Subway st. VI: Commuters' Delight Photo

Photographer’s Note

It’s back to Holland now for the scavenger’s hunt ….in Easter colours.
This a very recent addition to the Beurs subway station on the Erasmus line. It’s the “Boterham (sandwich) Express” food & beverage corner . It’s significance and importance in this nodal area goes without saying…...to me, anyway ;-)

The history of it’s space is noteworthy. When the Erasmusline was built in the second half of the sixties, the Cold War was at it’s peak. So all the stations of this line doubled as nuclear fall out shelters with all its facilities and additional spaces. With diesel power plants, extensive sanitary facilities, a hospital and even, as gruesome as it is, a small crematorium. The shelters could accommodate 40.000 people. Ten years ago the shelters were officially decommissioned and the spaces was gradually converted to accommodate a great variety of things, amongst it underground GSM relay centres, shops and … delightful food corners such as this. Things changed, and let’s hope it we won’t be experiencing any relapses, in any form.

…………Oh yes, the scavenger hunt. To add to my subway stations series I went to Beurs station last Friday and while I was positioning myself for the shot this bald man came …...I couldn’t believe my luck, the scavenger hunt! When another guy started approaching I started to sub vocalise some strong language, but then I realised …...motion blur, as the shutterspeed was set low.

A picture of the underpass to this station is here

PS-E2 tech: skewed, cropped, levels, parts of the picture lightened with the dodge brush, saturation (master andyellows and reds) boosted, sharpened (the whole pic and parts with the sharpen brush), frame layer added and saved for the web.

carper, jhm, nwoehnl, Rinie_Hoff, digi-mom, kajenn, dominique, Steely, pamastro, rgdrgd, veimann, sergio1 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

claudiaf (4404) 2004-04-11 12:23

Great shot. The colors are very good.

carper (63998) 2004-04-11 12:32

Bert Je moet het gewoon zien,
Erg goede foto, met een man die nog even voor langs loopt, gewoon ongedwongen, lekkere compositie met goede felle kleuren, goed werk.

jhm (81659) 2004-04-11 12:50

Een niet gemakkelijk tenemen foto, maar u bent daar perfect ingeslaagd Bert, de paaskleuren mogen er wel eventje op de site, test en uitleg steeds afgewerkt.

Hanssie (9133) 2004-04-11 12:52

Ha, ha, ha
Alles prachtig in rijtjes,
hoe heb je dit toch weer "gevonden"

Liora (1857) 2004-04-11 14:44

Nice colorful image. It always amazes me how a common everyday sight can make a great photo with just the right composition and framing. Very well done!

Spoony (3539) 2004-04-11 15:35

So much color!!!! ;)
Yeh, it´s diferent... so, I like it!
Well done, nice capture.

nwoehnl (118) 2004-04-11 15:52

Excellent double-dip for the scavenger hunt, Bert ;-) Other than that, I have to agree a lot with how Liora put it: you managed to capture a mundane daily subject in a very engaging and colorful way. The people of course add interest and dynamics, but it's also fun exploring all the details - not only the merchandise, but also stuff like the surveillance camera or the hot dog sign on the ceiling breaking the neat reflection of the yellow-red sign. Well captured.

Ebbe (9571) 2004-04-11 17:05

A very fine use of the lit up place and a natural framing within the picture. The frame you put there is on the other hand far too bright and takes over from the picture.

Rinie_Hoff (9332) 2004-04-11 19:36

Hi Bert, you ran into beautiful colors again!! You turned it into a very colorful, atmospheric and attracive Sandwich Express. The light is beautiful. I like the reflection on the ceiling. Welcome to Scavenger Hunt!

kajenn (2323) 2004-04-11 23:43

A two-in-one shot - that's really Express, Bert. I like the colors and the light - all the bottles on display - and the reflection in the ceiling. You've really achieved a nice even light in your extensive post-processing. And also some human action in the shot - but oh, how I wish you'd waited with the blurred guy until the left part of the image.

At first I wasn't too happy with your frames, but reading your note and looking carefully I see that it's not a frame, but a layer below partly shaded. Neat! Very interesting note - thanks!

dominique (11403) 2004-04-12 4:41

with this perfect framing and the powerful lights the picture is really good, like the character of dowry, the details are powerful too.

Steely (895) 2004-04-12 7:16

Ahhhh.....Food......In subways!!!
Okie, I like the light coming from behind the displayed bottles, that is a cool look. The orderly nature of the shop has alomost some form of geometrical pattern to it. The relative darkness of the walkway provides good framing for the lighted shop.

Maybe you could have cropped off the reflection.

Good shot!

pamastro (7213) 2004-04-13 16:05

Very nice. I love the colors. And the rows of neatly lined up drinks and snacks all in their own color is nicely captured. The lighting of the sign is very intense and makes a great reflection. The drinks, especially the ones in the green bottles and the water in the light blue bottles have a nice transparency to them letting the light behind make them glow. It's nicely composed, too. A normal scene that really comes out strongly in your photograph. The person walking also adds a nice sense of this as an active place rather than a set. Good job.

Georges (11183) 2004-04-13 17:14

Sur cette image l'effet de vitesse est bien present avec le flou jusqu'a l'endroit utile.
Bonne presentation qui vas dans le sens du passant. Bravo c'est bien fait Bert

rgdrgd (19) 2004-04-13 21:59

Bert, great shot, I love the colours and the "everyday life" aspect...

Intruder (3073) 2004-04-14 9:49

i love the colours in your shot Bert, very nice!

veimann (1250) 2004-04-14 15:28

Bravo Bert! Here it is colors, here it is paints!:) It is an excellent shot and perfectly made out. And it is more to me and to add there is nothing, already so many people have expressed:)

Isabelle (9014) 2004-04-17 20:40

what a lovely urban composition, bert!
i personally tend to go for a more neutral framing, considering the picture is already deliciously busy and colorful.

Stepan (27167) 2006-04-13 14:12

So many colors, so much energy.. Modern, urban and graphic, as usual. The yellow impresses me a lot. Well done.
Stéphane

sergio1 (12150) 2006-08-23 4:02

Hi Bert

Good night shot. I like the lights and full colours.
Nice dinamism and pov.
rgs
Sergio

Photo Information

Copyright: Bert Hoetmer (bertolucci) (11976)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-04-10
Categories: Daily Life
Camera: Kodak DC-4800
Exposure: f/2.8, 1/15 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Scavenger Hunt (Pt. I) - April, 2004, Subway stations!, Graphic urban transit [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-04-11 12:17