Interior

Interior

Oakwood Mill

For my interior task I decided to photograph an old mill that I found locally. The mill is a grade 2 listed building that opened in 1851 as a specialised spinning mill then later on in 1937 it was sold for £13,000. There's not a ton of information but I'm told during the war it was used to hold Italian prisoners of war. 

I chose this mill because it is becoming increasingly dilapidated and parts are in ruins, this for me made it very photogenic as I love the rustic look and I think it shows the history of the building.  

I am also surprised and proud of the fact most of it is still standing as this shows the great craftsmanship and ingenuity of the British work force or at least the old one. 

Research 

Photo by Gabriele Basilico 

This is a photo by Gabriele Basilico from Milan.  

He usually represents his views with a Rolleiflex or a Sinar 4x5.  

I love his use of the available light and how the shadows draw you in.

His work inspired me to try something similar.

Photo by Henk Van Rensbergen

Finding photographers who photograph derlicit buildings wasnt easy but I stumbled upon this picture by Henk van Rensbergen I then googled his name and found he has taken lots of photos of derilict buildings around the world he gets about so easily becuase hes an pilot he sells his work and also has made books on the subject that can be found on his website.

My final 10 interior images

Images taken with a D5100 f/10 1/30 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my first picture I wanted to catch the sun shining through the window as I thought that made a nice effect and also demonstrates that light travels in straight lines!  I changed my position until the sun's rays were just poking out of the corner of the window.  I like the rustic look of this picture but the graffiti isn't very artistic its just a sad reminder that the kids don't care about this beautiful building.

Images taken with a D5100 f/20 1/15 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my second picture I couldn't resist using this beautiful rustic window frame to frame the mill's chimney, remembering to get as much detail of the frame as possible in the shot as its an interior task.

Images taken with a D5100 f/9 1/250 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my third image I used the available light and the shadows similar to Gabriele Basilico.
I wanted to get as much shadow as possible without losing all the detail and turning it into a silhouette.
I like the way the shadows sun light and columns all lead the eye around the room.

Images taken with a D5100 f/16 1/60th sec ISO 400 18-55@18mm

For my fifth image I popped my head in a hole, looked up and saw this opening I guess it was a chimney.  I'm not sure but I knew I had to take the picture as it was so interesting it was really awkward to get any kind of composure but after a few attempts I got this and was happy with the result although it's very noisy.

Images taken with a D5100 f/9 1/60 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my fifth Image I chose a shot that conforms to the rule of thirds in more than one way and also capture lots of detail using the available light.

Images taken with a D5100 f/5.6 1/250 sec ISO-400 18-55@36mm

For my sixth image I used a hole in a wall to frame my subject I used a fast shutter speed
and a wide aperture to darken the wall frame.
I would have liked the wooden post not to be there in the centre of my image.

Images taken with a D5100 f/5.6 1/250th sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my seventh image I used this doorway as a frame for the room ahead I used a fast shutter speed to silhouette the frame so not to take attention away from the subject.

Images taken with a D5100 f/5  1/250 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my eighth Image I used the natural light and shadows and composed the picture very well I thought.
If I was to take it again I would use a slower shutter speed to get more detail in, since the outside really didn't matter in this shot.

Images taken with a D5100 f/13 1/250 sec ISO-400 18-55@18mm

For my ninth Image I wanted to capture as much detail as possible in both the outside and inside whilst using the available light, this wasn't easy as it was quite dark on this floor.

Images taken with a D5100 f/13 1/250th sec ISO-400 18-55mm@18mm

For my tenth and last image I wanted to get the chimney in again but use the opening from the broken side of the building as a frame, as this shows that the building is slowly deteriorating but the heart of the building is still standing strong. 

As you can see by my camera settings I chose an ISO of 400 at the start of shooting then forgot to change it, so I think I'll have quite a lot of noise in some of my pictures.  An ISO of 400 is fine in most cases and Nikon cameras handle noise really well in that environment, so I'm not too worried.  If I was to do this again I would change my ISO when needed, take a tripod and use slower shutter speeds to get more detail since I don't think I did the beautiful craftsmanship and detail too much justice