The Metropolitan cathedral is the more modern cathedral out of the two here in Liverpool. Its unique architecture and large interior gives it great potential for some eye catching photos.
About the Metropolitan cathedral
The cathedrals officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. The architects of the building are Frederick Gibberd and Edwin Lutyens. Their styles for the building were Modern architecture and gothic Revival. Construction started on the cathedral in October 1962 (58 years after the anglican started getting built) and was finished on 14th May 1967 (11 years before the anglican cathedral was finished.).
Keywords
Here are some keywords, with definitions, that i think describe the metropolitan cathedral well. These words are aspects that i will try to capture in the images that i research and take throughout my project.
This cathedral has a large variation of colours both on the interior and exterior making it vary vibrant place, this will be shown in my research and my own images. As the definition says, it makes the area and the images i will take more lively and exciting.
This describes the cathedral perfectly as it is a building that has modern architecture incorporated into it and it fits right into the city life.
Initial research.
What is shown above is my initial research of the Metropolitan cathedral. It was gathered by a google search of "Metropolitan Cathedral". What appears is a range of high and low angles to make the exterior appear larger than it actually is. It also has some interior images some of which have used a fisheye lens to get a view of the whole interior in one picture. These images are well within the range of my skill set.
Shown above is the location of the Metropolitan cathedral. Situated on Mount Pleasant, it is surrounded by a range of other points of interest, which i could potentially use to capture life in the city. The Metropolitan cathedral also has quite a large outside ground allowing for multiple views of the cathedral.
Initial photograph analysis
Intros photo, the photographer has thought about the composition of the photo. The photographer has taken the photo on a bright an sunny day which brings out the shadows in the image. This creates an even contrast in the image with any editing done. The photographer has used a wide lens allowing him to not only capture the whole cathedral, but capture the greenery around the image, bringing some vibrance to the image. The photographer has also ensured that the cathedral is situated in the centre of the image to create a line of symmetry in the image.
Photographer Research
As you can see, Paul Adams strays away from the usual image. He utilises lines and angles and doesn't tend to use the main attraction of the area for a photograph, like the front of the cathedral for example. He has many examples of including walls and pillars of the cathedral instead of just the front.
My own photographs - outside of the cathedral
The images that are above are a set of photographs which i have taken outside of the Metropolitan Cathedral. The keywords that i used to describe the cathedral are perfectly shown in these images. The bright and vibrant colours are shown on the pillars displayed out the front of the cathedral. The unique architecture of the cathedral is also shown in these images, showing a front central view of the cathedral and a view of the path and stairs up to the cathedral doors.
Edits of my photographs
Here is a small set of photographs that have had a black and white filter added to the images in photoshop. The black and white was added by using the black and white filter option, this gives the images the best settings for a black and white filter, giving the images the optimum results.
Overall, i personally think that these images have turned out the best that they possibly could with only a black and white filter, they look professional and the black and white give the images a sense of seriousness. These images could possibly be better however by changing the exposure on the images to change the effect of the blacks and whites, making them either lighter or darker.
Further experimentation with black and white in photoshop
I decided to make some more images in black and white but, this time, i have done more than just apply a black and white filter onto the images. The images that i created are shown below as well as the method i used to create them.
As you can see, I started editing the images by adjusting the curves to make the sky a darker colour than the cathedral itself. This will allow me to get the cathedral to stand out later on during the editing process.
This is where i add the black and white filter to the image, but unlike the other photos, i am going to make adjustments to the colours to make different parts of the image stand out, whereas in the last ones, i didn't make any adjustments. Below are some images edited in the same way.
More of my own photographs - interior of the cathedral
Here is another small set of photographs, this time the images capture the interior of the cathedral. One of the keywords i listed is clearly displayed here too. The colourful interior because of all of the lights in the cathedral, blues and reds, really draws attention to the image. The smooth lighting from the candles in the other photos however, create a calming and mellow image.
Overall, these images create a sense of serenity, the calming colours and smooth lighting are what make these images special and give the images a professional feel.