Different Perspectives

Looking at some different ways to depict the same building. The building in question is the Bank of Panshin in Banciao, New Taipei City. Banciao incidentally has the third highest population density in Taiwan and the 22nd in the world.

Bank of Panshin, Banciao, New Taipei City. Long exposure.

Long exposures of car headlights can add a bit of drama to night time architectural shots. When shooting tall buildings, due to the converging lines that appear when looking up at high things, care must be taken to correct the distortion so that the building doesn’t look as if it’s falling over. You may also need to stitch multiple images if you can’t get far enough away, as in this case.

Bank of Panshin, Banciao, New Taipei City. Graphical composition.

However, sometimes the falling over effect can suit the composition. When shooting black and white, it is important to pay attention to tones and graphical composition. In this shot, high contrast black and white and the weather conditions – overcast – seem to give the impression that the buildings are made out of metal.

Bank of Panshin, Banciao, New Taipei City. Abstract composition.

Reflections in windows can give you a frame-within-frame composition. If the windows are not flat or, as here, completely distorted you end up with an interesting abstract image. To me the distorted top of the bank’s tower have made it look almost Gaudi-esque.

Camera: Canon 1Ds
Lenses: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, Canon 24mm f/1.4