Living near a large old city allows me to take unique architectural photographs. I am particularly interested in new construction adjacent to old structures. I have been photographing many of these buildings when I happen to come across them. This is in downtown Cleveland, adjacent to the Cuyahoga River. The old brick building on the right was a warehouse built in 1917 and has been abandoned for years. The condominiums close on the left were recently built and are a very expensive place to live. I like the contrast of the buildings for their age, style, and proximity. What I find interesting about the location, is why would anyone want to live next to an abandoned building. I removed some of the hanging wires in Lightroom and used Topaz AI to sharpen the image.
Pentax K-1, ISO 100, 68mm, f11, 1/125 sec.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 8 comments posted
Trey Foerster
Jay, a wonderful architectural cityscape image with fantastic contrasts of facing and stonework. There's also the contrasts between oldest, older, and modern within the image. You might also want to play with this in b&w, as it offers wide tonal contrasts in the format. This image is just wonderful for contrasts as there is also vertical and lateral, square and rectangular. You did a superb job of the cleanup too! Posted: 03/16/2025 12:39:44
Jay Joseph
Thank you for your comments Trey. I will try a version in black and white. Posted: 03/21/2025 17:59:22
Ian Cambourne
A great image Jay, I fully agree with Trey. I'll say what I'm thinking and it's just my opinion, but I'm really pleased to notice that you seem to be practising your photography with your final image firmly in mind before you press the shutter. Shooting "big" to capture your desired image together with all its extraneous stuff around the edges, and then presenting your viewers with the image you wanted them to see is a great way to go. Congratulations on a great job. Posted: 03/17/2025 03:09:19
Jay Joseph
Thank you for your comments Ian. Posted: 03/21/2025 18:06:23
Henriette Brasseur
Love this image...I'm biased because I love architecture. There are so many scenes within your original that I could spend hours photographing if I were there...Are you going back to do more of this scene? You certainly have a talent for this type of photography. There is so much to see in this image...colors, rectangles, lines, abstract white blotches in the window of the white facing, reflections, etc. Nice choice of cropping to bring the viewer's attention to the different ages of the structure before you and the details within....I would love to see more of these types of images from you. Well done, Jay. Posted: 03/17/2025 12:02:35
Jay Joseph
Thank you for your comments Henriette. It is a great place to take pictures and I hope to get back this summer. Posted: 03/21/2025 18:46:50
Gordon Watson
I have to correct you on living close to an 'old city' - there are no 'old cities' in America!! Having said that, there is a clear old and new in this image, and it is quite unusual to have such a sharp contrast between adjacent buildings, so well done for presenting that to us. In addition to the wires, it looks like you have also removed lamp-posts and trees as well, which presents the buildings in a nice uncluttered way. I agree that this might also work well in mono, so worth a look. PS - That old warehouse looks ripe for re-development into some up-market apartments - a business opportunity if you are looking for one! Posted: 03/21/2025 17:43:51
Jay Joseph
Thanks for your comments Gordon. I will change my Cleveland adjective from old city to older city in the USA. Your point is well taken, and something I never thought about. That old building is for sale. I assume it will eventually be knocked down because that property is on a river, just below the road. Posted: 03/21/2025 19:33:15
