Mersey Ferry Terminal, Liverpool

 


The Building

Designed by Hamilton Architects of Belfast, the ferry terminal is situated in a World Heritage Site and centred on Liverpool’s Three Graces, this striking mixed-use project at Pier Head was completed in Liverpool’s year as European City of Culture (2008). An innovative award-winning commercial design created a building divided into four storeys linked by three separate vertical circulation cores, along with a number of entrances and a remotely managed access control system for flexibility.

The building has a similar design to the nearby Museum, though the architect of that building was not complimentary of this design.

The Photograph

I photographed this during a recent return trip to Liverpool. 

On my first visit, we arrived at the docks just after lunchtime on an incredibly warm summer day and the whole area was full of visitors. For this trip I didn't arrive until around 5pm on a warm Saturday and it was nearer 7pm by the time I reached this point, so there were very few people around. This allowed me to take my time to try different viewpoints, and in the end this was my favourite. It also meant that there was very little people removal required in Photoshop.

Getting in close with the 15mm shift lens, I was able to fill the composition with the building, making the nearest corner the most prominent feature.

The terminal doubles as a Beatles museum, so I have deliberately used a more realistic treatment for the glass to allow the various signs and banners to show. I have also used multiplication blending (with a linear gradient) for the sky to allow some of the background to show through, particularly the LHS to show the Mersey, which is intended to provide context.

See more of my work at my main website.


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