You might be forgiven for thinking, when looking at the British Airways i360 tower in Brighton, that it forms part of an advanced shuttle craft to take you to the stars. At least that formed part of my thinking when visiting it in late summer 2018.

All I could see was the glass and steel and the shapes that could produce some dramatic images one home. I sought out the angles and lighting and took far more than was necessary. I will skip hastily over the fact that I have failed to post anything on this blog since that time but would, in my defence, point out that I originally declared that any contributions here would be sporadic, which is an appropriate description;

although I will admit that I have been a lot more sporadicer than even I expected, and that is a word I can provide no dictionary extract for.

The British Airways i360 at Brighton

Enough of the excuses. You have to admit that this Brighton attraction does lend itself to some sci-fi influenced imagery. That was the approach I took when processing the photos. I found different ways of interpreting the light and pushed some to the limit.

Images can also be viewed at a larger size by selecting them

Various interpretations of the observation ring
The observation ring rises from below the ground
Taken in the observation ring as it rides up the tower, and a version that reminded me of the inside of a Tardis.
Aboard the spaceship…… how it really looks
  • views from the top
  • an abstract image – it is in fact an artistically paved area viewed from high above

All images were take with a Fuji X-T2 and various lenses and subsequently processed depending on my approach using software techniques with Adobe Lightroom, the Nik Collection, AuroraHDR, or Affinity.

With the image washed out and the sky overexposed

At ground level there is a contrast between the futuristic and the historic, the i360 complex is fronted by a glass wall that leads to the old West Pier tea room building.

Click on image to enlarge
The observation ring rides towards the top

There. I’ve done it. Broken it. Not quite writer’s block, not lack of photographic inspiration, not a jinx, just broken the two year cycle of me pressing ‘reschedule’ on ‘Create new Blogpost’ on my to-do list.

All I have to do now is keep it going…..