Paul Halphen  


Untitled by Paul Halphen

July 2026 - Untitled

July 2026 - Paul Halphen

Original

About the Image(s)

I had seen this building from Interstate 4, on the way from Tampa FL to Orlando, a couple of times in the past. It is very visible from I-4, but not so easy to photograph at 80 mph, with a 18 wheeler right behind you. This time, I convinced my wife that we should pull off I-4 and find it (not as easy as it seemed). Anyway, I decided to photograph it with my Pixel 9 Pro XL, rather than my Olympus OM-D E-M1X. (I only had the longer lenses for the M1X, as I had been photographing wildlife that morning.) No tripod, Nothing to prop the phone against other than my body. But, it worked amazingly well.
The edits were done in Lightroom, with denoise and sharpening. As can be seen, I masked and darkened the foreground water, and the background horizon lights. Also added some brightening, clarity, and contrast. But, really the adjustments were relatively small. Cell phones, while they still have their limitations, continue to amaze me with their advances.
Two things I'd like some feedback on. I considered trying to minimize the color and brightness of the grass in the foreground, but decided to leave it as it was, illuminated strongly by a light on the shore. And, I took a number of photos with varying amount of the "bridge" leading into the building. This is the one I settled on. Would you prefer to see MORE or LESS of the of it? Darker or Lighter? Etc.


5 comments posted




David Terao   David Terao
This image has a ton of impact. I especially like how the sharp, white, diagonal lines contrasts against the black sky. In some ways, I prefer seeing the coastline and faintly lit water in the lower part of the image (except for the small, bright orange-ish triangular portion) as it gives the image some dimensionality. Without it, the building looks like it is floating in space.   Posted: 07/01/2026 20:01:14



Paul Halphen   Paul Halphen
Thanks, David.
I had edited it for the PSA Large Print Exhibition, Reflections section. So, although there is also a reflection in that background, I thought it was distracting from the reflection. But, maybe it was the wrong decision. Thanks for the input.   Posted: 07/01/2026 20:43:59



Cindy Lynch   Cindy Lynch
This is a great photo with, as David pointed out, impact (the wow factor!). The focus and details are amazing and the dark background makes the building stand out. I agree with David, that keeping some of the foreground and maybe even the shore line to the left helps to anchor the building. Excellent job!   Posted: 07/02/2026 14:24:30



Robert Knight   Robert Knight
This is a wonderful building to photograph and I think the way you have isolated it from the background is very good. The passage way to the building is a great leading line and the whole image is pin sharp. At first I was going to suggest toning down or removing most of the grass but the more I look at it, the more I would leave it in. Do you know what the building is used for? I would be fascinated to know.   Posted: 07/05/2026 23:03:29
Paul Halphen   Paul Halphen
Robert,
It is the Innovation, Science and Technology building at Florida Polytechnic University   Posted: 07/06/2026 02:52:18



 

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