ARTUR SIKORA PHOTOGRAPHER: ABK

Showing posts with label ABK. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 November 2019

Addicted to concrete...

Last weekend I returned to Arts Building once again. This time I got a chance to spend some time in Lecky library. Place I visited for the first time a few weeks ago during Open House, architectural festival. I knew that I wanted to get back there one day and such an opportunity just happened recently.

Here I just wanted to thank John McManus from TCD library who is also a great photographer (please check John's Instagram here - LINK). It wouldn’t be possible without his help.

Saturday morning, very few students there so plenty of space for me and my camera ;) This time Fuji GS645w for wider shots and Rolleiflex T for anything else. All loaded with Ilford Delta 400 Pro. I added yellow filter for slightly better contrast.

Before shooting I had some time to walk around, scout the place and figure out the best possible shots. Then about 30-40 minutes to go through chosen areas.

Structure of this building is fascinating. Wonderfully exposed, blended with all bookshelves and beautifully opened to the external part of the campus though broad glazing.

All three libraries are connected though underground corridor perfectly illuminated by large rooflight.

And yes… I ended up getting a few quick photographs in Berkeley Library ;) I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Even if I made quite significant documentation of this building already.

On the way back I repeated below photograph. I made it quickly last year... handheld with 400 film exposed at 6400. This time slowly, with tripod, without loosing any details.

My name is Artur Sikora and I am addicted to concrete ;)

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

Arts Building revisited

Arts Building, designed by ABK Architects and completed in 1979, was the second structure I visited with my cameras when I started to work on ‘Unfulfilled Dreams’ project in 2011.
A week ago I got back to Arts building during Open House 2019 festival. As all of you already know I have soft spot for well designed concrete buildings, especially these from 60s and 70s.

There was a few beautiful new buildings on my list this year but I had to change plans and eventually ended up with Arts Building only … Fantastic tour with lots of interesting information and possibility to capture bits and pieces in my black and white squares.

Lights was beautifully dim. Exactly as it have to be in such objects. I had Delta 400 loaded in my Rollei but all was exposed at 1600 which was absolutely enough.

Photographs taken back then (2011) are different and like it. I can clearly see how my approach to project and vision how it should looks like changes I probably would photograph again every single building I visited since 2011 but it will stay as it is with small updates every now and then. Like this time…

You can read my blog post about Arts Building in 2011 using this link: Art of concrete .

Here is also link to 'Unfulfilled Dreams' project so you can see more photographs I made in there back then: Unfulfilled Dreams .

Thank you!

Wednesday, 26 December 2018

The beginnings ...

This morning I opened the box with collection of my old negatives. Some of them from 2008/2009. Yes, that was the moment when I started my adventure with analogue photography. About 2 years earlier this medium became my form of so called visual expression. Surprised?

No, I wasn’t born with camera ;) I got my first one (smena 8m) when I was about 8 years old but after exposing a few frames, film broke in the camera. It was never processed and I didn’t bother to use smena again.

It’s all started rather about 2007/08. Initially street mixed with architecture. Modernist concrete structures were always my favourite subjects since then…. approached in a bit different way than I do it now.

Here you can see short series of frames exposed around Berkeley Library in 2009. All mages on Fuji NCN400 black and white C41 film, Mamiya C330 Pro.

I didn’t process negatives myself back then. I decided to play with a few months later. And then it was like a flood …. Roll after roll, cameras, experiments and so on…

Below photographs are ‘remastered’ if I can say that. I rescanned all frames in higher resolution using much better scanner and software than I had available 10 years ago.

Thank you!