Hoover Auditorium seats

[Dennis Bishop]

Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside, Ohio, was built (or maybe finished) in 1928 so I'd associated it with American president Herbert Hoover. Not so. It has a connection to Isaac Hoover who patented and sold potato diggers. (Apparently, potato diggers were a big hit; his company was selling 5000 a year by 1916 and was bought by John Deere in 1926.) The seats that haven't yet been refurbished have wooden seats and backs but -- upholstered or not -- I don't think most people pay attention to the seats. It's what's happening on stage is that draws people in and keeps their attention. The lobby was open for a photography exhibit when I walked in one afternoon last August, and the seats caught my attention in a way they hadn't in all the times I'd been there in the past thirteen years.





iPhone 5s, PureShot camera app, ISO 200, iPro Super Wide auxiliary lens, three-exposure HDR in 2 EV increments

processing highlights

• The distortion caused by the lens (intentionally) was augmented a bit with the convex version of the Pinch filter in Photoshop.
• Topaz Simplify -- saved watercolor preset, heavily masked to retain the reflections on the seat arms and backs
• Fractalius -- three saved black-on-white layers; Multiply, Divide, and Multiply blend modes
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- saved watercolor wash preset, Hard Light
• Flypaper texture -- Darker Color blend mode (applied to tone down the brightness of the windows and the reflection on the floor)
• Simplify and Snap Art -- saved black-on-white edges presets, Multiply
• All the layers were stamped, blurred and masked to affect the more distant seats in an arc from the left side to the top.

[Hazel Grant]

Love the perspective. It's hard not to do the "usual" for a place like this. The curvature adds depth. I wish that bright spot top right wasn't there, though.

[Nancy Bell]

I read the iPhone is the most popular camera now! Also whole workshops are now being offered on how to capture cool images with your iPhone and how to process. Dennis, you are way ahead of the curve (haha...about using "curve" in reference to this curved image!). Anyway, totally love the perspective you captured here! It is unique and very much conveys the impression of an auditorium that is also a bit of history with those lovely wooden and upholstered seats. Very eye catching with the effect of the radiating lines of the seats and the bit of radiating abstraction caused by the light tops of the seats, all seeming to originate from one spot in the left edge. I agree with Hazel about that one bright spot. Great "Dennis" processing!

[Diane Miller]

Wow -- gorgeous processing with magic light, and I love the wide angle curvature here! (And that comes from a crabby person who generally hates fisheye shots.)

[Dennis Bishop]

I wondered about that bright spot in the top right when I pulled this back up in preparation for posting it. Just now, I tried a quick fix that didn't work. I'll put fixing it on my to-do list. Thanks.

[Dennis Bishop]

After several unsuccessful attempts, I came up with something to fix that bright spot at the top. Well, "fix" suggests something closer to perfection, I think, but at least it looks better than it did before.

[Hazel Grant]

It does prevent my eye from rushing to that bright spot. Now I can concentrate more on the focus you intended. Oh, just also noticed the lower right seat. It looks stained from wear. Accentuates the old look.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Oh, wow, Dennis! I love this one - the first thing I thought of was a roller coaster or a gigantic ferris wheel I love your processing on this one and I actually prefer the OP.