Xpedition

Just two days after getting my Fujifilm X-Pro1, I participated to a Belgiumdigital Shooting Day in the southern Antwerp area. Our route partly followed the ‘Expedition Blue Gate Antwerp’ trail, a discovery tour laid out last year through a historically significant but today largely abandoned section of the old harbor (locally known as ‘Petrol South’).

The gear was brand new to me, but coming from the X100 and having read the X-Pro1 manual long before the camera arrived, the basics were well understood. Just a matter then of getting familiar with the latest toy and two of its new lenses.

What’s so special about the old petroleum harbor? In 1863, only four years after drilling the first well in the US, Antwerp already had become the largest and best equipped import harbor for oil products in Europe. It kept that status until 1927, when Hamburg and Rotterdam took over.

At the start of the 20th century, Antwerp moves its focus for oil related activities to the south of the city. An area of 100 hectares is acquired and construction work starts: a 300m long concrete pier, underground pipelines, huge fuel storage tanks…  After only one year of operations a big catastrophe happens: one of the fuel tank ruptures and ignites. Immense fires rage for twelve days and destroy the installations almost completely.
Within the year, the infrastructure is rebuilt and industrial activities resume, and with that, the first complaints about oil leaks and the resulting pollution are recorded.

When World War I erupts, the authorities give the order to set fire to the oil tanks and destroy all infrastructure. The arriving German troops will find only a small part intact. After the war, the expansion of Antwerp’s petroleum harbor resumes. By 1920, no less than 233 oil storage tanks are counted. A final extension is realized in 1934. But the area runs out of space for new plants, and oil tankers have grown to a size that the old harbor can no longer accommodate. During the same  year a first new refinery is constructed in the northern harbor. This is the beginning of the end for ‘Petrol South’…

Today, only a few oil-related companies remain active, the rest of the area is dotted with industrial antiquities and derelict buildings. But the heavily polluted site stands on the brink of a new future: a massive cleanup and reconversion effort has begun to turn this part of Antwerp’s south harbor into the place to be for new sustainable and ecological ventures.

It’s not hard to see that ‘Petrol South’ is a visually rich area and a real treat for photographers. So it did serve as an ideal playground to discover a new camera that by itself represents a unique combination of past and future.

Gear notes: Fujifilm X-Pro1, Fujinon XF 18mm f/2.0 & 35mm f/1.4

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Less is more (take two)

I like from time to time to go back to my photo archives, and search for pictures that do well with a black&white treatment. It’s a good way to revisit old favorites and see them in new light. Sometimes shots that didn’t ‘work’ in color get a new life as well.

Here’s a few from recent Antwerp collections.

   


Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8, 24-120/4.0VR

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Central Station revisited

Antwerp’s Central railway station is a well-known great source for photographic inspiration. It combines the lush grandeur of old times with modern architecture through renovations an additions. The result is a pleasing and above all functional environment for the countless travelers coming by every day.

This blog has taken you to the Central Station before. Just last weekend some 80 Belgiumdigital shooters were given access to some exclusive vantage points high above. A unique opportunity to discover and document the place from an unusual perspective!

Three views from the majestic grand hall.

From high above the platforms

To be continued!

Gear notes: D700, 24-120/4 VR, 16/2,8

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Prime time: Good looks

Yet another afternoon stroll through a damp city of Antwerp with just one prime lens glued to the camera. Theme for this random collection: just looking…

Who’s most curious: the photographer or the subject?

So happy together…

See-through garden

Still (wet)

Gear notes: D700, 85/1.8

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Less is more

Some images take on a totally different, stronger personality when converted to black&white. I keep telling myself that I should remember this and experiment more often.

Light and lines are two elements that usually contribute well to B&W images. An urban environment offers plenty of opportunities to discover and exploit.

 
Scenes containing strong graphic elements are also good candidates. You may have seen the image below before on my blog, but this B&W version seems like telling a different story…

And then there’s structure and texture. B&W brings out more of the heart and soul of materials. No further comments needed…

Gear notes: D700, 35/2.0D, 24/2.8

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Prime time: Strolling through the City

I am very fond of short shooting strolls, taking just one or two prime lenses with me. This time I headed back to ‘t Stad (as the locals call Antwerp) with a 35mm on my FX body. Just some fun images to enjoy…

Tribute to Paul van Ostaijen

Reflections on our former colony, just turned 50

A quiet evening in the olde town… 

Gear notes: D700, 35/2.0D

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High Dynamic Heaven

A surprise encounter during last Sunday’s Shooting Day in and around Antwerp’s old harbor area with Belgiumdigital! At one point in time we ignored the metal fences around an old warehouse building (granted: the one meter wide opening was quite inviting) and stepped inside for a quick visit to a soon-to-be-gone site.

The ‘Montevideo warehouses’ consist of twenty-two brick stone sheds dating from 1895 and covering a total area of 12,000 m². The name refers to the ships once traveling the Rio de la Plata.

The buildings have the typical saw tooth shed roofs originally introduced with the first English mechanical weaving mills. They served as a storage space for the British Army until 1950, and have been filled with butter, cheese, cigarettes, ham, coffee and tea. The site is a protected historic monument since 2001.

 
The restoration of the warehouses will start in August of this year. They will become part of a new complex centered around an indoor multicultural market with a number of fixed stalls. The original metal skeleton will be preserved: the elements will be dismounted, treated and reassembled on a new concrete floor. The project should be completed by end 2012 and is part of the broader redevelopment of the old harbor area - ‘t Eilandje – together with the new MAS (Museum Aan de Stroom/Museum on the River) and the Red Star Line buildings.

 
An abandoned industrial site and great light: what more do you need for a dose of HDR frenzy? The above shots showcase a lot of alternative post-processing techniques: extreme development of a RAW file in Lightroom, fusing multiple exposures and even tone mapping from a single RAW file in Photomatix Pro. Even more surprising: all of the above shots (and many more) were made in a time span of just ten minutes! But I better not mention the time spent in front of the computer following that…

Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8

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Training

I have not yet figured out whether or how my recently acquired iPhone will play a meaningful role in my photographic endeavors. Sure, it looks like an intriguing device to capture pixels. But is it also a camera, and if so, one that some day I will come home to?

A business trip last week offered some opportunities to make random shots, and the few from the Bruxelles Midi train station shown here are just that. The limited quality of the images (taken in the low evening light) led me towards a more impressionistic interpretation. And where did the idea to crop square come from?

So once again I find myself with the puzzling urge to explore seeing and showing the world in a different way. Not entirely comfortable, but eager to find out where this journey will lead to.

Gear notes: iPhone 3GS

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Goin’ for the fish

Going out to the coast for an afternoon of shooting with photo-buddies: can you think of a better destination to throw a fisheye lens into your camera bag?

I like – from time to time – to experiment with the special look at the world through a fisheye lens. When handled with care, these lenses may open unexpected pockets of creativity. But you have to keep trying for new angles, rather than just blowing things up. Let’s have a go at a few examples.

This interior shot of the Saint Rochus church in Blankenberge comes from a 3-shot HDR sequence, partially de-fished (using PTLens as a Lightroom plug-in).

An unconventional image from an otherwise bland and boring billboard. How to add diagonals to your image if there aren’t any…

A quiet corner in an equally quiet street. And just next to it, an artist’s work place for the day:

P.S. Yes, I know: there are no images from the sea or coastline here. I guess I got my taste of fish before I reached the water…

Gear notes: D700, 16/2.8D

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24/7

Some cities never go to sleep, and Hong Kong is definitely one of those. Behind the shiny lights and bright colors, a restless anthill just goes on and on. The beautiful cityscapes at night are but one more expression of the pulsing energy of this part of Asia.

These images were made during a business visit that had me in the city for just a few days. When being outside in the evening,
I took advantage of every opportunity to grab a shot, walking the streets or stepping onto a hotel balcony way up there. No tripod, just shooting handheld on the go.

  
My last visit to Hong Kong dates from 2005 already. I have no doubt that much has changed since. I wish I could go back there soon, not only to discover the city once again, but to find out what today’s sensors – like the one in my D700 – would allow me to capture differently.

Gear notes: D70, 35/2.0, 50/1.8, Sigma 12-24HSM

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Chess on the square

Amsterdam, on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I had some time to kill before an appointment, near the famous Leidseplein. I wandered around, camera at hand, but found the atmosphere spoiled by the steady traffic of weekend shoppers.

I went through a short passage and arrived at a quiet square, lined with shops and pubs. And so I arrived at a ‘scene’…

 

It’s not that unusual – at least in some countries – to discover a large chess set outdoors on the pavement, surrounded by a flock of players and spectators. But you don’t expect it just around the corner from one of Amsterdam’s busiest meeting areas.

The square is named after Max Euwe, the famous Dutch chess grandmaster, mathematician, and author, whose (small) statue overlooks the chessboard. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, from 1935 to 1937.

My wait took me just long enough to enjoy the game, witness the finale (white won), and grab these couple of shots. In black and white, of course. What else would fit the noble game?

Gear notes: D300, 18-70DX

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Up high

When I learned that an upcoming business meeting was to take place on the 20th floor of the Antwerp Tower business center (the third highest building in the city), I could not resist to take along my camera bag and make sure I arrived well before the agreed upon time…

Not a great day to shoot panoramic views, though. The city was covered by a dense smog, partly perhaps because of the unusual snowy weather. The sun doesn’t move high this time of the year, and in addition turned out to come from the ‘wrong’ side of our meeting room. And although the meeting facilities itself were impeccable, the least you could say is that the windows are up for a good outside cleaning job…

The view on downtown Antwerp was rather spectacular anyway, more so than the above images suggest. Amazing what a chaotic patchwork results from the myriad of rooftops. And how you can find pretty abstract compositions in the middle of that maze.
 Can you see what I was looking at?

Gear notes: D700, 24/2.8, 180/2.8D

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