Jan 31, 2011

Follow the lines

A modern architectural masterpiece like Santiago Calatrava’s Liège-Guillemins railway station is an explosion of lines, curves and shapes.

Perfect subject matter to go abstract, and (almost) black&white.

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Gear notes: D700, 24-120/4.0VR, 70-300/4.5-5.6VR

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Jan 25, 2011

Under cover

If you have been following this blog, you will know that railway stations usually inspire me (witness the many posts on Antwerp Central station). This time a Belgiumdigital Shooting Day brought me (and some 50 photo buddies) to Liège, Belgium’s third largest city and the main railway hub for the eastern part of the country.

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The city’s new main station, Liège-Guillemins, was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened in September 2009. The monumental structure made of steel, glass and white concrete is 410 meters long and 160 meters wide. The building costs were € 312 million._DS72495w

At its heart, a breathtaking arch - 200 meters long and 35 meters high – covers 9 tracks and 5 platforms. In addition to national traffic, Liège-Guillemins welcomes high speed connections to Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt. All the tracks around the station have been modernized to allow high speed arrival and departure.

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At all levels and from any angle, this site offers spectacular vistas full of lines and curves – and at night, exploding in color.

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Stay tuned for more pictures from this fantastic location in posts to follow.

Gear notes: D700, 17-35/2.8, 16/2.8

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

Jan 17, 2011

Less is more (take two)

I like from time to time to go back to my photo archives, and search for pictures that do well with a black&white treatment. It’s a good way to revisit old favorites and see them in new light. Sometimes shots that didn’t ‘work’ in color get a new life as well.

Here’s a few from recent Antwerp collections.

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Gear notes: D700, 24-70/2.8, 24-120/4.0VR

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Jan 7, 2011

Of fish and trains

The new year came to me with a free dose of flu, hence a few days of extra ‘holiday break’… No new recent shots, so I am turning once again to the archives…

Antwerp’s Central Station has become an endless source of visual exploration to me. In this episode: some more fisheye captures of its ever impressive architecture.

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The last two images
were taken from vantage points that require special access permission. Enjoy!

Gear notes: D700, 16/2.8

Click on the image(s) to see a larger version

Jan 1, 2011