by Editor Rob Darby  in collaboration with the author of this great shot: Herbert A. Franke 
Published the 9th of september 2020

Herbert A. Franke’s  'Homage to Calatrava' is an stunning image.
It is also, a wonderful example of “Creative Edit” that accomplishes what the author intended: to create a homage to Calatrava that is not literal, but takes elements of his work and weaves it into an unforgettable tribute to this great architect and his work at the World Trade Centre in New York.

'Homage to Calatrava' by Herbert A. Franke

Herbert’s image was selected by the editors for a tutorial on how he made this piece. Herbert was kind enough to provide us with amazing detail of his work process that is complex and creative.
His tutorial has been translated from German, so I apologize for poor syntax or inaccurate translation in advance.

Can you tell us where the image was made and the idea behind it, Herbert?
If you want to go from Brookfield Place to the World Trade Centre to the "PATH Oculus", then you take the escalator down at Brookfield Place and go through the doors "World Trade Centre".
Then you can already see an escalator on the right-hand side. With this one drives up and immediately sees my "original motif" on the right side.

Original picture

It is the ceiling cladding with lighting for the hall below.

When I noticed this architectural detail, I immediately thought that a meaningful new motif could certainly be made out of it.

I found a video from March 6th, 2016 on the Internet using the method just described. My picture was taken on September 25th, 2015. You can find the video here. 

Did you have a preconceived idea of what you wanted to create, or did the image evolve during the shooting of the frame?
When I discovered this motif, the thought immediately occurred to me “if I turn this picture 90 degrees clockwise, I get a long corridor”.
That also became my first image processing. I copied a man into the picture that I met on site (variant 1). In total, I made three variants of this motif. Variant 2 shows a further development of variant 1. Variant 3 is a further development of variant 2.

Can you share the settings of your camera?
I took the original picture with a Canon EOS 5D, Mark II and the following settings: Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f4 L IS USM, Focal length: 21 mm, Time: 1/100 sec.,Aperture: f 5.6ISO: 200“.
 

What sort of processing did you do to the image to create the finished product?
First I rotated the original motif 90 degrees clockwise in Photoshop. I got such an upright picture.

Variant 1

Basically my picture consists of three parts, a right part and a left part and a middle part. Where the right and left parts are identical and the middle part has been added.

In the next step I added a woman with shadow on the right side of the picture, in the foreground.

Variant 2

Next I put a red door in the middle part of the picture and provided it with shadow edges. Below the door I added a red reflection, the opacity of which I reduced to 22% in order to get the most realistic reflection possible. Then I put the word “Emergency”on the door.

On a further level I have integrated the "EXIT signs" into the picture.
At the end of the two “corridors”, I also built a blue closure over a new level (as a door or window, depending on the viewer's imagination).

Variant 3 and final image (also published on 1x)

 
Finally, I gave the image a slight sharpening with the Nik filter "Sharpener Pro 3" (Output Sharpener).

What was the emotion you experienced creating the image, and what emotion or idea were to trying to convey?
After I had worked out my first variant of the picture, the other variants almost came up by themselves.  It gave me great pleasure to create a completely new architectural result from a small piece of architecture, by the great architect Santiago Calatrava.

Anything else that you think is important to the image that you would like people to understand?
As a photographer you should go through the world with open eyes and discover the beautiful and the less beautiful things.
You should let your own imagination run wild in order to have a lot of fun with this great hobby “photography”is.