Glittering Waters

The sun broke through and made merry with these fountains, so they were recorded from multiple perspectives. These are the fountains in Hyde Park, London, photographed on November 2^nd, 2010. This was my second day in England on that trip, and I took a walk through Hyde Park from the north side, down to the Albert Memorial and Hall, taking in the Serpentine, the sky mirrors, the Peter Pan statue and more. I have a few other frames from this batch that are well worth a look. Colour and contrast were tweaked—the day was generally overcast and fully embodied the different quality the light has in those latitudes at that time of year, such a marked contrast to here in Australia. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Waterwall

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The interactions of water always offer such prismatic fascinations, and teamed with the reflectivity of stainless steel and a sunny day, how can you go wrong? The figures provide scale and a human element that counterpoints the interactions of physics in the background. This is the waterwall and fountains at Sheffield Railway Station, which I photographed on a sunny afternoon in November 2007. The image was sharpened 5% and colour was enhanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Classic Idea, Fresh Interpretation

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Water gardens were a luxury landscape idea in the ancient world, especially in hot climates. Think the Trevi Fountains of Rome, the water gardens prized by the Moghul emperors of India, or their technical predecessors of 12th century Chorasmia. Flowing water is dynamic, both exciting and relaxing in one ever-mobile package. Water also offers photographers amazing opportunities to capture the scintillance of light through a prismatic, refractive and reflective substance, not to mention properties of time-exposure streaking and the halo effects of spray. This is the water feature in the forecourt of Sheffield Railway Station, photographed from just outside the building and looking in the general direction of Sheffield Hallam University, in November 2007. The stainless steel waterwall, the fountains and trickling terraces are a thoroughly modern interpretation of an eternal artistic dynamic that appeals to the human consciousness with light, movement and energy, but all in a precisely controlled way, creating the treasured illusion of the human conquest of nature. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Grace, in Greened Bronze

A million photographers must have recorded this statue since it was unveiled in 1973. It's a fountain on the banks of the Thames, maybe fifty metres east of the north end of Tower Bridge. It's at least double-lifesize, maybe more, a near-realistic portrayal of a sea nymph in weightless play with a dolphin, a beautiful piece reflecting England's historic affinity with the sea. The lighting conditions were very difficult, as the early December sun was sinking fast behind the high-rises of London on that Sunday afternoon in 2007. I could play the sun for all it was worth and go for lens-flare, or de-emphasise the sun and try for some sort of dramatic backlighting. I shot many frames all around this fountain but somehow the severe silhouetting of both the statue and Tower Bridge itself has always struck me as the most dramatic. I hesitate to gamma-correct the image or enhance it any further: this is one of those cases when it really did look just like that on the day! Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Photo by Mike, 2007.

Fountains of Light

This shot was an exercise in patience. The harsh lighting conditions are the result of afternoon sun (the clock in the background says 1.45) shining directly through a very powerful water jet with the shadow side of buildings creating the dark background. The fountain is one of several in Trafalgar Square, London, photographed in early December, 2006 (the sun is very low in the English sky in December). You can see there's some elevation in the POV, the picture was taken with telephoto from across the square on the steps of the National Gallery. Patience involved framing the sprays and then waiting for the endless coming and going of tourists to create as un-cluttered an image as possible. Note also the sunglare creating halos of the fine droplets of spray drifting into the lens. Fuji FinePix S5600, 200ASA, full auto. Image by Mike.

Tribute to the pioneers in Fairbanks, Alaska

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There's an easy way to tell that this picture was captured in summer: the water's flowing! In winter the fountains will be ice, and Golden Heart Plaza -- in the heart of Fairbanks, Alaska -- will be white with snow. Its a lovely spot, right beside the Tanana River, a great place to take a packed lunch and watch the world go by, on sunny days from May to September. The statue is a tribute to the pioneers -- fearless colonists and their dogs -- who opened up Alaska. This image was taken in the summer of 1998. The camera would have been a Pentax K-1000 or the Olympus OM-10 ... and most likely the Pentax (there's a subtle difference in shots captured by the Olympus; I preferred the Pentax and traded the Olympus for a second K-1000 later in '98). The lens would have been the standard 49mm Pentax original. The print was recently scanned at 600dpi and color-corrected: the decade-old prints are starting to fade. Photo by Mel, 1998.