F4LUFTBILDER
Dublin along the Liffey
In Dublin's cityscape, the Liffey is an easily traceable line. Bridges divide the stretch of water into individual sections, and buildings become more dense on the banks. An aerial view along the river brings widely separated pieces of the Irish capital into the same line of sight.
The Liffey as a city axis
In Dublin you can follow the Liffey from bridge to bridge. At each crossing, the view from the river can be taken back to the streets on both banks.
At the river it is worth taking a second look at both edges of the picture. Sometimes a road ends there and continues along the water in the next section. In another place, a line of trees frames a stretch of bank. Such clues connect the place with its river valley. For a double page spread, you can choose an overview showing the course and juxtapose it with a close-up view of the shore. It helps if at least one bend in the bank or a building can be found in both motifs.
Which shows the connection between both sides
In the overview, a bridge is initially a line that connects two separate areas. A closer look reveals differences between access, supporting structure and subsequent paths. For a photo series it is therefore worthwhile to include a view of the entire connection as well as a section with one of the bridgeheads. There, the integration into the terrain becomes particularly easy to understand. For comparison, both images can be oriented the same way so that the start and end of the route can be seen without additional explanation.
What the roofs reveal about the floor plan
A city center can often be read by its roofs. Where narrow gables are close together, the street space is also divided into short sections. A large, connected building interrupts this sequence. In the aerial photo you can follow the direction of an alley from such an interruption. For an illustration in a smaller format, a section with just a few easily distinguishable roof groups is worthwhile. In a large print, however, the spaces and small changes in direction are allowed to keep their place.
Warm tones within the series
For a direct image comparison, use shot 21 and shot 92 from the gallery with 105 aerial photos. In the second view, warm reds and browns have more weight than in the first. Red-brown and yellowish areas are particularly noticeable next to cooler surfaces. What is interesting when comparing is whether they are concentrated on a single object or appear spread out across the entire view.
According to camera data, Shot 1 and Shot 53 were taken on December 3, 2018. There is a gap of around 9 minutes between the two images. The exposure time was 1/200 second for the first of the images mentioned and 1/120 second for the second.
Explain the course of the river in the picture
For a publication about a river, it is worth explicitly naming the bank side if it is known. The left side of the photo and the left bank of the river are two different details. The photo can look in any direction, the bank name follows the direction of flow. Anyone who describes a desired view to the aerial photographer can therefore orientate themselves on a bridge, a settlement or an easily identifiable section of the bank. The same reference points make it easier for the reader to orient themselves later when the river appears to be going in a different direction in the next shot.
Related motifs in the aerial photo archive
The article Galway offers another perspective. In Galway, the aerial series switches from darker coastal views to densely built waterfront streets. In the gallery Budapest there is a different focus. In Budapest, the Danube opens a wide path through the city at night.