Photographer: Joel Tjintjelaar

These are photos from his “The Age of Modern Architecture in Qatar” series:

Joel Tjintjelaar is a renowned fine art photographer known for his minimalist black-and-white architectural images. Born in the Netherlands in 1971, Tjintjelaar’s passion for photography emerged in 2007 as he explored various techniques and styles. His distinctive approach involves long-exposure photography, capturing the mood and essence of architectural structures. Notably, he developed the iSGM (intensified selective gradient mask) technique, which allows him to control tonal range and contrast, resulting in visually striking compositions. Tjintjelaar’s work has garnered international recognition, with exhibitions, awards, and publications showcasing his talent. Sharing his expertise through workshops and tutorials, he inspires and guides aspiring photographers to develop their artistic vision. While this information reflects my knowledge up until September 2021, Joel Tjintjelaar’s career may have seen further advancements and accomplishments since then.

 

Visual

This photo focuses on the building in the center. The daylight is the light source in this image, after editing, it creates a big contrast with the architecture. The lines on the building bring a stiff emotion to the audience, and the grayish tone of the background evokes a timeless atmosphere. Tjintjelaar placed the architecture in the center to let the audience focus on the main subject. Moreover, the monochrome used in this photo allows the audience to focus on fewer elements, emphasizing the huge building in the middle.

Technical

The light used in this photo is daylight. The focal point is in the center of the structure, but the other parts of the structure and the buildings in front are also relatively clear. So, the aperture used in this photo should be small, f10???. The structure’s lines are all clear and sharp, and the image is slightly dark, so the shutter speed should be fast, 1/250?. The structure and the sky are edited to create a large contrast. There is also a wide tonal range, from the black structures to the white-ish sky. However, the overall tone is grayish, bringing a sharp but also harmonic mood. The sky is edited to a gradient color, how the white sky in the center gradually changes to gray. The lens used is a wide-angle lens because this image gives a wide field of view. The wider the field of view, the more of the scene the audience is able to see in the frame.

How Does the image inspire?

This image inspired me by showing how to edit a black-and-white structure, and  I like the tone and composition of this photo. I also learned that different editing techniques can bring different feelings to the audience. With a larger contrast between colors, it creates a sharper mood. If the photo is grayish with a lower contrast, it brings a relatively softer mood.