Inspiring Photo: Paddington Station London. #12871850

Peter W. Marks April 08, 2012

I shot this image with the paintings of the British artist L.S.Lowry very much in mind. His work frequently showed busy scenes like this, with perhaps one of his most well known works "Leaving the Mill" being foremost in my thoughts. It was here at Paddington station with folks rushing off in every direction and even a cop with a bomb-sniffing dog that inspired this image.
Do a Google search on L.S. Lowry clicking on Images at the top and you will see what I had in mind.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter. He has risen! #1455189

Dale Hardin April 08, 2012

I like this scene Peter and see exactly what you were after, and it works.

Of course I'd like to see it straight :o) and about a 10% reduction of the highlights so I could see the textures in the floor, but that's the critique (what this club is about) coming out.

Would suggest that you take the concept further and emulate the painting. Should be a good exercise to see how close you can get. #10081073

Sue C. Cole April 08, 2012

Peter, I see what you are going for in this image and love it. I personally like the uneveness of this image. To me it makes it even more busy. I would love to see this in the paint form of L.S.Lowry to see how it would look as well. I love his work.
You did a good job on this. #10081191

Peter W. Marks April 08, 2012

Thank you very much Sue; I am glad that you are familiar with Lowry's work. We had his 'Leaving the Mill'on my class, home-room wall at high school; just to one side of my desk and gazing at all the action in it carried me through many a boring lesson.
And thank you Dale. I will straighten it. Sheesh! Don't you know the Masters golf is on at Augusta? I can only spare one eye for the computer and the other for the golf. I will do all the adjustments tomorrow as I was up at 5.00am for the 6am sunrise service at church and now we have friends over and I'm the chef and my dear wife has already told me what my priorities are! #10081294

Jeff E Jensen April 08, 2012

Very nice, Pete! I have a similar image of Grand Central in NYC, one of my favorites. #10081684

Anthony L. Mancuso April 08, 2012

Looks like a busy place Peter..every time I see a reference to that place it reminds me of the "Paddington Bear" character I used to like as a kid.

I did google Mr. Lowry and I can see some similarity between his work and your image. One difference that I noted, however, is that his paintings seem to be more about the place while your photograph (to me anyway) seems more about the people. #10081702

Kristin Duff April 09, 2012

Love Paddington Station. could sit and people watch here for hours. I like the composition which works well with feel of the place. At times it is incredibly busy, and then there are moments of quiet, all in a span of a minute! #10082365

Peter W. Marks April 09, 2012

Jeff, your reference to Grand Central immediately brought to mind images I have seen in magazines of that station. And so I Googled it and there is a bunch of almost identical shots looking down the(main?) concourse. Different because there are different folk rushing about their business, but all taken from the exact same viewpoint. I even remember that when I first saw the image from NYC I thought how much it reminded me of Lowry's concepts. As you know I am an 'image content' rather than an 'image perfection' person so you will understand why I took a snapshot of the Paddington scene. Just the single image with the only setting on my Canon adjusted for a slightly slower setting than it was at so that some of the rushing travellers would have a bit of motion blur.
Tony, Ah yes. Paddington Bear with his address label tied around his neck. My daughter had one of those and several books for bed-time reading. I was a single parent so became pretty familiar with all the characters the kids loved back then including Paddington Bear and Thomas the Tank Engine.

I understand what you're saying about Lowry's place and people but am not in complete agreement. There is certainly a context of the figures and places but if you scroll down through Google Images for Lowry I think you will notice that many of his paintings have crowds of people in them. Take a look at 'Going to Work'; 'Lancashire fair'; 'Playground'; 'Market Place- Berwick on Tweed'; 'Street scene Southport' and many other pieces. It was from these that I got my inspiration
So why didn't I take many more images of the station you could ask and that was because we were heading for our train and stopped just long enough for the one shot The couple in the foreground is my younger sister Jo and husband Paul and you will notice he is already impatiently on the move!
Kristin. Thank you too. Paddington station was the London terminus that I used when I graduated high school in Cornwall and left for college and an engineering career in London. Your observation about busy and not-so-busy times is spot on. Be there from 7am till 9am and from 4pm till 7pm and it is packed with commuters from the suburbs and places west. As you will know, there are about 20 platforms so it certainly can be very busy! #10082456

Peter W. Marks April 09, 2012

Ok friends, here is an altered image with the facial features and small detail removed in a similar style to Lowry's paintings.(and it's straightened by the three degrees you wanted Dale).
Now what I trust you will appreciate is that Lowry painted his 'street' images from a greater distance perspective with the figures relatively tiny with no detail, which I could not quite emulate. So what I am hoping you will focus on is the overall broad detail in my image that shows us that busy-ness as one person strides off towards the left side, one strides towards the background, another diagonally from the right bottom corner; a couple taking a more leisurely stroll with coffees in hand; the gentleman with the messenger bag over his shoulder looking down to see what the bomb-sniffer dog is doing and then there is the gentleman in the left side mid-ground standing by his suitcases as he wonders how to find a taxi and I can tell him he needs to turn left and head out to the far right where the taxi rank waits.
If there was an audio feature available you could also hear the tannoy speakers telling us that standing at "Platform one is the 11.45 train to Penzance, stopping at Reading, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, St Austell (where I would get off-yipee!), Truro and Penzance.
Thank you for joining me on this journey, I am already excited and have my ticket for a few weeks time when I am over there. #10082629

Peter W. Marks April 09, 2012

Ok friends, here is an altered image with the facial features and small detail removed in a similar style to Lowry's paintings.(and it's straightened by the three degrees you wanted Dale).
Now what I trust you will appreciate is that Lowry painted his 'street' images from a greater distance perspective with the figures relatively tiny with no detail, which I could not quite emulate. So what I am hoping you will focus on is the overall broad detail in my image that shows us that busy-ness as one person strides off towards the left side, one strides towards the background, another diagonally from the right bottom corner; a couple taking a more leisurely stroll with coffees in hand; the gentleman with the messenger bag over his shoulder looking down to see what the bomb-sniffer dog is doing and then there is the gentleman in the left side mid-ground standing by his suitcases as he wonders how to find a taxi and I can tell him he needs to turn left and head out to the far right where the taxi rank waits.
If there was an audio feature available you could also hear the tannoy speakers telling us that standing at "Platform one is the 11.45 train to Penzance, stopping at Reading, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, St Austell (where I would get off-yipee!), Truro and Penzance.
Thank you for joining me on this journey, I am already excited and have my ticket for a few weeks time when I am over there. #10082630

Aimee C. Eisaman April 09, 2012

I think photos like this are interesting. It's like people watching without even having to be there. In the first image there doesn't seem to be any focal point to land that satisfies me. I really liked the cop with the dog, but they were blurred a bit. In your second more painterly rendition the woman in the black dress really stands out. I would have to say I like that version better. :~) #10082736

Dale Hardin April 09, 2012

Nice make over Peter. You're getting there and it's an admirable goal. I wasn't familiar with the artist but can see why everyone likes it.

As you explore post processing a bit more you will be able to achieve your goal of giving varying degrees of detail to people in different parts of the image in order to highlight them and lead the eye where you want.

Reducing detail is easily done using buzz type filters such as the Topaz, but you can selectively do that with Elements on board filters also.

This is a very interesting shot and encourages me to look more at people shots and candids for inspiration. Thanks for the sample. #10082942

Stephen Shoff April 09, 2012

My lack of any kind of art appreciation background really shows up in a submission like this one, Peter. To me, the original post was just a "vacation pic" that anyone could take with any camera. A look-up of the references you provided helped me appreciate what you were composing for and I saw the degree to which you emulated it, but you hadn't gone far enough to make it work.

However, your rework is "spot on". Now its an artistic effort that I can really enjoy. Good job! #10082998

Carla Capra Anderson April 09, 2012

I enjoy both images but, prefer the last post. There is just something about it that draws me in and holds my attention. I find my eye exploring the image for details I may have missed with my first quick viewing. Really cool. #10083008

Sue C. Cole April 09, 2012

I'm really loven this more Peter! You have made great tribute to Lowry's work in Photographic form. #10083089

Peter W. Marks April 09, 2012

Sorry for the duplicated prose; not sure what happened there.
Aimee, I agree that in the original image there wasn't any single strong point of interest but that was kind of the point of this scene which I made with a wide-ish (14mm) angle lens intending to show how the travellers were striding off in every direction, each on a personal mission. Also agree that the lady in black in the second image draws the eye in although it was not intentional.
Thanks Dale. I take all your points but don't think I will ever have the patience to use pp to achieve what you and some others achieve. I could never play chess or even cards as I would rather talk than think :o) I have seen how you have ventured off into so many different styles on BP over the past years, even when oout of your comfort zone so will look forward to more of your candids like those you did at 'civil war rendezvous' and rodeos etc.
Carla, thank you for taking the time to look deeper into the images to see what was hiding there. As soon as I pressed the shutter I knew that I had timed it just right to get everyone spaced out but was so glued to the viewfinder that I wasn't able to put the settings on 'burst' so what went right was very much the luck of the draw!
And Stephen. Thank you for your honesty. I often find myself wondering what photographers had in mind when they submit their images on sites such as this. I can always understand those who strive to make some money from their work with seniors, weddings, babies and other portraiture etc. I almost understand those that shoot images that seem designed to win competitions by shooting sunsets flowers and snow topped mountains but just accept my own inability to appreciate what they hold beyond the 'pretty factor'. My limitation I fully admit.

I am very happy that there are those that took the time to follow my link to Lowry's work. Much of his stuff was (he died in 1975) social commentary on the times and for me hold a similar interest to those images I see of US photographers with their images of Times Sq; Coney Island; servicemen shipping out to war etc. Images filled with folk each doing their own thing.
I appreciate all of you. #10083115

Jeff E Jensen April 09, 2012

Well done on the re-do, Peter.

Here's a link to my Grand Central image:

http://blog.jeffejensenphotography.com/2010/03/grand-central-station-in-motion.html
#10083177

Ellen H. Robertson April 10, 2012

I liked the first post. The day to dayness of people. Really makes you think. The guy in front of the dog, looks like he was not paying attention and almost bumped into the dog.

I love the second one. I can see the look and feel of Lowry's work. I am not a fan of me being in a crowded place, but there is a unique beauty in a group of people. And you really brought this out. #10084738

Rita K. Connell April 10, 2012

I love to people watch especially in places like this one. I prefer you second one best. I agree with aimee it helped to have a focus point.... #10084821

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