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Another struggle

Posted by
Curly (South Shields, United Kingdom) on 24 November 2009 in Documentary & Street and Portfolio.

The Stanhope Hotel in South Shields up for sale or rent, another 'local' community pub struggling to make a success of things during this economic recession.

I like it's interesting architecture and visual features around the windows.

This was an HDR processed in Photomatix from three .jpegs, and then reprocessed in Topaz and Photoshop.

PENTAX K100D 1/90 second F/6.7 ISO 200 18 mm

Use control and your mouse scroll wheel to zoom the picture/page, then control and 0 to reset to normal size.

Even though I may not be able to visit or respond daily, I always welcome your comments or critiques.
You can also follow me on Twitter @Curly15 and Instagram @southshieldscurly

Read my views in Curly's Corner Shop, to find out a little more about my home town South Shields.

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Chris Pereira from San Jose, CA, United States

great HDR, i like the mood you created here by using black and white.

24 Nov 2009 5:34am

John from Geneva, United States

Very nice - the B&W concetrates the viewer's eye on the lines, the architecture, and the sky, all of which have interesting elements. Too bad you had to sell your soul to get this done. ;-D

24 Nov 2009 5:43am

@John: Has the price started to rise yet John?

Alun from cheshire, United Kingdom

A great looking place, such a shame

24 Nov 2009 6:15am

hauteclaire from France

Another great image for a nice place
Always splendid to see

24 Nov 2009 6:26am

Michael from United Kingdom

A cleverly created image Curly, my initial thoughts were - an old Ilford print from the 50's. It's a great result.

24 Nov 2009 6:29am

Mascha from Kootstertille, Netherlands

Beautiful black and white photo, which shapes and structures of the buildings suit.

24 Nov 2009 7:01am

Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom

Superb PP Curly!!

24 Nov 2009 7:58am

zOOm from Paris, France

Stunning mono HDR !

24 Nov 2009 8:07am

Xerophytes from London, United Kingdom

Looks like Stanhope loses its hope.

Very nice HDR. Looks like a polished picture.

24 Nov 2009 9:02am

Sarito from Basingstoke, United Kingdom

Very nice HDR.. love the processing.. Hopefully someone else will keep the pub going..

24 Nov 2009 9:04am

Mirjam from Kiev, Ukraine

Nice result of your struggle. There are many details to study.

24 Nov 2009 9:33am

MrsAmber from West Wickham, United Kingdom

So many old businesses going down the pan at the moment..it's quite tragic. Lets hope it can all pick up again soon. Lovely shot...I really like the HDR style in this one - I've not tried it in Black and White yet!

24 Nov 2009 9:41am

dideban from mashhad, Iran

Wow, is beautiful, good B&W

24 Nov 2009 9:44am

zahra from shiraz, Iran

very beautiful.

24 Nov 2009 10:16am

Fred from Manila, Philippines

Wow. This is so cool. The surreal mood given by the HDR processing, yet the realistic street mood is so bare in this photo. The vast moving sky also makes a wonderful addition. I think this could be better if you could've moved back a little and included more of the turning sidewalk and less of the sky? That's just me. Still, wonderful!

24 Nov 2009 10:18am

@Fred: Funny it was like that in the original and I cropped it away!

Mathilde Collot from Fontainebleau, France

A superb image! The HDR softens and adds density to the image of a nice way! Thank you for your flattering comment on my swan!

24 Nov 2009 10:50am

Nathanael from Paris, France

How to say buy buy ...

24 Nov 2009 10:54am

Anthony Morgan Lambert from Bielefeld(Old West Wales boy), Germany

A very moody shot,great work !!

24 Nov 2009 10:57am

Ruth from Michigan, United States

Sad. You've done it great honor with your photo though.

24 Nov 2009 11:01am

Hiro from Kyoto, Japan

I like this one best in your recent HDRs, though others are also nice.

24 Nov 2009 11:30am

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Even in B/W the magic mushrooms come through :) Brings out the attention to architectural detail on the building well though.

24 Nov 2009 11:31am

Asthenia from London, United Kingdom

A moody shot that is emphasized by the HDR.

24 Nov 2009 11:42am

DLee from Fanling, Hong Kong

Beautiful B&W and love the dramatic sky.

24 Nov 2009 12:05pm

Eleftheria from Athens, Greece

I love it!

24 Nov 2009 12:46pm

digitalCG from Manchester, United Kingdom

Don't know if it's the b+w or a touch of Topaz smoothing during pp, but this seems more restrained than the other HDR's of late and all the better for it. A lot of pubs going the same way here, cheap supermarket booze is as much to blame as the more general economic plight - luckily my local seems to be doing okay thus far!

24 Nov 2009 1:07pm

@digitalCG: Once the next few are out of the way I'm going to try and behave myself and produce more conventional looking images using HDR. There is still much to learn.

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

What an amazing structure, and your composition is fantastic!

24 Nov 2009 1:24pm

ripple from Nottingham, United Kingdom

suprising sky with a light like that - brilliant weather for rainbows though by the look of it.

24 Nov 2009 1:33pm

shoti from Everywhere in the, Philippines

surreal. I like the sky and the architecture, like a mixture of past and the future.

24 Nov 2009 1:44pm

Emmanuelle from Sg, Singapore

Yes it does have an interesting architecture. Great sky too.

24 Nov 2009 1:46pm

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Great b&w . Good tonal range.

24 Nov 2009 2:04pm

Amanda from Jersey City, United States

What a charming building--probably filled with great stories of the past. Hopefully someone will be able to keep the place open.

24 Nov 2009 2:29pm

roy from ostend, Belgium

A building to jump, and also nice that you put in the picture

24 Nov 2009 2:31pm

Zora Zoé from Berlin, Germany

such a *b r i l l i a n t* work, Curly :) Splendid!

24 Nov 2009 2:56pm

Marleen from Doesburg, Netherlands

Wow- spectaculair result!
The estate agent should ask for this picture for in the brochure........;-)

24 Nov 2009 3:09pm

QUIM from Lisboa, Portugal

A postcard not looking like a postcard! Great!

24 Nov 2009 3:38pm

Nilla from Östergötland, Sweden

Wonderful! Here I have a lot to learn about HDR. I tried Photomatix first but thought it seemed too difficult. Now I use Media Chance Dynamic Photo HDR. You can be proud of all your beautiful pictures.

24 Nov 2009 3:41pm

Ddo from Verdun, France

Beau traitement N&B. Souhaitions que cet immeuble à la superbe façade qui se detache sur le ciel d'orage trouve vite un repreneur pour que la vie réhabite les lieux.

24 Nov 2009 3:41pm

Dana from St. Louis, United States

it's so surreal and eerie! Very cool processing.

24 Nov 2009 4:26pm

Gina from Azores, Portugal

Wow !!Very nice shot!5 stars

24 Nov 2009 4:33pm

JOEMULLIGAN from micaville, nc, United States

Wow. What a wonderful picture. Wonderful shades of light and dark. The Stanhope!!!

24 Nov 2009 4:52pm

Nigel from Avening, United Kingdom

Another good one Curly.

24 Nov 2009 4:57pm

BJ from Murfreesboro, United States

what a quaint building I hope they find someone to use it, I hate to see such nice buildings neglected for modern buildings with no style

24 Nov 2009 5:18pm

Lambspun from Madison, Maine, United States

What a beautiful building with such grand architecture! Very nice from this angle :)

24 Nov 2009 5:40pm

Pepe Cabrera from Cuidad de Antipolo, Philippines

Cool shot!

24 Nov 2009 5:47pm

christine from France

J'adore cette ambiance qui ce dégage de tes photos....on dirait un décor de film...le ciel est superbe. Bravo pour ton traitement et ta prise. Bonne soirée

24 Nov 2009 6:19pm

Steven from Chicagoland, United States

Great HDR processing in HDR! I like the vantage point you chose for taking this photograph, showing both elevations.

24 Nov 2009 6:24pm

FotoAnna from Mother Earth, Netherlands

Great shot Curly and I love it in black and white !!
Greetings Anna

24 Nov 2009 6:27pm

Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain

I like very much this urban shot and the processing is fantastic. The b/w works very well and the sarp image in outstanding.

24 Nov 2009 7:13pm

philippe from moselle, France

le rendu de la photo est magnifique, j'adore !!!!

24 Nov 2009 8:03pm

Philip from Cowbridge, United Kingdom

It's a shame these local landmarks are struggling. We should all do out bit for the cummunity and visit a local at least once a week! Great photo, HDRs are normally interesting but a b&w version is noteworthy, especially one done as well as this. I am sure the Landlord would be delighted if he saw this picture.

24 Nov 2009 8:25pm

@Philip: Perhaps I should pop in and share a drink or two with him and let him know about it.

Calusarus from St Sorlin en Valloire, France

The treatment is really beautiful. I like this shot a lot… 5 stars

24 Nov 2009 9:02pm

Dawn from Maryland, United States

Love this!!! The HDR is awesome and love that sky. Black and white is perfect pick. 5 stars!

24 Nov 2009 9:15pm

Blimunda from Cascais, Portugal

Nice building. It seems a cosy hotel.

24 Nov 2009 9:17pm

Ralph Jones from Detroit, United States

Great tone on this. The people here can relate to tough economic times, even some places here that were quite popular have had to either scale back or close their doors.

24 Nov 2009 9:36pm

john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States

Cool. I think that I like HDR shots better in B&W than color.

24 Nov 2009 9:39pm

Self-Indulgence from Chicago, United States

Perfect perspective and the black and white toning is just as good. Really love the roof lines in this.

24 Nov 2009 9:49pm

B. Thomas from Arlington, Texas, United States

Very sharp!

24 Nov 2009 10:42pm

Susan from Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States

Way to go Curly...and interestingly enough, the other night, when Trey did his web cast, someone asked if he ever did hdr in b&w...he said he does, and showed us one.....yours is every bit as good!!!!

24 Nov 2009 11:29pm

Stephen Phillips from San Francisco, United States

Magnificent detail and excellent composition surround this otherwise sad tale.

24 Nov 2009 11:46pm

JoeB from Brampton, Canada

A beautiful design would like to see back in business.

25 Nov 2009 1:04am

Vikram from Chandler, United States

Very well done! And great details!

25 Nov 2009 1:39am

Bill from Pacific Northwest, United States

Wow HDR in B&W! Love it. All this scene needs is a couple of mates exiting the pub.

25 Nov 2009 2:47am

Seanóg from Dublin, Ireland

Great shot. Its a pity such pubs are closing down. Over here in Ireland we have the same problem ever since the smoking ban came in a few years ago. A lot of the pubs down the countryside have had to close due to lack of business. And what worse, a lot of those that had to close down were family owned and had been for years and years. Its a real shame as well as they were the best kind of pubs and were also part of the landscape and heritage of some places. Ah well, at least we still have some left.

25 Nov 2009 11:06am

Krisu from Tampere, Finland

Wow!!

25 Nov 2009 12:41pm

oncho from granada, Spain

ESPECTACULAR TRABAJO!

25 Nov 2009 4:29pm

pedro alexandre from loures, Portugal

nice pp work, too bad for the pub, things are not easy.

25 Nov 2009 5:29pm

Vitor Martins from Lisboa, Portugal

Nice shot, great teuture.

25 Nov 2009 7:38pm

Macrobaby from Vancouver, Canada

What a great building. You have captured it so well. The clarity in all the details right down to the shadows. Well processed.

25 Nov 2009 11:55pm

narcís from Girona, Catalunya, Spain

Molt bonica la perspectiva. Bons detalls i bona gamma de grisos!!! SALUT!!!

26 Nov 2009 10:51am

Silverado Photography from Clearlake, United States

Fne processing and composition.

26 Nov 2009 1:55pm

HafidzTan from Singapore, Singapore

Wow! You've captured it perfectly! It's sad to see that it's up for sale. Nevertheless, this would go into my fav! ;)

26 Nov 2009 3:54pm

M@ndy from London, United Kingdom

suits the bW

26 Nov 2009 5:42pm

Piervincenzo from Reggio Calabria, Italy

wow this is one that stand out of the crowd

26 Nov 2009 7:12pm

Celeb from Madrid, Spain

Excellent BW!!!

26 Nov 2009 8:16pm

Magda from Vancouver, Canada

Excellent shot! Well done

27 Nov 2009 5:59am

Maria i Sennan from Sennan, Sweden

This is the most interesting photo i'v seen for a long time
By the way....thank's for comment

27 Nov 2009 5:32pm

Barbara from Oakland, United States

Fabulous!

28 Nov 2009 7:10am

Julie from Easton, United States

I am a big fan of b&w, this picture really shows why!

28 Nov 2009 7:20pm

Krishna Muroor from India

wow wow wow, no words to explain the beauty

29 Nov 2009 2:37pm

PENTAX K100D
1/90 second
F/6.7
ISO 200
18 mm

black
and
white
pub
south
shields
stanhope
hdr