Maelstromic Melbourne

I almost squealed with joy when this image popped out of my scanner. It’s one of my first photographs from a new acquisition – a Pentax 67 – as I plunge headlong into the frustrating but ultimately rewarding (so I hope) world of medium format photography. If you’ve been following my blog you will have noticed I’m a bit of an analog enthusiast and with an opportunity to mess around with a mate’s Mamiya Press 6×9 rangefinder I’ve been finally seduced into owning a medium format camera myself. I’ll leave my initial impressions about using the Pentax 67 for another post.

As for the image itself, I had caught the train to meet up with the Monash Photography Club at the top of the Rialto building. I was thinking it was going to be a mistake due to the horrendous weather buffeting the train and that I had wasted my cash on the ticket (for I am no longer eligible for a concession card). My thoughts were almost confirmed when I got up to the viewing deck but miraculously the front blew past. It left the air below crisp and clear for a stunning view of the city lights centered on the Eureka skyscraper capped with tempestuous storm clouds.

I managed some other nice images from the Pentax 67 so be sure to check back in time. It will be coming with me to Wilsons Promontory this weekend, with the hope I’ll be able to use it as an anchor in the forecasted heavy winds.

Skyscraper Perspective Correction

Last night I met up with some mates and flickr contacts (mr.analog, BluePyjamaSyndrome, hann33 & tim_best_1972) to shoot some photos from the top of the Rialto building in Melbourne. It was the same night the Irish defeated Australia in a Gaelic Football match played at the MCG, hence the fireball of lighting. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy, squally and drizzly on the night, but the direction I shot this photo in was protected from most of it.

The bad thing about shooting skyscrapers from even taller skyscrapers is the tilt they develop with a wide angle lens. After reading this online tutorial, I used hugin to place vertical lines along building edges to fully straighten them out.

Shown below is firstly an uncorrected image followed by the same image that has been stitched to another and corrected for perspective.

I wonder if I’ll ever get to use a tilt/shift lens to combat this perspective phenomenon?