IPC Building (is anybody there?)

The IPC building is off Upper Ground St in Waterloo and has been empty for about two years now. Strangely, when fireworks go off on the Southbank, it lights up the windows and it looks occupied again. It used to be offices for magazines like Zoo, Nuts, car and fishing magazines and homes and gardens. It's still supervised by security staff but the windows are grimy and graffiti'd. It's a really cool space. The skateboard kids are using the grounds for jumps and the free runners and bmx'ers also. This is the second time I've tried shooting there and quite like the results.


Just using my digital Samsung NV5 (7.5 megapixel) and a tripod on a really sunny day so there's strong shadow and the dirt on the windows looks sharp. Been thinking about the film Pulse and the empty grey shots of Tokyo with subtle ghostly images, but also the concrete and glass and relections and graffiti from games like GTA, Skate and Skate 2.





I used a skylight filter to cut down the glare. I'm intretested in the abstract spaces that the odd relections, dust and shadow produce. They'd work really well in a film or game which needed edgy deserted locations. The limited colour is also really cool, you end up concentrating on texture and tone. This would help characters stand out.


On the image above I've used photoshop to layer one of my IPC shots with a screenshot I took from Pulse. The Pulse image is at 35% opacity and fits in well, it's a lot softer than the dirt on the window and matches the soft reflections of the road.


This last shot (above) I took by putting the lens right up to the window to cut out the grime. It's a bit soft but sometimes digital can be too sharp. Sometimes the games environments are way too hard (skate 1 was way better in look to skate 2, they've cleaned up all the dirt). I thought this shot worked ok with the light from the windows being soft. It was strong afternoon light outside but when you peer in it looks more like evening inside, a lot of light is reflected off the dirt. I'll try to get inside, I'll see if the security guards are ok to talk or maybe call the number on the board. This has to be another summer project.