This week I received my new camera, a Panasonic Lumix G100, in time for completing the mimesis project. I chose photographer Michael Lewis Glover as my artist to imitate, his work features architecture and landscapes with dramatic colours and lighting, likely using HDR techniques and postproduction editing.
Author: Michael Lewis Glover
PHOTO 1: ‘Painting the treasury building’
Author: Luis Barra – ISO 3200 – lens12mm, f. 5.6, ss. 1/40 sec.
In this photograph, I took inspiration from Glover in several ways, including classical architecture, symmetrical composition, and exaggerated upwards point of view and vivid colour and light. From a technical perspective, I set the iso at 3200 because I was shooting at night and I wanted to capture more colour, however, this increase the amount of noise in the image. The point of view and lighting allowed me to get some depth in the photo, although I had to set the aperture at F5.6 to allow for enough light being shot during the night. In postproduction, I adjusted the saturation and contrast to show the architectural details of the building and to create an almost ultraviolet colour, similar to the glowing colours in Glover’s work.
PHOTO 2: ‘Bus stop, lost in transit’
Author: Luis Barra – ISO 3200 – lens12mm, f. 3.5 – ss. 1/13 sec.
PHOTO 3: ‘St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne’
Author: Luis Barra – ISO 3200 – lens12mm, f. 3.5 – ss. 1/10 sec.
PHOTO 4: ‘Blossom in Melbourne’
Author: Luis Barra – ISO 400 lens23mm, f.4.9, ss. 1/60 sec.
For this photo, I was inspired by Glover’s use of bright colours, shown here in the skyline and the flowers. I also chose a composition with a vanishing point, similar to some of his work and captured reflections in the buildings, which is something he often does with buildings and water. In hindsight, I would have liked to remove the red labels on the flower buckets in post-production, as I find them distracting and they break the rhythm and repetition in the image, another quality of Glover’s work. I could have also adjusted the light further in some parts of the photo such as the cathedral to add more of a glow.
PHOTO 5: ‘Gala at the Regent’
Author: Luis Barra – ISO 1600, lens12mm, f. 3.5, ss. 1/60 sec.
This is my favourite photo of the series, capturing a floral display at the regent theatre, adding to the surreal feeling of the image. I have chosen a very symmetrical composition, a common element of Glover’s architectural photography. Colour was very important here; I was able to show the vivid reds and greens of the flowers while maintaining the drama and warm glow of the chandelier lighting. Even if the aperture is not a low number, the depth of field is still maintained by the low angle of the photo and the stairs leading upwards.
Overall this was an enjoyable project and studying Glover’s work for inspiration allowed me to better understand the techniques of HDR photography and get familiar with my new camera.
References:
Glover, M. 2020, ‘Michael Lewis Glover – fine art photography’, Michael Lewis Glover webpage, viewed 20th November 2020 <https://www.michaellewisglover.com>
