Witch City Superior Courthouse - II

[manaheim]

I had the VERY unique opportunity to be able to get my camera and equipment into the Salem, MA Superior Courthouse today. (I'm still trying to figure out if this is where the witch trials occurred... I'm not certain, but it's most certainly a dark and creepy place, regardless.)

I could only shoot the library today (working on getting in a bit deeper), but I could honestly have spent a MONTH in the library alone. I tried to be good and constrained my stay to an hour so as not to wear out my welcome.

I got several shots and intend to share them, but this was the first one that caught my eye.

C&C welcome, of course.

 

[Dagwood56]

Wow - cool angles here, not to mention lovely bookcases...our library has metal shelves. Nice shot.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

All right. That looks like a library now. I was expecting old books. I guess this library is still in use.

Nice set of lines. Is this natural light?

 

[manaheim]

Thanks, Dag!

cloud - there is some natural light coming in from some overhead glass... actually, I should have focused more energy on that glass- it was like the entire ceiling. That being said, most of the "effective" light was from various random incandescant bulbs placed in very slipshod fashion as is common in very old buildings that weren't built with electricity in mind.

This library is *very* much in use. There were quite a few attorneys milling around the place.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Ok. The glass ceiling might explain what I'm wondering about. The darker line on the ceiling, is that metal beams?

The fact that it is in use would make it kind of hard to go and fix the lights especially if they didn't ask you to take photos. But the two highlights areas are not too, too bad.

 

[manaheim]

Ok. The glass ceiling might explain what I'm wondering about. The darker line on the ceiling, is that metal beams?

The fact that it is in use would make it kind of hard to go and fix the lights especially if they didn't ask you to take photos. But the two highlights areas are not too, too bad.

Yeah those are metal beams that support the floor for the next layer of bookshelves above.

The highlight problem is generally because incandescant bulbs are hanging within a foot of every book case, so there are some pretty harsh highlights.

Personally, I think it winds up making an interesting picture- broad variation of light, warm colors, warm woods, earthy toned books, etc.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Overall the photo is very nice. If you could put diffusers on the annoying lights, it would be better but I doubt they'll let you do that. :er:

 

[camz]

For this shot I keep staring at the #20 and the framed picture below it. Same story for #21..seems to be catching my attention resulting in the focal point for me..and not the books. I like the lines you chose to frame on this shot and the sequence of numbers you included marking each row. The lighting is evenly balanced except for a highlight on top of the #20 book case.

My only critique is that I was looking for a theme in the picture. Something that tells me something.

Good job on the technicals though!

 

[manaheim]

Thanks, cloud!

For this shot I keep staring at the #20 and the framed picture below it. Same story for #21..seems to be catching my attention resulting in the focal point for me..and not the books. I like the lines you chose to frame on this shot and the sequence of numbers you included marking each row. The lighting is evenly balanced except for a highlight on top of the #20 book case.

My only critique is that I was looking for a theme in the picture. Something that tells me something.

Good job on the technicals though!

Thanks! Yeah, for me, this was just a neat collection of stuff... cool lines, interesting patterns, and the pictures (which are absolutely ancient). If you look at the full size image you can see all the detail of those pictures, too, which is very neat. So it wasn't so much a theme as it just struck me as visually appealing.

To be honest, the whole place was lacking in any theme... it was basically utter chaos. I'll post a pic later where you can see more of the room... it's wild.

Thanks very much for the comments!

 

[manaheim]

Hope folks don't mind a little *bump*... just curious to hear more reactions.

 

[kundalini]

As is...... not doing much for me. I think this one screams for portrait orientation to get a floor to ceiling view of the apparent subject..... the bookshelves. I think a half step to the right would also have been a benefit in order to get the entire crown moulding in view of #20.

 

[johngpt]

The diagonals, tonal range, and textures really appeal to me. After reading kundalini's suggestion, I think he makes a lot of sense. (don't tell him I said that!)

 

[manaheim]

As is...... not doing much for me. I think this one screams for portrait orientation to get a floor to ceiling view of the apparent subject..... the bookshelves. I think a half step to the right would also have been a benefit in order to get the entire crown moulding in view of #20.

The diagonals, tonal range, and textures really appeal to me. After reading kundalini's suggestion, I think he makes a lot of sense. (don't tell him I said that!)

Actually, that's an interesting point... a floor to ceiling shot might have been nice for this. Also, K suggested a step to the right, but a step to the left might also have been cool so it would have intersected the other shelf completely.

I actually quite like this one the way it is, but these are excellent suggestions for other kinds of shots. A definite must re-do if I get to go again. Thanks for the comments, guys!