Fredry, Zamek etc.

Today had quite the interesting natural-light setup. It was not bright, but the sky was blue and cloudy, but not dull. It led to the ability to capture quite a lot of dynamic range in images without the necessity to exposure blend. I tried a few new methods of metering today, including applying the digital-equivalent of the "zone system" which was very difficult to accurately place, but worked quite nicely (with a few exceptions).

So without further ado:

This is 'Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu' - University of Economics in Poznań (in case it wasn't obvious).

It is immediately interesting for the fact that, besides of Stary Browar (see: "Walk about" blog post) it's one of a only few red-brick buildings in Poznań, and more than that, it's also the most towering and visible icon in Poznań, which you can see from virtually any part of the city that has a relatively unobstructed view.

I've seen this building many times, but never close or from the ground. Looking up at it is quite impressive. While I don't believe it's as big as the two towering glass buildings (the financial center) next to Stary browar, it's definitely more imposing, with its very solid color, interesting layered-design, and tall [what looks like a transmitter, but could possibly just be a light] spire.

You know, I'm not entirely certain what this building is. According to the signs, it is Poczta Polska (Polish post) however, next to it is another building with Poczta Polska written on it, so I'm unsure if the signs refer to this one or the other building. Regardless of its function, it's a very pretty, albeit creepy, building. The now dead tree in front of it, the contrasting sky and the hazy light made this a very atmospheric shot.

This would be Zamek (Imperial Castle), which technically is a palace, not a castle. It was built by the Germans in 1910. Construction for it begain in 1905; it's listed as the youngest castle in Europe, and served as residence for William II (Emperor of Germany) and served as an office for Germany throughout WWII.

It was built in new 'Romanesque' style to reflect the greatness of the Holy Roman Empire.

At the moment, it would appear there are construction or renovation efforts. The front square, which will be used for the Św. Marcin (Saint Martin)'s annual parade on the 11th Nov, is currently blocked off.

The image is interesting because of the extreme variations in tonal range across the dark foreboding palace and the rich blue sky, combined with the allure of a palace and the towering construction monstrosity next to it.

This large domed building, I believe, is one of the additional campuses belonging to UMA (Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza) one of the largest and most successful universities in Poland. It's a very pretty and fascinating building. What's more, is that it's situated in the (to me) most beautiful part of the city. The majority of buildings there are old, with charming and melodic architecture, and visiting that one part of the city is like visiting an entirely different city. Even comparing to Stary Rynek, in my eyes this is by far the most beautiful area.

In truth, I don't know much of this church. It's one of many I've never been in, and probably won't plan to. However, the exterior is very sharp and imposing. Completely not befitting of the area it's situated in, which is what makes it so interesting really.

At this point, it was beginning to get dark and the light quite thick and hazy, making good metering more difficult (while using my 'zone system', as these colours were placed in different [read: incorrect] zones because of the difference in visible hue.

Random street-view

At Grudnia is this large enclave, with the tram-station parallel to it. This is a particularly dangerous neighborhood (as I'm sure the tagging indicates, it's not pleasant), but the light in this kind of urban environment has always interested me, ever since my first photos inside an abandoned, derelict office building in Brighton.

Well, that's all for now! It was quite nice to finish teaching one of my classes, leave, and just begin to immediately take photographs of one of the most beautiful parts of the city :)

For your viewing pleasure, I include an image of my beloved little kitten we took in at 6 weeks old, 3-4 months ago or so now. She has very flexible ears, and after bending them into this shape, she casually posed for a photograph. Enjoy, and until next time!