Ready to Depart

Ready to Depart

Another reprocessed set of brackets from the West Park archive. One of the draws or Urbex for me is the items you find when exploring, what is the story behind these items? Did someone pack ready to move or were the cases just left abandoned like the facility they inhabit?

What struck me when I entered the room was the light streaming through the windows hitting the cases perfectly. Half an hour earlier or later and I this shot would have been totally different. The fact that you can visit a location several times and see something different on each visit is one that still gives me a thrill; the light is ever changing; the decay is accelerated and then there are the actions of animals and other explorers which all add to a new sense of discovery on each trip.

Processing:

I seem to have found a pattern with Post Processing that may be slightly at odds to many but works for me.

The image above is a 5 bracket set, tonemapped in Photomatix 4, from there the image was imported into Photoshop CS5 and levels adjusted, verticals straightened and a copy layer made. (I always make a copy layer to work from in case of mistakes). I selectively burnt and dodged the shadows and highlights before adding NIK Bleach Bypass filter.