Lamps near La Defense – Circa 1992
This is a monochrome photograph of sculpted outdoor street lamps.
I took this picture in Paris, near La Defense, circa May 1992. It was a dull day to say the least, though one can just about make out a modicum of sunlight above the clouds which has nearly brightened the picture in the sky area.
The idea was to get close enough to be shooting upward against the sky in order to isolate the lights from their cluttered background. Using the effect of converging vertical lines to bring the five poles, which were standing apart from one another, together and emphasise the screw thread effect. The exposure was as long as I could risk hand holding to keep some detail in what I knew would most likely be a semi-silhouette.
The film is Ilford HP5. I would have rated the film at 400ASA and developed the film in Ilford ID11, stock diluted 1+3. This photograph was taken on a very cloudy and dull day.
