Project: Space and Light.

Light something I have become really fascinated with since I started really being interested in photography. In particular I like the soft light of early mornings and the other extreme where its a dark day and either just about to rain or it has been raining and the sun comes out creating a dramatic view especially over the countryside or through trees.




Exercise: Space and Light
To see how light changes the look and maybe the feel of a space I have chosen to use two rooms in Leeds Castle. One was a bathroom used by royalty the other the Library. I was interested to see how light would filter through the windows which are fairly small and also the walls are very thick and made of stone, so I was also interested to see if that gave any interesting shadows. I have an annual ticket for Leeds Castle which is only about 10 miles from where I live and I knew this way I make sure I used it again.

As you can see there is hardly any light coming through into the bathroom, it was a very overcast day, therefore the whole room was quite dark with only a couple of very small shadows around the leg of the stool and the small table.  I didn't use flash but used a higher iso 400 and f7.1 aperture.  The shutter speed was 1/10's all hand held.

When I reached the library there was a little more light available and this time my shutter speed was 1/60 second.  I loved the feel of this room it was very tranquil and I am looking forward to re visiting it hopefully on a better day.

Disaster Strikes!

On my second visit to Leeds Castle disaster struck, there was a notice saying some of the rooms were being renovated, unfortunately one of the rooms they had chosen to do was the bathroom which was just an empty room on this visit.  Although I could have just photographed it I didn't think it would make for a very interesting photograph so I chose instead to photograph the dining room as I knew I already had some photographs from my first visit.

This is the dining room photograph from the first visit, as I said previously the weather was overcast, but I opted not to use flash and keeping to F8 and a shutter speed of 1/60second and an iso of 200 i was happy with the result, partly the large window helped with the lighting. The only adjustments I have made are I took the clarity up slightly then I moved the exposure and vibrancy to the right by a very small amount.

For this second photograph I was at a slightly different angle from before, this was not of my choosing but rather the way the room was roped off. The reflections are noticeable particularly the glasses on the polished table, all I did to this photograph was to darken the highlights to the glass and adjust the clarity to +12 and the saturation to +18.  I used a slightly higher iso of 400 this time .

The second photograph of the library I managed to stand in more or less the same place as before, having waited while a large group of people went past, I was able to take my photograph. The iso was 400 again this was because I wanted to avoid using flash as I hadn't used it the first time round.   There was very few shadows these were round the green chair.  Once again I adjusted the highlights to improve the window. I adjusted the clarity and then the saturation.

One of the first things I noticed is how different the rooms look in the different lights, the library in the first photograph looks tranquil but formal whereas with the sun coming through the windows the colours are richer making the whole area look more welcoming, it made me want to pick a book and curl up in the chair to read it.

The dining room also looks very different in the two different lights, again there is a richness to the room this is evident not only in the wall colour but also the wood of the table this might not be quite as evident in the photograph but could be seen more clearly looking at the table, where it had space on it.

A very interesting if at times frustrating exercise, but I find myself studying light and how it falls even more now.

Well that's the end of the exercises and now finally time for me to tackle the assignment.  This I hope will be interesting I have started to look at various buildings and how they work, now I need to explore more about this.

Exercise: the Users Viewpoint.

This is all about buildings and space and how they work or maybe don't for the particular activity they have been designed for.


I wanted to think slightly outside of the box for my photographs and choose two views involving a reception area in an office and then Leeds Castle.  leeds-castle.com

The first photograph is taken from the viewpoint of the receptionist, in fact its my own desk and where I do my full time job.

I sat in my chair slightly back from where I would normally sit and had a look to see if it worked as it should do.  I used a focal length of 18mm and made minimal adjustments in photoshop just slight vibrancy and saturation levels adjusted then the unsharp mask.  I took this from sitting down as I was interested to see if the area really did work as it had been designed to do.

The second view I wanted to take was the view from the angle of guests entering the office, I am visible to them,.

I used the same settings and adjustments as described above.

Having entered the office as a 'guest' I thought in general the space worked well, however it was very easy to enter through the double doors and turn right into the main office area without really seeing the receptionist, something which has happened on several occasions and I have actually been told 'sorry I didn't see you there'.

Leaving that comment aside if guests do enter and turn left towards the desk I am clearly visible to them as my head and shoulders are easy to see above the desk. I can also see guests arriving and can be ready to greet them and direct them where they need to go.

The third photograph is taken at Leeds Castle crossing across the moat and entering the castle walls.  Leeds Castle is often described as the 'loveliest castle in the world' which maybe true but I wanted to take the view point of people entering the castle in bygone days.

I stood and looked at the imposing sight in front of me and tried to picture the sort of people who would have entered the castle, some would no doubt have been on horseback but as I was unable to take that view I had to take it at standing height.  As I said the entrance to the castle is imposing and as you cross over into the main area you can see the heavy wooden doors that would have been closed to help protect the occupants from the outside either from natural elements or most likely from attack. I took this at 18mm focal length as I wanted to get the whole of the area in and not just the 'door way'.

The final photograph is really just to show how the area inside the gateway has been used today, Stables are now coffee shops and gift areas.