Justin Szeremeta

Staff Writer

I am a photographer based in Shanghai focusing on architecture and interiors. In my past life as an architect, I spent over a decade designing and delivering large-scale commercial architectural projects across China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

Together with my wife, Nicole, we operate StudioSZ Photo and travel throughout the Asia region for photography assignments.

The Story of an Image – Foxconn Shanghai Headquarters by KRIS YAO | ARTECH

This latest edition of Story of an Image brings us back to Shanghai as we take a look at an image from a commissioned shoot of Foxconn’s Headquarters building designed by KRIS YAO | ARTECH.  The spotlighted image ended up being the final piece of a puzzle to placing the building in its context for the viewer. 

The Simple Way I Deal with Sun Flare Using Canon’s 17mm Tilt-Shift Lens

There’s a reason Canon’s 17mm TS-E tilt-shift lens has a dedicated spot in so many of our bags.  When space is limited, it can be a lifesaver for us architectural photographers.  Whether it’s photographing a bathroom in a tight space, or a high-rise building in a dense urban city center, this lens has proven invaluable to me on many occasions. 

Gear Overload: A Glimpse Inside Shanghai’s Legendary Photography Market

One of the many reasons I have enjoyed being an ex-pat in Asia is the abundance of markets you can find throughout the region.  Whether it’s the textile markets in India, or the fish markets of Japan, or the floating markets found in Southeast Asia, they make commerce fun, and visiting one is a great way to get a glimpse of the local culture, its people, and the items they cherish.Here

The Inextricable Bond Between the Olympics and its Architecture

It’s (finally) Olympics time again, and you know what that means – it’s time to talk Olympics venue architecture – a topic fraught with divergent opinions on whether or not it makes sense to hold the games (and thus house said games) in a different city every couple of years. 

The Story of an Image – GMP’s Bund SOHO

This edition of Story of an Image is not necessarily a showcase of how you should go about creating a beautiful image, but rather an exercise in being resourceful if you ever find yourself unprepared and without the proper tools.  This is the story of a somewhat random outing in Shanghai which led to the creation of one of my favorite images I have ever taken. 

Rural Studio: Love Stories – A Documentary by Filmmaker Dave Anderson and Photographer Tim Hursley

With Independence Day in America having just passed, I was feeling nostalgic when considering what I wanted to share with our audience this month.  I decided to go back to my academic roots.  Being from the South, I recalled how nearby Auburn University’s Rural Studio, and in particular its visionary co-founder, Samuel ‘Sambo’ Mockbee, were so inspirational to me during my architecture studies way back when. 

Eames: The Architect and the Painter

Icons of the modernist movement, Charles and Ray Eames, taught us to see the world differently.  “Eventually, everything connects – people, ideas, objects…the quality of the connections is the key to quality” Charles Eames famously stated.  Over their remarkable career, the Eames cultivated a design process where ‘learning by doing’ was their mantra and who vowed to never to delegate understanding. 

Shanghai Undressed – Exposing the Mega-City’s Skyscrapers in Their Natural Habitat

Shanghai is known for its glitz and glamor – a showpiece city exemplifying China’s thriving economy and emergence as a global superpower.  Its iconic skyline defines the city internationally and, compared to some of its ancient counterparts, many of which have rich histories dating back thousands of years, Shanghai is a Chinese city that is sometimes thought of as having little history at all. 

DJI’s Latest Drone Release – The DJI Air 2S

In the middle of last month, Chinese tech company DJI made somewhat of a surprise announcement when they unveiled a new drone – the DJI Air 2S.  This unexpected upgrade brings with it a larger, 1-inch sensor able to capture 20-megapixel images and record in 5.4k – specs previously reserved only for larger drones. 

The Story of an Image – Woods Bagot’s Guohua Financial Center in Chongqing

The second installment of my recently created Story of an Image series takes us to the western Chinese city of Chongqing – a massive, uninhibited metropolis that most people outside China may not have even heard of.  While my previous article took you through my thought process for a non-commissioned portfolio capture, this time we’re on the clock working for global design firm, Woods Bagot, tasked with photographing both the exterior as well as the interior public areas of their Guohua International Financial Center project. 

Harmonizing Visuals for Kengo Kuma – A Short Animation by Brick Visual

I have always viewed architectural visualization and architectural photography as two sides of the same coin.  They bookend the architectural representation process, the former being created at the very outset, while the latter wraps up the project’s design and construction journey. 

Elevation – How Drones Will Change Cities – A Documentary by Dezeen

While I continue to wait (now, somewhat impatiently) for DJI to release the latest edition of their Mavic Pro series, I thought I’d share a video Dezeen produced about the impact drones will have (or perhaps already are having) on our lives and the way we relate to each other across space and the cities we live in. 

Portfolio Tips Through the Eyes of an Architect – Courtesy of BlessedArch

Recently I came across a portfolio review video from Rishabh Wadhwa’s YouTube channel, BlessedArch.  Together with Mariana Cabugueira Custodio dos Santos, a Portuguese architect working for Zaha Hadid Architects in London, they review and critique architectural portfolios. 
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