Great Hall - Union Station

[Manfred M]

One of my earliest childhood memories is of this place; we moved to Toronto when I was 4 years old, and did no more train travel, I would have to guess it I was probably around three at the time. Needless to say, I found the place quite intimidating at the time.

This is technically the ticket hall, but everyone calls it the Great Hall. The station was built in the early 1900's an is still the busiest transportation hub in Canada, with some 200,000 people using it daily. The bulk of the travellers are who are arriving and departing for nearby cities on commuter trains or people using the subway. The long haul trains still use the station as well and this is likely what the person hauling the large suitcase up the stairs is doing.




I decided to go B&W here, because of the age of the building. I did a lot of PP work (brightening shadows and toning down highlights) before running the image through Nik Color Efex 2. I used the "wet rocks" filter on this image.

[Polar01]

Very nice Manfred, I have the hardest time getting a shot even at that time of day, that window just blows everything out. Again a very nice capture in a very difficult location.

Cheers: Allan

[DanK]

A very striking image. I have one suggestion. What about dodging the fellow trudging up the stairs with the suitcase? He's an important part of the image, and he's the most important foreground detail. There is not a lot of detail in that part of the image, so the dodging has to be fairly extreme, and it leaves a rather coarse texture. However, I did a very quick and dirty dodging, and I think it looks better. I'm not positing it because I don't know if you want edits of your images posted.

Dan

[Manfred M]

A very striking image. I have one suggestion. What about dodging the fellow trudging up the stairs with the suitcase? He's an important part of the image, and he's the most important foreground detail. There is not a lot of detail in that part of the image, so the dodging has to be fairly extreme, and it leaves a rather coarse texture. However, I did a very quick and dirty dodging, and I think it looks better. I'm not positing it because I don't know if you want edits of your images posted.

Dan

Actually Dan, I've already dodged that part of the image; I had the same thought as you did. I can easily turn up the intensity (just by duplicating the dodge layer a number of times).

[Mike Buckley]

Well done, especially the revised version.

Consider telling a somewhat different story by cropping at the top to eliminate the ceiling. Doing so places more emphasis on the clock for me, which reinforces the idea that the man walking up the stairs is trying to get somewhere on time, perhaps to his train that is about to depart.

[DanK]

Actually Dan, I've already dodged that part of the image; I had the same thought as you did. I can easily turn up the intensity (just by duplicating the dodge layer a number of times).

This revision is quite similar to what I did. I dodged a bit more. I used a single layer but with a much higher opacity than I would normally use, I think around 60%. I think your revision is better than the original.

[Nicks Pics]

Good Job on this one Manfred, I think it was well executed.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, really pulls the viewer into the image.

[Manfred M]

Well done, especially the revised version.

Consider telling a somewhat different story by cropping at the top to eliminate the ceiling. Doing so places more emphasis on the clock for me, which reinforces the idea that the man walking up the stairs is trying to get somewhere on time, perhaps to his train that is about to depart.

Mike, I did take some images that concentrated more on the clock, but frankly, that is not the story I wanted to tell here.

In this image, my purpose was to highlight the magnificent architecture of the old building versus the rather mundane act of traveling in the modern world. I was trying for a perspective that looks a touch odd and out of place, perhaps almost a hint of M. C. Escher.

[Mike Buckley]

Mike, I did take some images that concentrated more on the clock, but frankly, that is not the story I wanted to tell here.

One of the great things about being an independent photographer, as opposed to one that is working for a client, is that you always get to tell the story you want to tell.

In this image, my purpose was to highlight the magnificent architecture of the old building versus the rather mundane act of traveling in the modern world.

Your photo tells that story very well.