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Fiddlers Ferry at Night

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 9 April 2010 in Business & Industry and Portfolio.

A nightime long exposure photo that I took at the end of last year at Fiddlers Ferry coal fired power station in Merseyside, England showing two of the enormous cooling towers.

Street lights from a nearby town and the artificial illumination of the power station itself have made the underside of the clouds of water vapour glow with light in sharp contrast to the shadowy darkness of the concrete cooling towers.

As with all the power station photos that I've taken over the last two years this image was inspired by the wonderful work of the professional fine art photographer Michael Kenna (see link below)

NIKON D40 14 second F/5.6 ISO 200 105 mm (35mm equiv.)

Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog

For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.

GJC from Kyoto (京都), Japan

A magnificent composition.

9 Apr 2010 5:30am

Albert Manso from barcelona, Spain

Nice texture! Great shot!

9 Apr 2010 7:11am

k@ from Paris, France

Yes, like big boats leaving - superb

9 Apr 2010 7:32am

Marlowe from Le Havre, France

Framing, grain of the picture and contrast are consistent with the power of the place ! I like it when I found this unit !

9 Apr 2010 9:22am

Scene by Sharon Photography from Kingston, Ontario, Canada

fabulous shot !

9 Apr 2010 10:03am

Céline from Paris, France

Great composition

9 Apr 2010 10:10am

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

I'm always intrigued with these sights and your technique which adds mystery to them and makes them look alive.

9 Apr 2010 10:39am

Luca Bobbiesi from Milano, Italy

I like the dramatic touch in your works.

9 Apr 2010 11:40am

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

An excellent B/W with an attractive grain. Fine work, Ian.

9 Apr 2010 12:31pm

Adrian from Whitley Bay, United Kingdom

Great use of negative space Ian.

9 Apr 2010 12:55pm

☾éline from New York City, United States

Very beautiful ! Great contrast !

9 Apr 2010 2:56pm

John Leech from Grange-over-Sands, United Kingdom

An interesting trawl back through your portfolio of Fiddlers Ferry. Have you tried printing any of these? :~) I'm sure those sooty blacks would be scrummy. Was there one from around this time with a flock of birds in it?

9 Apr 2010 4:07pm

@John Leech: No. I haven't tried printing any of them yet but I'll be getting 4 of the landscape format ones printed on matt paper for that comp we talked about.

Yes, this is the one with a flock of birds flying past one of the stacks: http://ianbramham.aminus3.com/image/2008-12-20.html

Kaddy from Mumbai, India

lovely b/w shot. very beautiful.

9 Apr 2010 4:19pm

Daryl Johnson from Farnham, United Kingdom

Love the solid black and white spaces.

9 Apr 2010 6:49pm

Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom

really like the effect of the long exposure on the sky/smoke...good work Ian as always.

9 Apr 2010 8:21pm

tim from high desert, United States

There's so much going on here, the textures, the great composition and use of light and dark, great creamy texture of the smoke, but at the same time its a study in abstract simplicity. Print it!

10 Apr 2010 4:18am

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

superb composition and contrast that really allow the shapes and light to create a magnificent vision! very interesting photo!

10 Apr 2010 6:35am

Bettina from Los Angeles, United States

Excellent depth of dark in light. There is a sense of movement despite the solidity of the towers.

10 Apr 2010 3:55pm

Stefan from Thiersee, Austria

GREAT!

11 Apr 2010 9:26pm

Ralph Jones from Detroit, United States

Amazing tone and composition.

12 Apr 2010 4:44pm

sara from paris, France

whaouh on dirait du Michael Kenna

7 Jun 2010 6:41am

@sara: aaaaaaah....he's my favourite (famous) photographer so no surprise if you can see that some of his influence has rubbed off on me as I look at his photos a lot and they've been such a major influence!

NIKON D40
14 second
F/5.6
ISO 200
105 mm (35mm equiv.)