Posted on Dec.06, 2010, under Michigan
(Nikon D700, 16-35mm at 17mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/500th @ f/8.0)
I’ve shown several images from Saginaw which show things in various states of decay. However, not everything in Saginaw is falling apart. Saginaw was, and still is, home to many buildings of architectural significance. One of those is the Hoyt Public Library building. In 1882, Jesse Hoyt of New York bequeathed $100,000 to East Saginaw for the construction of a library. While an early design was done by Henry Hobson Richardson (he of ‘Richardsonian Romanesqe architecture fame) the final design was altered and executed by Van Brunt & Howe (no relation that I know of). The library was built in 1887. An expansion (seen on the right) was done in 1960 and was designed by the father of my best friend. The building is a great example of Romanesqe architecture and has been well maintained.
I actually took a series of 9 exposures with the intent of creating an HDR image. I ran the shots through Photomatix and I didn’t really like what I ended up with. I might try again with some different settings, but for this image I chose one of the middle exposures and used Silver Efex Pro to create a black & white version. I used a few control points to darken the sky and lighten some portions of the building, and then I used a preset that I created which creates a toned Holga-like shot. I then backed off the opacity just a bit to let a little color come through. I also did some minor perspective correction.
Love to hear your thoughts.
[Click either image to view it in lightbox mode]
Copyright © 2010 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.
Feel free to bash any of my stuff anytime you want!