Reflecting the streets

click photo to enlarge
I've said elsewhere in this blog that I think mirror wall buildings can be an architectural "cop out": an easy way of dealing with the exterior elevations of a building. One can see why they became popular. Once modernism had got rid of external decoration applied like icing on a cake, then architects either de-emphassed their elevations or confronted the more difficult task of using the structure's massing and functional elements in a way that offered pleasing qualities to the world.

The architecture of the twentieth century offers countless examples of buildings where architects failed in this regard, as well as many fine and successful works that have stood the test of time. So, it seems to me that some architects eagerly seized the mirror wall as a way of avoiding the harder task. Having said that, I generally find that a plain, unimaginative, mirrored exterior is usually better than a routine exterior using more traditional methods to achieve its effect. Of course, the interest of what is reflected comes into play with mirror walls, and can make or break its success. One of my earlier blog posts shows a medieval church reflected in an early (for the UK) essay with this approach. Moreover, I have to admit that my photography contains more than a few images that use reflections in one way or another, so there is a tendency for me to be drawn to mirror wall buildings for images even if I'm often unenthusiastic about the actual example that is depicted.

Today's photograph of a building on one of the streets behind London's South Bank is a case in point. Its all over grid of thin frames, each filled with identical mirror glass, could hardly be more repetitive, and the mirrored entrance, while it breaks the grid, hardly stands out from its surrounds. And yet, and yet... on a spring afternoon, with a clear blue sky, deeply shadowed buildings, trees, passing people, and advertising hoardings reflected in it, the structure offers something I find attractive; a sort of collage of the local environment, writ large and constantly changing. Whether it would look as interesting on a dull, damp day in December is quite another matter of course.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 7.4mm (35mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f4
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: -0.66 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Fingers and visual dislocations

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In a recent post that features a photograph of my feet I observed that, after the face, the part of the human body that is felt to be most expressive of a person is the hands. A while ago I was making a pair of display boards for a local club of which I'm a member, and, as I fixed the screws that held the hinges, I looked down at my busy hands and wondered how I could incorporate them in an image.

As is often the case with me, I let this thought float about in my head for a few days, turning it first this way, then that, until an idea began to coalesce. I'd been looking at some photographs I'd taken a couple of years ago that involved placing objects on mirrors. What interests me in images made like this is that you not only get the reflection of the object, but you also have an element of confusion on the first viewing as the mind works out what is going on to create the visual dislocation.

The result is today's photograph, which isn't strictly a shot of hands, but of fingers, the most expressive and useful part of the hand. It includes some of the screws I'd been using to fix those hinges that I placed on a mirror laid flat on a table. I tried various permutations of fingers and screws, but this one, which with the reflection of the opposing index finger and thumb combined with the actual digits, makes a sort of figure "8", is the one I preferred. It isn't the greatest shot I've ever created, but the "floating" screws add a slightly unusual dimension, I think, and cause the viewer to do a "double take".

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro, (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Reflecting the world

click photo to enlarge

I don't know the first architect who used mirror glass in a curtain wall, but I imagine he felt pretty pleased with himself! The idea of a wall that appears almost intangible, that reflects its surroundings in a grid, that conveys a sense of lightness or even weightlessness, is very appealing. It makes possible buildings that change their appearance according to the time of day, state of the weather and the particular season. Yes, when the first building that made this possible went up the architectural profession must have clapped its collective hands in delight. I've seen buildings with mirrored walls that look elegant and ethereal, that cause you to stop and stare.

However, there is also a sense in which mirror-wall buildings are a major cop out. They are "easy". They let the architect dispense with the usual problem of how to treat the exterior of a structure. There's no agonising over windows and walls because in this type of building they are the same. The problem of whether to use steel, concrete, brick, tiles, or any of the dozens of other finishes is redundant - the answer is always reflective glass. Yes, the design of the glazing bars is an issue, but a small one. Maybe that's why tinted glass became the vogue - architects wanted bring more personal expression to this genre, and the use of colour reintroduces aesthetic judgement. And, as the buildings glazed in these ways have proliferated architects have sought to introduce yet more variety to prevent the same, now boring, look being repeated everywhere. Today's photograph is of one such variation. It shows the wall above the main entrance of some offices in Peterborough. The reflective glass wall angles in and out, and in so doing presents a less usual reflection of its surroundings. Downward facing angles reflect the pavement, and upward facing angles reflect the trees and sky. I noticed this as I passed, and took this photograph of the effect. I'm the person reflected in the upper band of glass!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 21mm (42mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: Off