As you can probably already deduce, I'm keen on capturing images at Titanic Quarter in Belfast. It's a colourful, everchanging waterfront community that never fails to provide photographic opportunity (especially at night). Hotels, museums, tech businesses, a lighthouse lens and even a world war one battleship all compete for the attention of tourists and photographers alike. Finding new compositions is always a challenge and I have been seeking out images that will hopefully impress by using panoramic techniques, compositional tools and long exposures, to name but a few. Normally, I don't need much of a push to motivate myself to polish the lenses, charge the batteries and drive the 15 miles or so from home with the aim of setting up on the maritime mile and recording the architecture, attractions and so on but, on reading a particular news item in early 2023, I felt utterly compelled to rush to a previously planned location and construct a shot I had considered to be a worthy addition to the portfolio. The news item I read on the internet, from the Belfast Telegraph I believe, was reporting on a residential development named Loft Lines. This development contains 778 sustainable, lifestyle-first homes that’s being built from the ground up on 3.8 acres of prime Belfast city centre real estate, according to the promotional website- www.theloftlines.com

Why do 778 much needed new homes make me move with such urgency?

The afforementioned 3.8 acres of prime Belfast real estate is located right in the immediate proximity of what, many would argue, is the star of the maritime mile/ Titanic Quarter show. Titanic Belfast attracted 800,000+ visitors in 2023 and this world-leading attraction will be dwarfed by three apartment blocks ranging between 12-18 stories and has raised debate regarding the positioning of the new homes. The beautiful view from underneath the M3 bridge (see the first image below) will no longer feature the beautiffully illuminated museum architecture and its reflection in the river Lagan and the air of space and light that visitors to the building's surrounding outside space previously enjoyed will surely be greatly reduced when construction completes. The unique, ground-breaking design of Titanic's exterior has not been enough of an inspiration for the developers as the artist's impression of the finished accommodation blocks has not displayed anything inspirational and the intended design is bland and monotonous. Much needed homes being built in such a tedious design is understandable as budgets don't stretch far enough to allow for architectural excellence, but to place the monolithic blocks in such an iconic location must have surely raised questions among the city planners and local government officials, who would (or should) have been consulted to arrive at a sensible decision. The decision to proceed, no matter who gave the go-ahead, is most certainly a strange and rather unpopular one.

With the start date for the Loft Lines construction approaching and a hotel to be built directly in front of Titanic Belfast too (see https://titanicquarter.com/tq/future-projects/ for the Hamilton dock hotel) I felt compelled to record the scene directly in front of the Titanic Belfast area forecourt as I believe, that in its current configuration, the uninterrupted view from the museum and Titanic Hotel towards the Odyssey arena, M3 bridge and Donegall Quay provides the best opportunity to capture the view for posterity.

Thursday, 29th December, 2022. It's the height of winter in these parts and bitterly cold but the rain has stopped and I load the Lowepro camera bag and Manfrotto tripod into the car. It's early evening and the blue hour is approaching. A blue hue to the sky adds some interest to night images and extra ambient light to other areas that can reveal details otherwise hidden by darkness. So, I drive towards Belfast while daylight is beginning to subside. I arrive at the Odyssey arena car park with the hope of rain abating and head towards the Titanic Hotel. Rather interestingly, the hotel has an external fire escape and it is accessible to climb. I begin to ascend quietly and expect a security guard or hotel staff member to stop me in my quest but there is no response from anyone and I continue to the top. It's an open platform from the summit and offers great views across the city. I set up the tripod to clear the handrail in front of me and add the Canon EOS RP and 24-70 L mk1 lens. I look for the darkest section of sky, which is to the left of me, and take a meter reading from the middle of the scene. This gives me a medium-lit view to work from and a better chance of an evenly lit image to edit. Panning across the scene with my camera to check for the composition fitting within the frame in portrait mode, I lock in my settings-

ISO 100

f8 (I would normally go to f11 for a bit more front to back sharpness but the shutter speed was too long and would have resulted in the sky changing too much during the course of the fourteen exposures)

13 seconds

25mm

Starting from the left where the sky is darkest, I focus on Goliath, the Harland and Wolff gantry crane which is still adorned with white LED Christmas lights. Overlapping by a third (the EVF being split into thirds with the rule of third lines, helps with this so I made sure this was enabled) I continue with a sequence of overlapping and levelling (while observing the camera's electronic level) until I have spanned the full width of my composition which has provided me with a 180 degree view and using my remote controller (not touching the camera to reduce vibration) to record the 13 seconds exposures. I feel relieved when I check all 14 shots and they look successfully exposed. Back at home, I have the shots merged into a panorama in Lightroom and edit to get the look I require. A small cloud formation in the distant cobalt blue sky has added a nice feature bonus and I'm happy with the overall effect even if a small area of handrail on the escape platform has magically disappeared! See if you can find it. A passing Glider bus at the nearby stop, energetic dogs with LED collars and their owners on the grassy area in front and light trails from passing cars all add to the scene (or provide distractions, I’ll let you decide) and I'm happy with the f8 aperture I have chosen.

Before the year's end, a tall yellow builder’s hoarding is erected around the site, heavy machinery moved in, ground was broken and construction commenced. Instagrammers, many who are photographers like me, begin to lambast the whole scheme and comments see-saw back and forth regarding the loss of views we so regularly recorded and loved previously. I do feel sad that the powers that be didn't plan the area in a more environmentally open way but at least I have the panoramic images that can never be repeated again. As to how the vista will look when the apartments and hotel are finished? If I'm still around and still capturing images, I'll blog again with the results. It might not be a pretty site.

Loft Lines. Why here?

Therapy?