Word | John Reid
Santiago - Creating an Icon
Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben, New York has the Statue of Liberty, Santiago, South America's wealthiest and most modern city has...?
When I visit a city for the first time, I try to work out what is most iconic about it. Inevitably, my shoots will centre on these icons. In researching Santiago, I couldn't work out what was the icon in the Chilean capital. It is a city full of attractions, but in my research, I did find this....
Recently, the city became home to the tallest building in South America, the Gran Torre Costanera Tower. Considering the number of earthquakes that the region experiences, it is an impressive achievement and a testament to Chilean engineering.
The height of the building (300 meters) means that it is visible from most areas of the city, giving it an iconic status. What adds to this iconic image is the design and its location below the Andes. The sleek reflective glass contrasts beautifully with the snow capped mountains, making the Gran Torre Costanera Tower extremely photogenic.
For a city brimming with arts, design and culture, the tower is a fitting addition that is destined to become the icon of Santiago.
The Making of Moonrise over Costanera
My first close up view of the Gran Torre Costanera Tower was from Exposition Park. I found a highway leading underneath the park that I thought would make an interesting foreground for the tower. Unfortunately, the light wasn't ideal at the time, so I took a photograph simply for a reference.
That evening, after I had finished my shoot for my job, I was quite close to the Exposition Park. There was a hint of light still left in the sky, so I decided to try the shot again.
Because of the lack of light, I needed to use a tripod and because I was using a video head, I could only photograph in horizontal orientation. My planned shot was in vertical orientation, so I photographed 3 horizontally orientated images to be stitched together later. It wasn't ideal, but when you're traveling, you often only have one chance at a scene. Fortunately, the 3 images stitched together seamlessly to create a portrait image.
And it was worth the effort - what a great image that Jon created.
Jon heads to the east coast for next week's journal entry with a trip to Uruguay. With a visit to Uruguay's capital Montevideo and exploration of Colonia, a beautiful little Spanish town on the Coast, Jon also talks us through his experience of photographing during the blue hour.
See you there...
