Retail therapy

[Swisstony10]

No, I didn't just buy some new kit... ;-)

I wanted to get some interesting shots of a big shiny new shopping centre which opened near me before Christmas, for my portfolio. Even though the place is open to the public, I thought I'd be polite and emailed the management people there to ask permission to take pictures. They couldn't have been more helpful, (unless they'd offered to lend me a 5D MkII and some really tasty glass or something) they arranged a pass for me, so I wouldn't get bothered by security, and were generally very helpful. They've asked to see any keepers from my shoot, and I'm going to let them use any that they want for any promotional material and stuff (with full credits, obviously). I did the shoot one evening after work, when the place was pretty quiet - I'm going to go back in the day though when it's busy, and get some more crowded shots, and also show a blue sky beyond the gorgeous curving glass roofs that they have. Anyway, here's a random selection of the evening ones..

This is the bridge that links the car park with the shopping centre - they've played with the lines to give it a weird perspective as you walk along it.



Product placement - my favourite of the fast food places in there:


A curving roof...


My personal favourite - another huge curving roof;


Russ.

[amberskies]

what a pretty place! I'd love to shop there. Great pictures.

[Hayward Taylor]

These are gorgeous images, Russ .. it looks a very beautifully designed mall .. and the shoppers safety was figured in with the enclosed walk from the parking area .. I like your compositions and perspectives .. I think you did a very noble thing by asking their permission first .. excellent photography .. you might think about entering the first photo in the photo Assignment forum

[Palladius]

That first one is absolutely brilliant... I love it. It's got a really precipitous feel to it, like you're falling down into it. It's hard to get a handle of the perspective, so I get a vaguely unsettling feel from it... fabulous!

[amberskies]

Originally Posted by Palladius

That first one is absolutely brilliant... I love it. It's got a really precipitous feel to it, like you're falling down into it. It's hard to get a handle of the perspective, so I get a vaguely unsettling feel from it... fabulous!

yes, the first photo in particular gave me the same feeling. It reminded me of climbing the stairs up the dome of St. Peter's--it was dizzying!

[Swisstony10]

Thanks! It's interesting that you describe the first one as "precipitous" - it doesn't feel that weird when you walk across it, except that the sides are only enclosed part way up, and because there are fairly high buildings either side of the street that runs between the car park and the shops, the wind blows across the bridge, and when there's any precipitation, it blows right in onto all the people who thought they'd stay dry by shopping in an enclosed place! ;-)

But it is a pretty place. And the dome at St Peter's? Did you use the lift, or did you (like I did) think "Oh, it's only a few steps, I'm not shelling out an extra couple of euros just to use a lift.." and then have to stop for a drink and a picnic in the little rooftop cafe before you went right up to the dome though? We could start a new thread, just asking how manky the rope is that you hold onto for the final spiral staircase to the outside balcony on top!

Manky - I think that's a very English word...

Russ

[crazzy88ss]

nice set

(extra useless chatter because the DPS forum is quite pathetic and needs 10 characters...)

[amberskies]

Originally Posted by Swisstony10

Thanks! It's interesting that you describe the first one as "precipitous" - it doesn't feel that weird when you walk across it, except that the sides are only enclosed part way up, and because there are fairly high buildings either side of the street that runs between the car park and the shops, the wind blows across the bridge, and when there's any precipitation, it blows right in onto all the people who thought they'd stay dry by shopping in an enclosed place! ;-)

But it is a pretty place. And the dome at St Peter's? Did you use the lift, or did you (like I did) think "Oh, it's only a few steps, I'm not shelling out an extra couple of euros just to use a lift.." and then have to stop for a drink and a picnic in the little rooftop cafe before you went right up to the dome though? We could start a new thread, just asking how manky the rope is that you hold onto for the final spiral staircase to the outside balcony on top!

Manky - I think that's a very English word...

Russ

I have no idea what "manky" means, but I can guess!

We took the lift since we were already tired--we had done the museums and Chapel in the morning, and the dome in the afternoon. But the rest of the climb... I had vertigo, with the walls sloping in on us and it was rather claustrophobic! lol

Here is a pic of me with the "manky" rope.

[cloverlane]

excellent shots

[Swisstony10]

Hmm, how to definee "Manky" - imagine a piece of rope that's been handled by hundreds of sweaty hands every single day for about 150 years, that's going to be pretty manky.

Or imagine if you did a brine-soaked turkey for Christmas Dinner, and soaked the turkey overnight in a large plastic bucket full of brine with added sugar, maple syrup, onions, numerous spices, oranges, etc, and then took the turkey out, cooked out, decided it was delicious, and then forgot to do anything with the bucket of brine, and then went into the back garden around the end of February and found the bucket containing what used to be brine but now resembles some kind of genetic experiment.. I really must do something about that...

Thanks for the rope-shot!

And thanks Hayward, for the suggestion to enter that first pic into the assignment.

And thanks everyone else for the compliments.

Russ.