Glasgow Science Centre
The Buildings
Opened to the public in June 2001, Glasgow Science Centre is part of the ongoing redevelopment of Pacific Quay, an area which was once a cargo port known as Prince's Dock.[6][7][8] The redevelopment started with the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. As with the other National Garden Festivals, the 40-hectare (100-acre) Glasgow site was intended to be sold off for housing development, but due to a housing slump in 1987, the developers were unable to develop the land as they intended, and the majority of the site remained derelict for years. Parts were finally redeveloped for the Science Centre and also Pacific Quay, including new headquarters for BBC Scotland and Scottish Television, opened in 2006 and 2007. The Clydesdale Bank Tower was dismantled and re-erected in Rhyl in North Wales, however the Glasgow Tower, built as part of Science Centre complex, stands on approximately the same spot.
The architects of the Glasgow Science Centre were Building Design Partnership, however the Glasgow Tower was originally designed by the architect Richard Horden with engineering design by Buro Happold.[9][10] It was built at a cost of around £75 million, including £10M for the Glasgow Tower, with over £37M coming from the Millennium Commission.[11][12]
Each of the three buildings is clad in a different metal. Titanium is used on the IMAX,[13] stainless steel on the Science Mall[14] and aluminium on Glasgow Tower.[13]
The Photograph
Some Notes on Technique
Q: How many layers do you need for this type of image?
A: More than you think!
In fact, on this image I ended up with 84 layers (mixed between Gradients and Levels) plus a Black and White conversion layer applied last.
I see YouTube videos and other posts showing how to get a stunning black and white fine art image in just a few clicks. Admittedly, some of these turn out images that are okay but I always feel like these are missed opportunities. For me, I think that the difference between an image made carefully with every aspect thought through and tweaked will always show its quality over one made with shortcuts - especially if both images are presented as reasonably sized prints.
When it comes to editing, I realise that I am something of a control freak - to the extent that every selection I make ends up with at least two layers (sometimes four or five).
To begin with, every selection I make gets a Levels adjustment layer, to allow me to brighten (occasionally darken) that selection. I use levels for this, not a curve because I find that curves are somewhat unpredictable for this type of work.
Next I add gradient layers. This is a little complicated, so I will try to explain how I do this. I get the selection active and then select the topmost pixel layer for that selected area. I then draw a gradient, which gets added as its own layer but with a mask that only targets the selected area. Occasionally, I leave the gradient layer with a blend mode of Normal (for example, in this image I did that for the windows at the top of the Glasgow Tower). Usually, I change the blend mode to Multiply - which means that the darker parts of the gradient have a big effect darkening what is underneath, but the lighter parts of the gradient have a lesser effect and the white parts have no effect - this last part is worth remembering.
The shape of gradient that I choose is based on the underlying shape of the selected area, and what I am trying to convey. For example, trying to add depth to a curved surface. Typically I use linear gradients and less often I use elliptical gradients. I can count on one hand the number of times I have used any of the other gradient shapes but ymmv.
I am now in a position where I can move the gradient around, vary the position of the black, grey and white points but I can also go back to my levels layer and adjust that, so this is where I can really exert control over the area. Also, it is often worth trying reduced Opacity on the gradient layer (usually no lower than about 80%) because this can also give good results.
For some areas, a single gradient is enough but sometimes adding additional gradients can really make the area “pop”. To do this, I activate the selection again, go back to that topmost pixel layer and draw another gradient which creates a new layer and I can set that layer’s blend mode to Multiply. This is where my earlier point about the effect that the different parts of the gradient have when set to Multiply blend mode comes into play. By ensuring that there is little or no overlap between the darker parts of the gradient layers, you can create very complex “shapes” to really sculpt the light. The main body of the Science Centre in this picture shows that, as there are 3-4 gradient layers on that section.
Choosing how many selections to make is down to the individual, I tend to err on the side of making more than I need as it is easier to combine two or more selections and apply an effect across them rather than splitting them up later.
I hope that this gives some insight into my working methods, but please check out my main website for more of my work and also please do contact me via the website if you have any questions.
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