Shooting cityscapes
I grabbed this photo in a rare moment.
it's in Spon End. Which is my home city of Coventry.
It is a rare moment because there is nobody around. Not even a vehicle.
That suited my purpose fine. Because, to me, this photo is a good example of a cityscape.
There are various definitions of cityscape photography.
But for me, it's about revealing the essence of the city. But doing it in a way that provides order from the chaos.
Chaos? Well, yes. The urban sprawl of a city is chaotic. Or, it can seem that way.
But the job from my point of view, is to find order.
Which is why for this scene, I moved into a position where the street lights and trees help frame the shot.
There is also a juxtaposition of old and new. The medieval buildings are a stark contrast to the block of flats in the background.
And, my usual monochrome approach has pulled out loads of contrast in the scene.
But, the essence of the city is present.
And that is important, to get back to talking about cityscapes. This is a typical Coventry scene. I know that because I live there and I was born there.
But for other people viewing the photo, I wanted to convey that contrast between old and new.
The architecture in the scene reveals that well.
There's another point here, too.
The light in the scene was stunning. This photo almost took itself because of that.
Along with the clear stillness (I was lucky, a moment later, several cars came down the road), this is a timeless shot.
I'll admit, that is something else I look for in cityscapes.
I like finding scenes where there is a timeless element. Or an implication of timelessness.
The monochrome approach helps with that.
But also, waiting for an empty street also served a purpose in this case.
I've been on this street many times, and never found it as empty as this. So, I'm happy to have got this photo.