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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Six: Vantage Point makes the difference > View from the bus, Hong Kong, China, 2004
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03-JUL-2004

View from the bus, Hong Kong, China, 2004

I.M. Pei's Bank of China dominates a skyline that has few rivals in China. Only Shanghai's new Pudong district is comparable. I shot this film on a gray morning from the window of a moving bus. It is virtually a black and white image, but for the tinge of color reflected back to us in the Bank of China's windows. (The building's sharp angles point at other banks, which is said to create bad "feng shui.") Using a 24mm wideangle converter lens and the flip-up rotating viewing screen on my digital camera, I was able place the camera against the bottom of the window and point it almost straight upwards, which accounts for the powerful distortion which gives this image its thrust and power, echoing the nature of the skyline itself.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/640s f/4.0 at 7.2mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis31-Aug-2006 17:24
Thanks for noting the role of thrust here, Jude. When we lower our cameras and shoot up at something, it will usually soar into space, mainly because of optical distortion. The base of the subject, in this case the buildings, will always appear to be wider than the top. It is an optical illusion, but it gives the image a lift and suggests the dominating importance of the subject. A wideangle lens, such as I use here, intensifies this feeling. You have eloquently described the effect that the low vantage point has on this subject.
Jude Marion31-Aug-2006 12:30
The vantage point you used here adds a drama to the bank building. The architecture and extreme angle suggest the building is cutting and thrusting its way into the sky, like it has erupted out of the ground or about to be launched into space. I half expect the surrounding building to be toppled by that force!
Phil Douglis21-Aug-2006 21:49
You are right, Chris -- it is the low angle that makes those buildings seem to soar. And the wideangle lens distortion helps as well, by bending the buildings towards that leaden sky.
Chris Sofopoulos21-Aug-2006 08:28
The angle creates an impressive image together with the frame that is created by the two buildings on the right and left. This is the key for this beautiful picture.
Also the heavy sky adds to the dramatic and the sense of huge of the buildings.
Phil Douglis05-Mar-2006 18:27
The flip up viewfinder is an essential tool as far as I'm concerned, Mhlau. It is one of the major reasons why I use advanced non-dslr digital cameras. And yes, this image is all about power and thrust, symbolizing wealth and vigor as you say. One of those powerful lines, however, is the line of the bus window at left. Without it, the image loses much of its energy.
Guest 05-Mar-2006 11:33
Phil, shooting wide pointing up...always tricky...a powerful shot of a very powerful building. This shot works! Those flip viewfinders are just so useful. The Bank of China is, IMO, one of IM Pei's greatest work. Such simple lines, but so powerful visually. I see it as a very modern design, yet so Chinese in interpretation of wealth and vigour.
Phil Douglis16-Aug-2004 02:50
Good eye, Bruce. Yes, that is a piece of the bus at upper left, which does indeed complement the leaning structure at upper right. Then is the result of wideangle distortion, which works wonderfully here.
Guest 15-Aug-2004 03:31
SO dramatic! Is that a piece of the bus in the upper left? Together with the structure to the right, they create a frame of your tower with the sharp elbows. What fun!
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