Rolled gold waterfront
Terry Baker
printed on Giclée Epson Semi-Gloss
Taken on a Nikon D700 in 1909. A sunny day with fair weather clouds, and the vantage point a city-tour boat on Lake Michigan. The Chicago waterfront is a spectacular sight by any standards. In this thoughtfully manipulated image all the colour information has been deleted, leaving a monochrome image. The contrast in the sky has been elevated to reveal the clouds in the sweeping wind that gives Chicago its name, ‘The windy city’, and the reflections in the water have also been enhanced to boost contrast. Cityscape and water have been selectively tinted sepia and the buildings given a further treatment with photo filters to mimic the appearance of gold toning in silver-image printing. The sky remains black and white. Sometimes colour in an image is an unnecessary distraction, whereas rendering it monochrome enhances the composition and contrast of the scene, giving it greater dramatic presence. Sepia and gold toning complete the effect. Gold plated Chicago is indeed a beautiful city.
