Niemeyer, the sculptor of monuments.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

In late December, my wife and I went to Brasilia to spend Christmas with my older children who live there. My daughter took us for a tour to meet some public buildings designed by Niemeyer in Brasilia. The mild temperature (25°C = 77°F) and light breeze helped make the tour very enjoyable.
Oscar Niemeyer (December 15, 1907 – December 5, 2012) was a Brazilian architect who is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, a planned city which became Brazil's capital in 1960, as well as his collaboration with other architects on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. His exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential on the architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Below I present some of the pictures I took of the buildings designed by Niemeyer.
C&C are welcome, as always.
Antonio.

1 - The shape of the Cathedral of Brasilia remembers hands facing the sky (1/1000; f/4; ISO 80; 24 mm FFE).


2 - The interior of the Cathedral. I'd rather photograph it when there is no Mass, but as I had no choice, I took the photo at the site of entry (without using the flash, of course) with the utmost respect (1/250; f/4; ISO 80; 24 mm FFE).


3 - Another photo of the cathedral showing the chime bells (1/1250; f/4; ISO 80; 41 mm FFE).


4 - The National Congress. On the left side of the photo is the Federal Senate (the upper house) and on the right the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). At the center, the building of the offices of congressmen (1/1250; f/4; ISO 80; 28 mm FFE).


5 - The building of the offices of congressmen (1/2000; f/2; ISO 80; 24 mm FFE).


6 - The Brasilia Digital TV Tower, also known as cerrado flower (1/2000; f/2; ISO 80; 24 mm FFE).


7 - The Brasilia Digital TV Tower seen from another angle (1/1600; f/4; ISO 80; 24 mm FFE).

[Shadowman]

Very nice series.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Hi John, thanks for viewing/commenting.

[pnodrog]

Some superb architecture. Nice change to most buildings I see. The church design even looks reasonably cost effective but I suspect a lot went into the engineering of the glass walls. Thanks for showing them.

P.S. The weather looks pretty good as well.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

L.Paul,
Niemeyer has done many projects for private and public buildings in several countries. He is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture.
Thanks for viewing and for your comments.
Antonio.

[Donald]

I would recommend to all our colleagues here on CiC, to click on one or other of the images and then use then arrows in order to view them all in the Lightbox. This shows them to be dramatic and powerful images.

It is interesting that there is a discussion going on in another thread at the moment about why some choose to make B & W images. My own contribution to that discussion was to say that colour images should be about colour. Well, I think these images illustrate that perfectly, particularly that one taken inside the cathedral. I note the comment about wishing the image could have been taken when the Mass was not taking place. However, I think the people of the congregation make it the excellent image that it is.

[dje]

Very interesting architecture Antonio, and very well captured. Nicely done, quite a striking set of shots.

One question for you - do you know what the two circular platforms on the TV tower are used for ? Observation decks perhaps, or maybe for technical purpose ?

Dave

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Donald,
I appreciate that you saw my pictures and I liked even more of your comments, which are very important for me because I always learn something from them.
You're right. Indeed the presence of people in the mass transmits more energy than an empty church. On the other hand, out of hours of Mass, I could have tried other angles.
Antonio.

[Bobobird]

An excellent set of images, each as good as the other. Thanks for sharing.

[gregj1763]

We are lucky indeed to have visionaries like Niemeyer, people that can think outside the square and produce such wonderful architecture.
Donald is right, the chapel image is superb. Beautiful colour and lighting.
Well done on a great series of photos.
Cheers, Greg

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Dave,
The tower is 170 meters tall, from which 120 meters correspond to a concrete structure and the rest to the metallic structure of the television antenna. Moreover, two glass observatories complete the structure. The highest one - at 80 meters above the floor - will contain a restaurant with a panoramic view. The other one is used as an art gallery.
The Observation Deck is near the top and has circular windows all around, providing a 360 degree view.
Thanks for viewing and for your encouraging words.
Antonio.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Bobo,
Thank you very much for viewing and for your comments, wich are very important to me.
Antonio.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Greg,
Niemeyer was truly a visionary and a person ahead of his time.
Thank you for viewing my photos and for your comments.
Despite shooting for a long time, every day I learn something new (CiC is the best place for this).
Sincerely,
Antonio.

[Otavio]

Hello, Antônio. This is a great series, showing a bit of Niemeyer's work. A great man that was really a key figure on modern architecture. I like #1 and #7 most, but all are great images! Very well done!

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Otavio,
Oscar Niemeyer was a really great architect. He did many other works, but I could not show them all in CiC.
I was very lucky to be able to take these photos. The weather conditions were good and my little Canon S100 (the only camera that I took to Brasilia) worked very well.
Thank you for seeing the pictures and for your encouraging words.
Antonio

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Antonio,

Those are certainly impressive buildings and you have done them justice with your camera; a very good series.

You have done a good job on composition, exposure and processing, my biggest criticism would be they look a tad over sharpened if you study the 100% versions full screen, there are some pixel width halos in various places. Did you shoot these RAW or jpg? If jpg, that probably explains it.

Other than that I would have taken more care to keep the camera level during shooting to avoid some of the 'perspective' distortion, although even that is well controlled in the majority of the shots, really only #1 (and perhaps #5) has anything worth worrying about.

I see you used a Canon S100, I have one too and note that, like me, you tend to shoot a lot at 24mm

The small sensor's great DoF allows us to shoot at fairly wide apertures, meaning a fast shutter speed and low iso combine to give excellent results.

I think my favourite shot is #3 and many of the buildings are lovely designs.

Hope that helps,

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Dave,
All photos submitted came from the original JPG files and suffered post processing with IrphanViewPortable on a netbook with 9 " screen, which was used during the trip. l will reprocess the original files with Elements 10 (photos 1, 2 and 3 were taken in RAW + JPG) on a table PC and I will work to prevent the formation of halos.
Also, I'll pay more attention to leveling the camera (because of the excess of light, it is sometimes difficult to see the on the LCD screen what is being photographed).
The Canon S100 dimensions are 98.9 x 59.8 x 26.7mm (3.0 x 2.34 x 1.05 in) and it weights only 198 g (6.98 oz), including the battery and memory card, and it has a good performance!
Thank you for viewing my photos and for your comments which are very important to me.
Sincerely,
Antonio.

[felll]

Antonio,

Great pictures, nice colours and composition.

I do use one of these Canon S100 and it has amazing performance but you proved that in the right hands it is even better.

Congrats.

Best regards,
F

[Panama Hat & Camera]

F,
The Canon S100 is really a great camera, despite its small size.
I carry it most of the time.
Thank you for seeing the pictures and for your encouraging words.
Post your photos with the S100!
Greetings,
Antonio.