Standing outside the beautifully renovated brick granary buildings now home to art institution Central St Martins college of UAL, the colourful fountains in Granary Square have intrigued me ever since I first saw them a few months ago. The water jets regularly change colour and pattern, which makes them an interesting subject to photograph. One evening I decided to capture some arty photos of this impressive installation. Armed with my digital SLR, tripod and hat/gloves, I braved the cold to see what I could create…
I quickly discovered that it’s a challenge to do justice to the dynamic visual impact of the fountains in a still photograph. Short exposures freeze the vivid colours but lack movement/flow. Long exposures capture a sense of movement but, when the colours are changing they merge into a muddy glow, and when the colours are static there is little drama. I realised that including the buildings and the people moving around them adds interest and context to photographs. Feeling inspired, to add an extra dimension I experimented with changing the zoom while the shutter was open and managed to create some interesting “exploding light ray” effects.
I’ve included a handful of my favourites in this post. If you’re interested, you can see the full set here.