Mixture

I've always admired architects that can seamlessly blend different styles together into one building.

This building isn't one of those. Nonetheless, it makes for an interesting photography subject.

Inner Harbour, during the sunny part.

Angles

You can see here the sky was in full threat mode, but the sun was still showing through in certain parts, thus ensuring certain buildings were illuminated while others were muted by the clouds.

The sharp angles of the pool and buildings all came together in this image.

Stormfront

Here you can see the low rolling clouds. Just a brief, but strong, rain. Given how hot it was that day, the rain helped things.

The Inner Harbour area is just chock full of wildly shaped buildings, prime colours and organic shapes. I could play tourist for a week and not get everything on film (so to speak) that I'd want.

Gotta go back before winter kicks in.

U-Boat

I have always loved U-Boats. At the Inner Harbour they had an American one you could tour. Was a bit of a trick to photograph it (indeed, all of the Inner Harbour areas) without people around. Patience paid off though. I love this shot.

Vacation

For the first time in a long time, I took a small vacation. Went to Baltimore's Inner Harbour to try my hand at some landscape (okay, buildingscape) shots. I must say I was very pleased at how they turned out, here is one of my favourites.

The weather, as you can see, was perfect for photography. Later that day a rainstorm hit, but even then the clouds looked great. I even managed to come back to work and find it still standing!

All done with my Fuji S2 Pro and Tamron 17mm lens. I've put my Pentax down for the time being, the lenses on the Fuji are just so much sharper.

Synthetic

Why yes, I have been playing with digital colour settings, how can you tell?

I took the original picture during a lunch break and didn't get a chance to look at it until this weekend. The unmodified picture isn't bad, but not that interesting either. Working with the image yielded more interesting results.

Station

This area would not be out of place in a high end eatery. Except there were no waiters, no food, and of course no people.

I can only just begin to imagine the cost involved in renovating this place. I used to work in the building trade industry, marble, real marble, isn't cheap, and it's a pain to work with. Ditto the Mahogany wood, and the attention to details like the trim around the entryways and the brightwork.

On the other hand, an empty space like this would make a great place to do a photoshoot. Have the people in vintage clothing and we'd be all set!

Clock

Initially I thought this was some ornate clock at the train station, but obviously I was wrong. I have no idea what it is, or what it might represent. It looks like a prop from the film Dark City. Reading the letters in standard left to right fashion, it spells out SLA Service Level Agreement? I don't think so. Backwards it's ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, so that's not it either.

Whatever it is, the attention to detail is stunning.

Lobby

A shot from the waiting room, the outside light was partially filtered by some beautiful wooden slats, and gave the interior a warm look about it. Dark mahogany row seats with leather and brass tacks added to the look. Marble everywhere I looked. Can't wait to go back again.

Same 17mm lens, on the Fuji S2 body.

History

We have a train station that is virtually unused in the city. The history of the building is long, and amusing. In the 60s it flooded, the was rebuilt, then flooded again, then rebuilt, then burned down, then rebuilt, then flooded again, rebuilt, re-used as a mall(?!) which failed, rebuilt again as a train station, just as the trains quit coming to the city.

Anyway, the interior of the place is stunning (for this city anyway) marble walls, soft lighting, solid woodwork, live plants, leather seats, and so on. I was the sole person there today. As I walked in, I saw a cleaning person, but they quickly disappeared. No patrons, no trains, nothing. So it was perfect for picture taking. I plan on going back many times and fully exploring the image possibilities.

Shot with my Fuji S2 Pro and a 17mm lens.