Rickysphotochallenge Week 11 entry #2 - Architecture - Fort VIII Hoboken, Belgium

If you thought Hoboken was a place in New Jersey or Georgia, think again, it is actually a district in Antwerp, Belgium. Actually, it was a town on it's own until 1983 when it was merged with the city of Antwerp and both places in the US derive their name from this very place when the very first settlers came from Hoboken, Belgium and named the new places as their hometown.

Until Antwerp harbour moved up North, Hoboken was the main port for ships to call in Antwerp and it was a thriving place with lots of industry (petroleum, metallurgy, coal.) After the Great War it costs its interest and now it is only a shadow of past times.

Fort VIII is part of a series of fortifications around the vicinity of Antwerp to defend the city (better known as the chain of Brialmont) and all of them were still used well into the 20th century when they were long outdated from a military point of view. Of the dozen or so fortifications, Fort VIII is one of the best preserved and is normally not open to the public. Some time ago I had the chance to visit it nevertheless and I was mightily impressed about its' architecture.

From a photography point of view, this one was rather tricky: I wanted to preserve both highlights and shadows, so I didn't want a very high ISO for maintaining dynamic range. ISO 800 seemed to be the sweet spot. Handheld.

Fuji X-Pro + XF 35, f/1.4, 1/15s, ISO 800

If you think you saw his photo before, you are right as it is already on my Ello page for some time, but rest assured, it is mine...

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