"Polarized Escalator"

"Polarized Escalator"
Originally uploaded by Graffiti By Numbers

Polarized Print - it won the acclaimation "Polarized Shot of the Year" ('96).

The metalic sides reflect the light really well and gravitate the eyes down the center. The rough floor at the bottom and the windows of light from the top right really gave me a nice canvas to work with. The different surfaces really was enhanced by the polarization.

Shot this on the way home after a relatively unsuccessful roll in DC. I was just planning to burn off my last 3 shots and luckily came across this. Caught this in the corner of my eye, and shot off 3 quick ones at different F stops...I like the depth of field on this one the most. I think it leads down to the Metro Station below. Reallly lucked out because of the time of day/light and there was nobody going down it at that split second...would have had to waited a long time to get the same image again now.

How I did it?...painstakingly slow!!
Took me about 5-7 sheets of 8x10's just to print the orginal. On the polar print, I had to dodge the center strip about 10 seconds I remember with this cardboard cut out I had made to fit the shape of those stairs. The top right corner also got some extra time if I recall correctly.

I would definitely want to try to reprint this, if I have the time. One thing I would want to change though is I needed to clean the negative a bit more next time to get rid of some of those artifacts.