THE BEST IMAGES ARE CREATED AND DEEPEST RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOPED WHEN THE VALUES OF THE CLIENT AND PHOTOGRAPHER ARE CLOSELY ALIGNED. THE PRINCIPLES ARTICULATED BELOW UNDERPIN MY APPROACH TO MY WORK.

MORE THAN DOCUMENTATION.

PHOTOGRAPHING ARCHITECTURE IS MUCH MORE THAN DOCUMENTING A BUILDING. THE PHOTOGRAPHS SHOULD INTERPRET AND COMMUNICATE THE DESIGN ideas and the experience and atmosphere created.

FROM THE BIG PICTURE TO THE DETAILS.

Context. Scale AND Form. Spaces AND relationships. Function. Details AND Materials.

AND DO THIS WITH PICTURES THAT ARE ALSO BEAUTIFUL.

A COHERENT IMAGE SET THAT COMMUNICATES THE DESIGN IDEAS INHERENT IN EACH BUILDING IS NEEDED. A VISUAL NARRATIVE.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARCHITECT AND PHOTOGRAPHER IS ESSENTIAL TO THIS PROCESS. TO INFORM IMAGE MAKING DECISIONS WHILE ON LOCATION AND MAKE THE STRONGEST IMAGES POSSIBLE.

JUST ARCHITECTURE.

I CHOOSE TO MAKE THE BEST ARCHITECTURE IMAGES POSSIBLE RATHER THAN COMPROMISE WITH PASSABLE WORK IN OTHER GENRES WHICH REQUIRE DIFFERENT EXPERTISE AND EQUIPMENT.

I USE EQUIPMENT SPECIALISED FOR CAPTURING ARCHITECTURE still IMAGES.

THIS INCLUDES MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERAs PAIRED WITH THE BEST PERSPECTIVE CONTROL LENSES AVAILABLE. THIS EQUIPMENT ENABLES ME TO CREATE IMAGES THAT OTHER EQUIPMENT CANNOT AND TO DELIVER HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGES TO CLIENTS THAT ARE FUTURE PROOF. IN PRACTICE THIS CAMERA EQUIPMENT AND APPROACH TAKES MORE TIME. THIS FORCES ME INTO A SLOWER PROCESS WHICH IN TURN MEANS LESS IMAGES CAPTURED. I AM COMFORTABLE WITH THIS. I WOULD MUCH RATHER DELIVER 20 GOOD IMAGES THAN 100 AVERAGE ONES.

ON REQUEST i CAN also use this same equipment to record CAMERA-STATIC MOVING IMAGES that capture ATMOSPHERE AND movement WITHIN and around buildings and pubic spaces AND WHICH CAN BE USED AS stand-alone CLIPS for each scene or combined into a short PROJECT video for web and social media use.

I USE THE SAME REPEATABLE TECHNICAL PROCESS ON EACH ASSIGNMENT.

BUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS IS AN INTUITIVE ONE THAT RESPONDS TO THE ARCHITECTURE.

THIS STARTS WITH AN IDEA OR CONCEPT FOR EACH IMAGE BASED ON HOW I AND THE ARCHITECT WANT TO COMMUNICATE THE ARCHITECTURE. THIS LEADS INTO DECISIONS ABOUT COMPOSITION AND MOOD. THE LOOK IS ONE THAT RESPONDS TO THE ARCHITECTURE AND ENCOUNTERED CONDITIONS. AND THIS WILL BE DIFFERENT EACH TIME.

FAD RESISTANT PICS x flicks.

ARCHITECTURE IS NOT A FASHION STATEMENT. NOR SO THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT COMMUNICATE ARCHITECTURE.

I SEE A LOT OF ARCHITECTURE IMAGES THAT ARE PROCESSED WITH EDITING SOFTWARE TO MIMIC FILM OR OTHERWISE ADD A CERTAIN 'LOOK' THAT IS CONSIDERED FASHIONABLE. AND THIS SEEMS TO BE PREVALENT IN CERTAIN ARCHITECTURE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA.

THE RESULT IS THAT DIFFERENT ARCHITECTURE IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS TENDS TO LOOK THE SAME. THIS SEEMS TO ME TO BE THE ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF PHOTOGRAPHER EGO WHERE THE LATEST AESTHETIC TRENDS SEEM TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN AN AUTHENTIC REPRESENTATION OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND ITS CONTEXT.

THE ARCHITECTURE AND THE LIGHT AND COLOURS PARTICULAR TO ITS LOCATION SHOULD BE CELEBRATED RATHER THAN HIDDEN THROUGH FILTERS OR THE LIKE. THE IMAGES SHOULD RESEMBLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IN REAL LIFE.

I THEREFORE DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO A TRADEMARK OR FORMULAIC PHOTOGRAPHIC LOOK NOR WANT FASHIONABLE TRENDS TO DOMINATE THE ARCHITECTURE. THE OPPOSITE. I WANT TO AVOID THE IMAGE SAMENESS THAT SATURATES SOCIAL AND ARCHITECTURE MEDIA AND AESTHETIC TRENDS THAT CAN DETRACT FROM THE ARCHITECTURE AND DATE THE IMAGES.

I AIM TO CREATE AUTHENTIC AND TIMELESS IMAGES. IN SHORT…IT'S NOT ABOUT ME…IT'S ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE.

SLOW DOWN AND SMELL THE METAPHORICAL ROSES.

I HAVE FAVOURED A SLOWER AND MORE DELIBERATE AND THOUGHTFUL PROCESS SINCE I BECAME A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER. THIS MANIFESTS INTO CAMERA EQUIPMENT CHOICES AND IMAGE CAPTURE PROCESSES. I LIKE SHOOTING FILM AND USE MANUAL MEDIUM FORMAT FILM AND DIGITAL CAMERAS. AND I LIKE TO TREAT DIGITAL THE SAME AS FILM WHICH ENCOURAGES A MORE DISCERNING APPROACH TO IMAGE CAPTURE.

YET THERE IS ANOTHER ASPECT TO THIS CONCEPT THAT IS IMPORTANT. AND THAT IS THE TIME A PHOTOGRAPHER IS GIVEN TO PHOTOGRAPH A BUILDING.

AN ARCHITECT SPENDS YEARS IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. IN MOST CASES THE PHOTOGRAPHER GETS A ONE HOUR SITE VISIT BEFORE A SHOOT AND THEN A DAY ON SITE RUSHING FROM ONE LOCATION TO THE NEXT TO TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPHS IN BETWEEN DEALING WITH LOGISTICAL ISSUES OR CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. THERE IS SELDOM TIME TO THINK LET ALONE APPRECIATE THE SUBTLETIES AND WAIT FOR THAT DECISIVE MOMENT FOR EACH PHOTOGRAPH.

WHILE NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE FOR WHATEVER REASON I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THERE IS SCOPE TO GRANT THE PHOTOGRAPHER MORE TIME TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE ARCHITECTURE AND IN SO DOING CAPTURE THE BEST POSSIBLE IMAGES. THIS NEEDS A BIGGER COMMITMENT AND A CLOSER COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND ARCHITECT.

YES…RELATIONSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT!

THESE WORDS FROM RICHARD NEUTRA IN HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE ICONIC JULIUS SHULMAN BOOK PHOTOGRAPHING ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIORS ARTICULATE THE RELATIONSHIP NEEDED BETWEEN ARCHITECT AND PHOTOGRAPHER:

...PHOTOGRAPHY CAN BE A HEARTBREAKING JOB FOR A MAN WHO IS CALLED TO FIND HIS STAND BEFORE A COMPLICATED PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE...ACCUMULATED OR DESIGNED OVER YEARS. IT HAS BEEN A LONG...PROCESS TO ARRIVE AT THIS MOMENTOUS MORNING OR EVENING OF PICTURE TAKING. WHAT IS THE PHOTOGRAPHER SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN HE SUDDENLY FOR THE FIRST TIME LAYS EYES ON THIS PROJECT UNLESS THE ARCHITECT CAN TELL HIM WHAT DESIGN FEATURES HAD REALLY BEEN FOREMOST IN HIS MIND AND HAD BEEN WORKED INTO THIS COMPOSITION? IT IS THIS COMPOSITION OR NOTHING WHICH MUST COME OUT STRIKINGLY IN ORDER TO GIVE ANY SATISFACTION AND MAKE THE WHOLE EFFORT WORTHWHILE. IF THE ARCHITECT KNEW ONLY SUCH ROUGHLY DEFINED SUBJECTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AS THE MAIN ENTRANCE...OR THE MASTER BEDROOM AND LEFT ALL THE REST OF IT TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER...LATER MERELY CRITICISING THE PROOFS AND TURNING THEM DOWN...THIS WOULD MAKE A TERRIBLY WASTEFUL PROCESS OUT OF THE WHOLE BACK-BREAKING THING. THE ARCHITECT WHO HAS CONCEIVED AND CREATIVELY WORKED ON THIS COMPOSITION…CANNOT BE A GUESSER WHEN IT COMES TO PHOTOGRAPHY…THERE IS LITTLE TIME FOR GUESSING…HE WILL HAVE TO KNOW HIS BUILDING BY HEART AS A CONDUCTOR KNOWS HIS SCORE…OR ELSE THE POOR PHOTOGRAPHER IS CARRYING HIS HEAVY TRIPOD AND A BIG SUITCASE OF PARAPHERNALIA…TRAILING FROM THE STAIRWELL TO THE LOWER GROUNDS AND THEN UP TO THE MASTER BEDROOM OPENING ONTO A TERRACE WHICH THE WHOLE PARTY REACHES ABOUT TEN MINUTES AFTER THE SUN HAS SLIPPED AWAY FROM THE RIGHT ANGLE. THE ARCHITECT MUST KNOW WHAT DESIGN FEATURES AND COMPOSITIONS THE WHOLE EXPLORATION-AND-HUNTING PARTY IS AFTER OR ELSE A DAILY DOZEN OF PICTURES ARE ALL JUST FLOPS.

LET THERE BE DARKNESS.

THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE TO THE MONOTONOUS BRIGHT AND WHITE AESTHETIC THAT SATURATES SOCIAL MEDIA AND DESIGN PUBLICATIONS AND IS PERPETUATED THROUGH CONSTANT IMITATION CAN BE FOUND IN THE DARKNESS.

JUNICHIRO TANIZAKI ARTICULATES THIS ALTERNATIVE AESTHETIC BEST IN HIS BOOK IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS.

...A JAPANESE ROOM MIGHT BE LIKENED TO AN INKWASH PAINTING, THE PAPER-PANELED SHOJI BEING THE EXPANSE WHERE THE INK IS THINNEST, AND THE ALCOVE WHERE IT IS DARKEST. WHENEVER I SEE THE ALCOVE OF A TASTEFULLY BUILT JAPANESE ROOM, I MARVEL AT OUR COMPREHENSION OF THE SECRETS OF SHADOWS, OUR SENSITIVE USE OF SHADOW AND LIGHT. FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE ALCOVE IS NOT THE WORK OF SOME CLEVER DEVICE. AN EMPTY SPACE IS MARKED OFF WITH PLAIN WOOD AND PLAIN WALLS, SO THAT THE LIGHT DRAWN INTO IT FORMS DIM SHADOWS WITHIN EMPTINESS. THERE IS NOT MORE. AND YET, WHEN WE GAZE INTO THE DARKNESS THAT GATHERS BEHIND THE CROSSBEAM, AROUND THE FLOWER VASE, BENEATH THE SHELVES, THOUGH WE KNOW PERFECTLY WELL IT IS MERE SHADOW, WE ARE OVERCOME WITH THE FEELING THAT IN THIS SMALL CORNER OF THE ATMOSPHERE THERE REIGNS COMPLETE AND UTTER SILENCE; THAT HERE IN THE DARKNESS IMMUTABLE TRANQUILITY HOLDS SWAY. THE 'MYSTERIOUS ORIENT' OF WHICH WESTERNERS SPEAK PROBABLY REFERS TO THE UNCANNY SILENCE OF THESE DARK PLACES. AND EVEN WE AS CHILDREN WOULD FEEL INEXPRESSIBLE CHILL AS WE PEERED INTO THE DEPTHS OF AN ALCOVE TO WHICH THE SUNLIGHT HAD NEVER PENETRATED. WHERE LIES THE KEY TO THIS MYSTERY? ULTIMATELY IT IS THE MAGIC OF SHADOWS. WERE THE SHADOWS TO BE BANISHED FROM ITS CORNERS, THE ALCOVE WOULD IN THAT INSTANT REVERT TO MERE VOID...

SHAPE and enhance THE NATURAL LIGHT THAT THE ARCHITECTURE HAS EMBRACED. DO NOT OBLITERATE it WITH EXCESSIVE ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING AND HEAVY-HANDED IMAGE EDITING.

A LIGHT RETOUCH.

JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING CAN BE RETOUCHED DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT SHOULD BE. DIGITAL MANIPULATION TO RENDER PERFECTION CREATES INAUTHENTIC IMAGES AND PERPETUATES UNREALISTIC BUILDING IMAGE.

I TAKE A PRAGMATIC BUT MINIMALIST APPROACH TO IMAGE EDITING AND RETOUCHING. PHOTOSHOP IS NOT PERFECT AND SHOULD BE USED AS A LAST RESORT. IN GENERAL THE LESS EDITING AND IMAGE MANIPULATION THE BETTER. AND THE BEST APPROACH IS TO DO 95% OF THE WORK DURING THE SHOOT AND IN CAMERA. IN PARTICULAR COMPOSE TO AVOID OR REMOVE UNWANTED ELEMENTS WHERE POSSIBLE DURING IMAGE CAPTURE.

DISTRACTIONS THAT ARE NOT AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE BUILDING OR CONTEXT ARE OK TO REMOVE FROM A PHOTOGRAPH. THIS COULD BE A STREET SIGN OR A CONSTRUCTION BARRIER OR A HORRIBLE WINDOW REFLECTION OR GARBAGE BIN. YOU GET THE PICTURE. THESE ARE NOT IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING THE ARCHITECTURE. THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR IS!

IN AN INTERVIEW ABOUT HIS BOOK BEFORE AND AFTER: ÁLVARO SIZA WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS APPROACH TO image editing ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHER DUCCIO MALAGAMBA SAID THIS:

…SINCE THE ADVENT OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY I USUALLY SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THE POST-PRODUCTION OF THE IMAGES. HOWEVER, CONTRARY TO WHAT ONE MIGHT THINK, MY EFFORTS ARE AIMED AT MAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH OFFER A SENSATION MORE SIMILAR TO THAT EXPERIENCED AT THE MOMENT OF THE SHOT, RATHER THAN MODIFYING REALITY. DESPITE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES, THE HUMAN EYE IS MUCH MORE PERFECT THAN CAMERAS, SO PHOTOGRAPHY NEEDS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HELP TO BRING THE RESULT CLOSER TO OUR VISUAL EXPERIENCE.

I AGREe. THIS IS THE APPROACH I TAKE ALSO. THE IMAGES SHOULD RESEMBLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IN REAL LIFE.

ONE IDEA PER PICTURE.

AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE I ADHERE TO WITHIN MY CREATIVE PROCESS IS ONE IDEA PER PICTURE. MORE THAN ONE IDEA LEADS TO CONFUSED COMPOSITION AND A POOR PHOTOGRAPH.

THIS MEANS THAT ONE IMAGE CANNOT PROVIDE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING. A COHERENT IMAGE SET IS NEEDED TO COMMUNICATE THE ARCHITECTURE.

Multiple shots capture each scene. And multiple scenes are combined into a logical sequence to build a VISUAL narrative.

AUTHENTIC. PURPOSEFUL. COMMUNICATIVE. DISTINCT. TIMELESS.

THE RESULT OF MY CREATIVE PROCESS IS AN IMAGE SET THAT DEMONSTRATES THESE QUALITIES.