I’ve come up to the north-east this weekend for a recorder festival so I took a detour to Newcastle on my way here this morning to photograph The Sage concert hall in Gateshead. I came here a couple of years ago and was itching to take some photos then but couldn’t as we were very short of time. I left home at the crack of dawn today, arriving at Newcastle station by lunchtime, allowing me the whole afternoon to snap away to my heart’s content. It’s an amazing building, designed by Sir Norman Foster and opened in 2004. From outside I think it looks like an elegant glass and steel peanut shell and inside it’s a wonderful symphony of curves which are just crying out to be photographed. I spent a good three hours wandering around looking for different angles and decided to experiment with combining several different exposures to balance the light levels between the huge glass walls and the darker interior. This approach has also allowed me to really show the vivid colour of the glass barrier which runs along one side. I’ve chosen my favourite two shots which show the building’s interacting curves. When I’d run out of ideas inside I took a stroll down to the Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne and took some external shots, framing The Sage and the Tyne Bridge under the arch of the newer bridge.

Good shots - this is a building I'd ike to visit davids · 2009-04-25: 07:35

Interesting building,i like # 1. ????? · 2009-04-25: 13:57

Very nice set!! #1 is an incredible shot!! lookagain · 2009-04-25: 15:26

Amazing!! Great composition of lines, colors and light! Najeli · 2009-04-25: 18:12

Last one is stunning! ????? · 2009-04-27: 07:02

How I love modern architecture when its well-done! busybee36 · 2009-04-28: 08:37

Tagged: architecture newcastle gateshead sage