfluous at 06:46 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

WOW...all i can say

comment by myla at 07:04 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

The first thing that leapt to mind was Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient. =)

comment by steve at 07:54 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

hi dave nice image... very powerful! I was there myself last week just before all the structures were in place... took my lensbaby along...

http://lensbabies.server101.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=5598&t=5598

steve

comment by Adriana at 08:35 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

I had not the change to say it, BUt it is so sad to see what you people have been trough. Hope there's hope things are getting better at some level.

The sky is subreal and I personaly think that it goes perfectly well with the man's shape. The color in both is jus stunning. And I agree with the movement thing. Lovely.

comment by Battin at 09:38 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

sorry i dont like it... it looks way to fake and stuff... and the light from the blitz make it look even more fake..

comment by de ivo at 10:59 AM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

Wow! A bit less reflection on the sculpture and the picture would be perfect…

comment by frank nelson at 06:05 PM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

looks scary...

comment by Kev Rosie at 06:20 PM (GMT) on 9 July, 2005

Very powerful, especially considering what's just happened in London. Were you influenced by the bombing as this seems too closely linked to be otherwise?

Stunning site; been lurking for a couple of weeks now and I'm inspired, but intimidated! Still, you've made me get off my butt and get out with my camera! Inspirational stuff!

comment by fraxinus at 08:58 AM (GMT) on 10 July, 2005

The moving clouds are fascinating - and I see them alternately moving from left to right and right to left!
Oh, and I agree with Rico that the mouseovers really don't add anything to what has always previously been a clear and clean site. They are more information than you need, as it is all available elsewhere - unless: are they readable by screen readers for the visually impaired? This would be in line with current accessibility recommendations.
Enjoy your time in Southend - it's my home town (and I was desperate to leave it as a teenager!)

comment by Donna McMahon at 09:10 AM (GMT) on 10 July, 2005

I've just seen War Of The Worlds and that sky reminded me of the film, so be on your guard for invading Martians! :)

comment by Frank Goodins at 02:10 PM (GMT) on 10 July, 2005

You are a master of masking. But the halo around the statue gives the game away. Less Photoshop please.

Frank in Madrid

comment by Aegir at 09:00 PM (GMT) on 10 July, 2005

Hey Frank, red rag to a bull! They aint your photos...

comment by naz at 04:45 PM (GMT) on 13 July, 2005

Must be one of the few 'gormley' pics i really like. Menacing clouds. You do seem to be able to get real menace in some pics i.e the girl playing with a factory behind her.

comment by Conrad at 02:40 AM (GMT) on 2 August, 2005

You're so lucky to be close enough to Gormley's exhibit to take photos. Way over here across the pond all we can do is look at the awesome photo's people like you take...