PnP Ex. 17: Users View: Spiral Staircase, Warwick Castle

Spiral Staircase, Warwick castle a photo by nmonckton on Flickr.

I find this a fascinating topic - can't really understand why I've never tried this viewpoint idea before.

This is self-explanatory - its a spiral staircase inside a traditional castle tower. I've tried, by shooting straight down, to capture some sense of the steepness and slightly dizzying effect of descending this type of stairwell.

Public transport – more users viewpoints

The train shots in my first pass at this exercise got me thinking about public transport and the relatively similarity of the experience whatever mode of travel you are using. Switzerland is an excellent country to do public transport because there is so much of it – the next few shots were all taken in – or on our way to – Switzerland.

First shot is actually in the aircraft – I was stopped from taking photos by the stewardess after this shot ‘because of security’. Obviously a would-be terrorist would draw attention to themselves by visibly using a camera rather taking surreptitious shots with a phone, and would find the secret knowledge that aircraft have overhead storage lockers really valuable - ‘sigh’.

Next up bus and rail:

I have a few more rail shots to add from various different rail lines. It is noticeable how much more open and airy Swiss trains are compared to their British equivalent.

A couple of more obscure examples – a cable car, which I’ve posted previously and the rapid transit system at the airport. Sadly I forgot to take a photo from the water taxis.

And, finally, a couple of more static shots from various places on route.

An escalator in Montreux – I took this one by resting the camera on the moving belt so it isn’t quite a user’s viewpoint

Arriving at the entrance to the railway station in Bern:

The cable car station at Murren:

There are a couple more to come once I get access to my hard-drive, but for the moment this will do. One thing that strikes me about all these is the general similarities – industrial fabrics, stainless steel pipework and a general absence of decoration – which give an impression of people processing facilities rather than human transport infrastructure.

Exercise 17: The user’s point of view

Although I have yet to start the exercise it is clear from the text of Exercise 16 that one of the keys to effective photography of spaces and buildings is to understand their purpose, the way they are actually used and – the development in this exercise – the way they are perceived by a user.

It would be simple to fill this entry with shots taken at random in various buildings – arguing that as I was in the building, I was a user, therefore any shot I take is a user’s viewpoint, but on the basis of the thought above I think that clearly misses the point.

I have a book on Zen meditation – Learn Zen Meditation, by David Fontana – which contains an exercise about expressing the ‘catness’ of cat in a ‘Zen’ painting. The basic instructions are to sit and meditate on what it is that makes a cat a cat, load up the brush, and when the image is clear in your mind open your eyes and commit it to paper. There seems to be a measure of that in these exercises.

First up is this shot taken in a tea-room in York. Tea-rooms are a place to take shelter from the world outside, catch your breath, and give your feet a rest – so a shot which captures some tranquillity or cosiness would seem to be needed. In addition, they are normally experienced seated so a shot from reasonably close to a table top is called for. I went for a very wide angle to ensure as much in shot as possible to capture the idea of sitting inside while the world went by outside. I also chose a relatively large aperture (f/5.6) and focussed close in to ensure that even with a focal length of 7mm I still blurred the background enough to give a sense of separation.

Of course, tea-rooms are also places where you drink tea, and the absence of tea from this shot could be seen as an omission.  However I think that the inevitable clutter of crockery, cutlery and cakes would distract from the overall feel of the shot.

Next up, and by way of a total contrast, is the Abito Building on Salford Quays. Essentially an apartment block with a huge internal space and apartments on three of the four sides the first look up as you enter the building is breathtaking. There was no pre-meditation in this shot. To be honest there is really only one option for shooting this – with the camera on the floor pointing upwards and an ultra-wideangle to capture as much as possible. Another shot at 7mm, but this time stopped down to f/11 to ensure focus all the way up.

It would be easy to be cynical shooting a users view of a building such as this. There are plenty of opportunities for shots of concrete landings, lift doors, anonymous stairwells and other clichés. It could be argued that lying on the floor is technically not the users viewpoint, but in truth the upwards view is pretty much like this, and this is certainly true to the effect on a first time user. I was impressed - and I hope it shows.

Going to finish with a trilogy of shots of something less impressive – the interior of a Saturday train from Carlisle to Newcastle. Trains are relatively cramped spaces, and when you are seated the view in most directions is blocked by seating. In dull conditions even the view outside is obscured by reflections, and of course, you are always conscious of movement. These are the impressions I have tried to capture in this set.

Conclusion

There are millions of ‘spaces’ in the world, and user experience and viewpoint will vary with the individuals using these spaces, influenced by both their physical stature and their state of mind. If it had been pouring with rain outside, the windows steamy and the streets filled with umbrellas, I would have taken a very different shot of the tearoom, after several months in the apartment building I might be less awestruck when I looked up and if I was trying to sell train journeys I might be looking for a sunny afternoon in a train full of happy smiley people.

The key point is that careful consideration of your reaction to the space means you can select techniques and angles/compositions that properly reflect your experience of it.