Project: Vertigo Representing Vertigo This was a tough assignment. Producing a series of photos that are original in conception and clearly convey of a feeling of vertigo is a true challenge. Initially I envisioned myself scaling buildings ninja-style under the cover of darkness with my camera gear strapped to my back like the bold men of sleepcity.net. Although, after returning to reality I decided to keep my feet on the ground and try to depict the word by its true definition: a sensation of dizziness and unbalance. I would represent vertigo in a series of architectural images from an ant’s perspective. (Your typical, straight up, building shot - so passé) There were two elements that I determined must be present: 1.A fixed, isolated and interesting focal point around which I would find angular perspective. 2.Motion; preferably circular around this focal point, or sweeping by it. I took numerous vertical captures sighting along corners of buildings and received numerous warnings from Security Officers. I then sat on the sidewalk and critically reviewed my images while I noshed on a dirty-water hot dog. The hot dog had more zing than my photos. The building captures were unimpressive, architecturally uninteresting and evoked a sense of solidity rather than movement. I realized I needed to get away from the building idea. The next day I hopped on the A line and got off at the George Washington Bridge. It was a cloudy day and I was sure with it’s wide expanse of suspension cables and rushing traffic I could capture a sense of motion, maybe even vertigo. (Imagine that!) On the bridge, I framed vertical shots with cloudy backgrounds and moderate depth of field. I was feeling good about them. After thirty minutes I made it almost half way across the bridge before a guard informed me I was not permitted to photograph the bridge; only the landscape from the bridge. Being quite adamant and having an a wfully uncomfortable looking scowl on his face I called it a day and left the bridge content. Technically speaking Confined to the sidewalk, which spans the GW Bridge, I used my 19-35mm lens for wide, straight-up shots and my 50mm prime for more distant abstract detail frames. The exposure data for the images above is as follows: first image: 19mm, 1/30 sec @ f/22 at ISO 160. second image: 50mm, 1/200 sec @ f/9.0 at ISO 100. third image: 29mm, 1/100 sec @ f/14 at ISO 100. Work flow I processed my Raw files in Lightroom, converting to grayscale and adjusting the lights, darks, contrast, exposure, highlights, and clarity and then dumped the files into Photoshop CS2 where I adjusted the levels as well as the red and green channels in the channel mixer. Conclusion I enjoyed the project from a technical and photological standpoint. It was great for me to branch out into another area of photography; to step out of my comfort zone and work in a new area. It was a lot of fun encountering new obstacles and learning how to best get around them. Am I happy with the results? Yes. Could they be improved? Yes. We'll see what next week's mini-project has in store for me. Conclusion I’d say I only succeeded in capturing a slight feeling of vertigo in the first image above. The clouds give a feeling of motion around a fairly still set of cables. While the other two images also contain clouds, the perspective does not have the same effect. I do, however like them for what they are. The brilliant light on the west side of the cables was truly beautiful to experience even among the roar of traffic and shaking ground. The simplicity of the third image impresses me, although I don’t consider it a spectacular photo; I do like it.