Terence Li

Photo Taking - The Architecture of Hong Kong

Photo One:

This photo is taken in Central. The subject is the building which called “The Center”.

I was standing in the middle with a short distant with the building. I can make the building looks like a trapezium on this photo.

As I want to emphasis the texture on the pillar, I took this picture at about 4pm. Side lighting came from the left and reflected. Therefore the texture on the pillar is quite clear to see.

I adjust the color temperature a little bit higher to obtain more blue color. This can highlight the modern and cyber feelings of this building.

There is a reflected building image on the pillar (right hand side) to enhance the visibilities of the photo. Also, the building was placed in the middle of the photo, making the photo has a symmetric pattern. Therefore, the building looks more stable. And the building has a shape of “A” in the picture.

Photo Two:

This photo is taken in the Hong Kong International Airport. The subject is the speedwalk inside the restricted area.

Inside the airport, the light was diffused. Therefore the lighting looks soft and comfortable in the photo.

The subject is placed in the middle of the photo. A stable feeling can be shown. I turn down the shutter speed to capture the moment of the speedwalk, as you can see the yellow lines were blurred. Also, the vanishing point shows the moving direction of the speedwalk. That means I am going to bring out the “moving” concept at all.

To make the picture looks more interesting, the notice “Hold the handrail” is also included in the picture, placed on the middle-bottom. The yellow background of the notice makes a high contrast with the speedwalk which is in black color. That’s eye catching.

The photo has an “A” shape passing through the speedwalk. It also follows the rule of third – the background (the roof) was place on the upper 1/3 part of the picture and the speedwalk was placed on the lower 2/3 part of the picture.

Photo Three:

This photo is taken in the Legislative Council Arcade. It was about 9pm. The subject is the corridor there.

The view point makes a shape repeated so many times in the picture. The shapes together form a diagonal view to represent the length of the corridor.

To ensure the photo is bright enough, I turn down the shutter speed to obtain more light. However, the exposure lever is lower than the normal of 1EV. This is because an under exposure effect can make the photo has a lonesome feeling.

The color temperature was adjusted quite low to make more warm colors appears on the photo. This is because the object can looks more elegant under the warm color.

The object in the photo is well balanced since I place it right in the middle of the picture which makes a symmetric pattern.

Photo Four:

This photo is taken in the Central Pier in Central. The subject is the structure of the Pier.

It was about 2pm in the afternoon. The light comes from the left hand side of the pier. Strong shadow appears on the ground and the right hand side of the pier. Therefore a high contrast picture comes out. As you can see, every edge on the picture looks sharp.

The photo was applied with the skills of golden triangle. The subject was perfectly divided into 4 parts – the roof, the ground and the left & right supports. This can make the photo look more comfortable and impressive.

The placement of the subject are based on the use of rule of thirds and diagonal are the placement of a horizon line in 50% of line in portrait format which emphasis the upper and lower part .

Again, the symmetric pattern makes the photo well balanced, have a safe, comfortable feeling.

Photo Five:

This photo is taken in Central – The International Finance Centre. The subject is the building.

For the view angle, since the building have the same width, the edge was placed in the middle of the photo to enhance a maximum viewing angle.

I was standing on the right hand side of the building. The distant between me and the building is short. The foreground has form a parallel line with the building. The building also reflected the color of the background which produced a consistence for the building and the sky

It was about 7pm. I choose this period to take this photo because there was no direct light shine on the subject. All the lights are reflected and give no shadow. Since the environment is quite dark, I use 1s exposure time to take a bright picture.