Historic Honolulu Architecture 3

[ShaneS]

This is the last of the images captured last weekend. This time black and white images of doors, arches and columns...

Aliiolani Hale was built in 1874 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Australian architect Thomas Rowe originally provided two sets of plans for a royal palace but when this project was postponed the plans were modified and used for this building which serves as a home for the judiciary. The building is composed of cement blocks which was a relatively new building material at the time and has stood the test of time well in that there has been very little deterioration in the structure since it was first erected.



Next, an walkway surrounding a courtyard of the 1922 post office building. I love the detail on the roof and column cornices.



Lastly, the most challenging image to capture of the set is this partial image of Kawaiahao Church. I had practically no room to move back due to the close proximity of other structures in the area so I chose to present a close up of the front up to the top of the clock. Even this shot required quite a bit of perspective correction an I wonder what you think of it? Does it feel chopped off?



The church was completed in 1842 and is constructed with approximately 14,000 slabs of coral that were harvested by "natives" (in quotes because it is not my chosen word but the word used on the church website).

Natives dove 10 to 20 feet to hand-chisel these pieces from the reef, then raised them to the surface, loaded them into canoes, and ferried them to shore.

As usual C&C is always welcomed and appreciated.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Shane I find #2 great. #3 is nice too ,but it is a pity that you couldn't move back , I'm afraid it looks a bit chopped off.

[Shadowman]

Shane,

Nice captures.

[Manfred M]

Very nice shots Shane. Are you correcting these in post or are you shooting with at perspective correcting lens?

Every time I look at your images, I think to myself; "got to visit Hawaii sometime". I'm sure I'll get there yet.

[Mike Buckley]

It's so nice of you to explain the architecture that you're presenting to us. All of the images are wonderful conversions.

The second one works really well for me. The third one does appear chopped off; I wonder if you would be better off getting closer, shooting more upward, and letting the resulting perspective distortion convey a sense of height (rather than trying to correct it). In the first one, what information is in the foreground that you found compelling enough to include in the scene?

[ShaneS]

Thank you Binnur, John and Manfred.

To answer your question Manfred, I don't own a perspective correcting lens. These were shot with my kit 18-55M with very careful tripod placement while also ensuring that the camera was level both vertically and horizontally. With the exception of the last image there was minimal perspective correction in post.

Since Binnur confirmed my suspicion that the last image looks cut off I will post a version with just the columns and entrance doors.

[ShaneS]

Mike, thank you for taking the time to comment and give me more food for thought on my work.

Part of what I love about this hobby is that through my images I learn more about my subject. I'm very inquisitive and doing the research behind my images is interesting to me. I find that knowing some background about my subjects gives me a deeper appreciation of them and also helps me to be more engaged with my subject. I'm glad to share my research and if it adds to the enjoyment of the images for others I couldn't be happier

Back to your questions...

In the first image I wanted to emphasize the sense of space or depth leading up to the door but I can see where less foreground also creates a good image. Possibly a square crop would work well here as in the edit of the third that I was putting up while you typed your response?

I have another image of a different historic building from the area and I will try to see what I can come up with when the perspective is not corrected.

Thank you!

BTW Manfred...come visit anytime

[Mike Buckley]

That revised version is really terrific, so terrific that you could return to the scene, capture the same image with the appropriate focal length, and print the results as large as possible (larger than would be possible using the highly cropped version).

[ShaneS]

Here is the full front of the church without any perspective correction and a minimal crop. I couldn't get the image of other building I spoke of to work...



So what do you folks think about this image? Does the perspective add a dynamic energy to the image or ???

[Mike Buckley]

I think it's terrific to leave the image as is (without any perspective correction). I might crop at the bottom to eliminate some of the steps but not necessarily.

What do you think?

[FootLoose]

I agree with Mike, Shane. Perspective distortion is not necessarily a bad thing and in this instance I think it enhances the building. You could probably crop 4 or 5 steps from the bottom, though.

I like the 2nd shot too, those escher-esque arches are fascinating.

[bnnrcn]

The last one is super Shane, I loved it I agree with Mike and Greg about cropping some of the steps. Distortion suits the image very well.

I like #4 too .

Also texture and patterns are very nice in both images. If they were mine I would clone the metal wires (?) at the bottom parts of the white coloumns. I'm sure they have a function but they look a bit odd in such nice images.

[IzzieK]

Have you ever done a vertical panorama, Shane? This is taking a shot from the very top then going down, pretty much like stacking shots .... then merging them together as one shot. Is this possible here in this structure? Just thinking of some possibilities...

Anyway, love these shots...even the third one with the tight crop. I like the clock part really...

[MarieV]

Great shots of those beautiful buildings Shane. I particularly like the second (walkway) image which you captured beautifully and the final image of the Church.

[ShaneS]

I do like it Mike (after all I shot it that way) but for some reason had my doubts. Your comments and those of Greg, Binnur and Marie confirm that maybe I should trust my instincts a bit more

Izzie, I have not done a vertical panorama before but it certainly something to research and consider for future situations like this. Without rails for the gear I would imagine that I would have some perspective issues even that way though but I could be mistaken. Thank you for the suggestion.

Thanks again for everyone who took the time to comment and make suggestions. As always, they are very much appreciated