James Hunt Library, North Carolina State University

[gnagel]

I've been planning to visit the Hunt Library on the campus of North Carolina State University for a few years now. About three years ago, I tried to photograph the library--but was not permitted to do so because it was finals week on campus. My timing was unfortunate.

I returned a few weeks ago and was able to photograph the interior this time.

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Next up, the Wilson Library on the campus of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Thanks for looking...
Glenn

 

[Jeff15]

Interesting set...............

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

If you can sleep in that library, you have narcolepsy! Very bright and modern. Love the last one especially.

 

[JoeW]

Lovely work. There are some outstanding libraries around the country--some fresh design concepts at work. Thanks for sharing this. And so impressive you could shoot it while it was apparently empty.

 

[jcdeboever]

Amazing quality and execution.

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice set, good metering.

 

[gnagel]

Thanks everyone...I appreciate your comments.

To get this library without people, I scouted the interior beforehand so that I could quickly capture the wide image. Then, just before closing, I entered the library to get those wide scenes (the tighter scenes can be captured while people are in the library). I visited on a weekend in the summer when school is not in session--so the library is as empty as it will ever get. There are still people there, but not many and I try to wait until they have left the scene or move behind a column. If there are a few stragglers left, I remove them in Photoshop.

Glenn

 

[photoflyer]

Hunt Library on the campus of North Carolina State University

I have a bit of a connection to this place, my niece went to State. I wonder if this place will stand the test of time as the Wren Building has and be here in 350 years?

If people are in motion I have used multiple long exposures with an ND filter to "remove" them.

These shots are a great contrast to your earlier submission. Looks like it was a fun challenge.

 

[gnagel]

Hunt Library on the campus of North Carolina State University

I have a bit of a connection to this place, my niece went to State. I wonder if this place will stand the test of time as the Wren Building has and be here in 350 years?

If people are in motion I have used multiple long exposures with an ND filter to "remove" them.

These shots are a great contrast to your earlier submission. Looks like it was a fun challenge.

Thanks...

I have tried the long exposure approach to remove people from the frame and it works in many instances. I have also tried multiple exposures and then removed people by blending the frames and masking out the appropriate sections of each frame. That approach tends to work well as long as people are moving.

In the case of this library, there are a few challenges with removing people. Most people in the library are sitting, so long exposures or multiple frames won't remove them. And, most of these images are bracketed...making it even more challenging. Many times, I find that the long exposure technique can make it even more challenging to remove people entirely as they tend to ghost across a larger segment of the frame--making it more difficult to apply a cloning technique for removal.

Glenn