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!

Galeria Malta

Today, as with many other days, I went to Galeria Malta - a 3 story, extremely large (162,000 square meters) mall situated across Lake Malta. It contains over 170 shops, boutiques, restaurants, fast food chains, a health and fitness club and even a large cinema. It also has a car-park for around 1,800 cars.

 Here is a view of the edge of the mall, the bridge, and the front garden which is often used for beer gardens and flower displays in the summer but is empty during the winter. Along the edges of the garden are concrete auditorium-style seats, often used by people relaxing during hot weather, or by local skateboarders / rollerskaters for tricks.

A view of the bridge and the sky. Beyond the horizon lies the large lake.

The other part of the front-facing section of the mall. The top (3rd) floor you can see is used for restaurants and food chains. Each has their own allotted section, but the entire floor has public benches with window views, so wherever you order (with the exception of some stores such as Pizza Hut or Sioux) you can choose to sit wherever there is space or wherever you wish.

The sign hanging above the main entrance. Close to the doorway is another sign with the name of the construction and investment companies involved in this large scale project, that was completed in only (I believe) one year. A truly amazing feat!

 Inside of the mall are some very interesting and modern-style architectural designs. The main design theme is curves, curves, curves! There are random curves, holes, circular designs and wavy patterns scattered throughout the whole of the mall, giving it that "star trek-esque" mall feeling.

 The whole mall is white, with random bushes and flowers not-so strategically-placed, to give it a little green tinge. This has a couple of effects. Firstly, it can make it seem very modern, clean and simple in design, or it can make it feel like a hospital. I'm leaning more towards the former, it's very unique and very lively.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the random bushes, particularly by the benches, as - surprisingly - they tend to harbor unwanted guests (mossies) which I have a particular allergy to.

 Here is one of the main sitting / relaxing / checking out your shopping areas. It's situated next to Empik and Media Markt, and not very far from Piotr i Pawel, making it one of the prime destinations for those in the mall. The fountain, quite nicely, is lit up by LEDs which vary in color over time, including bright red, green, blue and white.

A vertical view of the 2nd main entrance from the 3rd floor. The green segment with art strewed over the wall is actually one of the viewing rooms for the large Multi Kino cinema.

One of the things I really like about the mall is the amount of light that enters it. There are large glass windows at virtually every spot that it is possible to have them, including inside of shops. Thus the mall is evenly lit across all areas, which doesn't give you that drudge feeling you get in some areas where you go from low-naturally lit to dark tungsten or halogen lit areas.

Below are more images taken throughout different parts of the mall

It's easy to see a mall and not pay particular attention to the design efforts and all the little details that really make the place spectacular - not just in terms of engineering genius, but how it is pleasing to our eyes and moods. Next time you go to a building that you often visit or take for granted, pay attention to all the little details and it might help you really appreciate the little things :)

Here is the mall's official website: http://www.galeriamalta.pl/

Until next time!