Photos of LA’s showpiece, the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I had been wanting to shoot it for some time but had not decided how to proceed. I had previously made an attempt using a 35 and color film, but that didn’t work very well. This time, I decided to try it using fine grain black and white, and an ultra wide lens, the Voigtlander 15mm/4.5 Heliar.

Because this lens is best at f5.6, I decided to shoot the whole roll at that aperture. This meant I had to choose film that would cope with a wide range of lighting conditions while being restricted to f5.6. That left me a very narrow choice of film speed, and I settled on TMAX 100 rated at 160. If the sun was out, I could have gone up to 1/2000 second, and down to about 1/30 if necessary. I didn’t use a tripod.

I was lucky that the sun didn’t come out, and I was able to shoot the whole thing in very soft light. Even so, I was only barely able to contain the contrast. This building is clad in shiny metal, which can yield extremes of contrast when the light hits it at certain angles.

Aside from the metallic sheen, I think I found in this building the perfect subject for an ultrawide lens. This is because there are virtually no right angles to be found, which makes keeping verticals aligned much less of a problem. I took the photos early on a Saturday morning so the place would be deserted, and there would be no traffic on the streets.

I wanted to capture some of the feel of the external spaces that Gehry has generously provided all around the building. Wherever you go, there are little nooks and crannies, interesting paths leading around mysterious corners, strange angles and unexpected vistas. It’s quite a delight, and if you are ever in LA, I suggest you take a look at it.