Central Asian Architecture
Bokhara, Uzbekistan 20012 Square with Madrassa, Minaret and Dome.
Shooting architecture can result in disappointment. It’s so glorious when you are standing in front of majestic structures like these. You put your camera on its widest angle and look for the viewpoint. You hope for a good composition that will include the major monuments and if possible some interesting local people. It might seem easy, except for including some interesting people. After all buildings don’t move, or do they?
I’m not sure if I notice the buildings tilting in toward the center when I check my LCD, but I do notice when I get the pic on my computer. Such a letdown! My minarets melting, my madrassas leaning inward, my dome a barely perceptible blob.
The good news is that it is easy to fix providing that you have left yourself some extra space when you took the shot. So, one lesson is to shoot big. Get some space around the buildings so that when you crop and straighten them, you don’t have to crop your Madrassa or minaret.
In Photoshop, you can go to edit>transform>perspective. Draw out the two top corners until your buildings are standing straight. Then crop. Simple. Also, consider making the photo a panoramic shot by cropping the sky and maybe some foreground. Whatever is needed.
Another thing I did here was to saturate the colors to give a feeling of the huge blue sky that hovers over the vast steppes. When I look at the orange-y colors of the brick…(saturated those, too) I feel the shimmering heat of the surrounding desert. I love it.
Madressa with Turquoise Dome
I shot this view from the balcony of a nearby restaurant. I was far enough away so that no distortion resulted. I didn’t include the street, just the ancient buildings and the tops of the domes (lower right hand corner) that cover the market area. I did use Exposure 4 from Alien Skin to give a retro look. Maybe it didn’t need it, but we want variety, don’t we?
When you get ready to plan your trip to Uzbekistan be sure to check: www.uzbekjourneys.com Penelope Price, owner operator, has a wonderful blog where you can learn about this fascinating country.