A resource for working professional photographers and design industry professionals featuring news, commentary, equipment resources, and original articles
Architecturally, speaking Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) is a name that resonates with most people and perhaps it is due to his one of his many notable projects the iconic Guggenheim Museum in New York. He had started his architectural practice in the suburb of Oak Park in Chicago, specialising in the design of prairie styled homes.
One of the key bits of equipment an architectural photographer is pretty much required to have, is a good geared tripod head. I would say it’s pretty difficult to photograph architecture without having one of these.
For many architectural photographers, including myself, our first geared tripod heads are probably one of the two options available from Manfrotto.
When you’re obsessed with something, say, architectural photography, you can’t imagine a life without it, so you’re going to find a way to do it no matter what. Even in the midst of a pandemic, even if you have to use an awful camera, even if you just underwent back surgery.
In October 2019, I decided to take a break from work to address stubborn back pain that hadn’t gone away in about six years.
My newest architectural photography crush is on the lovely Tess Kelly. Tess photographs architecture, interiors, and still life all across the globe, but calls Melbourne home. Her work has a gorgeous style that is dripping with great coloration, contrast, and light.
This particular project of Clifton Hill residence built by Blueprint Construction Company for DX Architects, and styled by Larritt-Evans, is ultra interesting because it is a heritage architecture project.
Back in 2016, I remember the opening scene to Marvel’s Dr Strange trailer which showed a snippet of the Manhattan skyline and as an architecture buff, I couldn’t help myself grin when I noticed Bjarke Ingles’ W57 project firmly asserting itself in the scene. I have always been fascinated by the work of Bjarke Ingles because his architecture transcends the traditional notion of architecture we have become accustomed to.
I hope everyone has been able to stay healthy through these past few months and that you’re looking forward to working again. Over the last few weeks, as restrictions have been relaxed here in Hungary, it feels wonderful to be able to get out and shoot, even if precautions and distancing have kept things a little bit different than normal.
As I write this, locales throughout the world are in varying degrees of “stay-at-home” orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of us are able to continue working, at least in a limited capacity, while others have found ourselves with time to catch up on housekeeping items like bookkeeping and copyright registrations.
Mike and I were recently talking about the modern greats of architectural photography, which naturally left us drooling over Tom Harris and his rockstar portfolio. Our mutual favorite (so much so that Mike even scored an autographed print of it) is Tom’s series on Eleanor Boathouse by Studio Gang.
Last month, the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) launched its first online program as a response to the COVID-19 breakout and due to the success of their April programme they have announced another four film in May. Each film is screened daily starting on 17th and running until the 20th with two broadcasts starting at 8pm ET and 8pm PT, and each film ticket costing US$0.99.
Most architectural photographers prefer to shoot while tethered to a laptop or tablet device. The main reason for this is because the screens on the backs of almost all cameras tend to be pretty poor, and pretty small. This is true even for more expensive medium format cameras; although their screens are better, they’re still not that great.
Since I have started writing for APAlmanac, discovering how other photographers and film-makers using are motion to create a narrative about architecture has been fascinating. Even the recent ZoomedIn Festival heavily touched on this subject matter as part of their talks.
Bouncing between Paris, Milan, and Copenhagen, globally revered photographer Simone Bossi shoots film as an exercise in slowing things down.
As photographers in a digital era, it is easy to overcomplicate things, firing off a myriad of brackets, adding lights, putting up nets and screwing on filters, luminosity masking with plug ins, and on and on.
As the first ever ZoomedIn Festival draws to a close on Friday, APAlmanac has teamed up with the ZoomedIn crew to produce one final event: An ‘Ask Me Anything’ with all of the photographers who took part in the festival which is free for anyone to attend. If you have a question you’d like to ask the panel, we’re all ears and ready to respond, but there’s one catch!
The majority of people entering the photography industry tend to ask questions mostly about gear. Questions tend to be about lenses, cameras and what they should buy first, and while the gear is important, actually learning how and what to shoot is far more important. In a video from 30X40 Design Workshop, architect Eric Reinholdt covers a number of important tips that are extremely valuable for beginner photographers.
For those of you that are just starting out in architectural photography, or thinking about joining the industry, you may have a lot of questions. Hopefully, the majority of those questions are about learning how to shoot as opposed to what to shoot with; however, the gear you use does still matter.
We are happy to announce that we are opening our store this week, which includes classic pieces from APA’s storied “history” – including our emotional support mugs and bingo mugs for those days when you just need a laugh before heading out to shoot, or tote bags to carry all of your accumulated props and snacks to and from the set!
Aussie photographer Mike Baker is known for his incredibly bold and lively product, advertising, and corporate photo work. He brings a dash of this punch and cleanliness to his architectural work, but does it in a more subdued way. His images of Courtyard House for Life Spaces group is a great example of his approach to architecture and interiors, so let’s check it out!
One of the things I love about good architecture is the design narrative of a project. The narrative allows one to appreciate how the architect uses the surroundings and history to inform their architectural intent. Over the last couple of years, one of the best ways to learn these are through architectural talks hosted in Melbourne.
Many of us architectural photographers are no strangers to a good tilt-shift lens. We probably even have a favorite that we use regularly for most of our shoots. My personal favorite is the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 II. Although I don’t shoot with it as much as I do the 45mm, I still prefer the 24mm over the other tilt-shift lenses.
Veeral Patel
Usman Dawood
Mike Kelley
Lexi Taciak
György Palkó
Brandon Vogts