Like many, I started my photography business without a clue of where I wanted to take it, without a support system, and quite frankly, without enough cash in my bank accounts. I was a frustrated artist in a dead-end job, looking to create a brighter future for myself.
As architectural photographers, we are not wanting for options to get our work recognized. Awards for architectural photography are abundant, with new contests seemingly popping up each year.
Last year was the first year that I decided to submit some of my work to these competitions.
Behind-the-scenes content is some of the most enjoyable and informative to consume in my opinion. I love seeing how other photographers go about their business and find this is a great way to quickly pick up new ways of working that I may be able to incorporate into my own work.
While he isn’t specifically in the architectural or interiors niche, Joel Grimes is an impressive photographer.
His portraits, landscapes, and composite images are of the highest quality. You could think of him as a performer in the Champions League of Photographers (sorry, I am European, so translated for my American friends: the Superbowl).
One of my goals for the new year is to endeavor to figure out what the heck an NFT is, and how, if at all, it could affect or benefit my work as a photographer. As luck may have it, a serendipitous scroll through my Instagram feed led me to a recent article on the subject by one of our favorite photographers here at APAlmanac, our good friend Peter Molick.
Like all of you, I am constantly trying to push myself to improve as a photographer. Honing our craft is paramount to our continued success and part of the fun of our profession. With that in mind, this year I am looking forward to sharing ideas and techniques that have aided me in my ongoing pursuit of perfection.
Just writing about my first book – Budapest Architecture – here makes my heart beat fast.
Before I jump into sharing the how behind this project, I think it is important to tell you the why. Since you’re reading this post on Mike Kelley’s APALMANAC, I assume you’ve already come across his book New Architecture Los Angeles.
Melbourne’s Southbank by Beulah Tower is poised to become the tallest building in the southern hemisphere once completed. The two-tower megadevelopment will eventually rise to 366 meters (1,200 feet) and transform Australia’s ‘garden city.’
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.
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.
As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the attacks carried out on September 11th, 2001, I continue to be affected by the ability of architecture to encourage the public’s memory to endure and, in the best examples, help them heal as well. The National September 11 Memorial in New York City is one such example.
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.
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.
Dennis Radermacher — our 3D printing hero, and Project of the Week star — has constructed a bit of a different gift to the architectural photographer community today. Weighing the pros cons of working with an assistant, Dennis delves into the nitty-gritty of shooting solo and why it works best for his architectural photography workflow.
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.
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.
Have you ever thought about the accuracy of GPS data? I actually didn’t, until I was commissioned to take a photo of a particular place before any work was done, and a photo from the same exact vantage point after the place has been renovated. Would that even be possible?
After leaving the APAlmanac Architectural Photography Census open for almost six months in 2020, we are here to report the results. An incredible 1,259 professional architectural photographers from all over the world completed and contributed to the survey, which has provided an amazing cross section of how and why we’re working, where we struggle, where we succeed, and so much more.
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.
When it comes to Photoshop tutorials and luminosity masking software I have two clear favorites: Unmesh Dinda and Lumenzia. It was a no-brainer to share this PiXimperfect video featuring an extensive review of Lumenzia.Unmesh’s teachings are extensive and clear.
