Last month Louis Vuitton’s creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, unveiled his 2023 Cruise Collection at one of America’s most iconic architectural locations, the Salk Institute designed by the legendary architect, Louis Kahn. The first event of its kind to be hosted at the Salk Institute, the building’s travertine courtyard was converted into a temporary runway for the event.
There have been so many wonderful examples of hospitality photography in the POTW submissions inbox lately, and one of my very favorites is Alex Jeffries’ photographs of 25hours Hotel by Woods Bagot.
Alex Jeffries is a British architecture and interiors photographer based in Dubai who focuses on hotels, resorts, and hospitality projects.
This edition of Story of an Image takes us to central China to photograph a large-scale mixed-use development designed by global architects, Woods Bagot. We ended up staying on site for four and a half days to capture this skyline-defining project. Here’s the story of one of our favorite images from what became one of our most enjoyable shoots of 2021.
Today we’re checking out a gorgeous set of photographs by Mexico City based architectural photographer Levi Wells. Levi kicked off his shoot for the Hotel Casa TO in Punta Zicatela at sunrise and was able to move quickly and efficiently to wrap the shoot in less than an hour.
Hotel Casa TO is a lovely example of Brutalist architecture by French architect Ludwig Godefroy who lives and works in Mexico City.
Joe Fletcher is arguably one of the most admired architectural photographers, and – rightfully so – his work is held in high regard. His photographs are mesmerizing – infused with a sense of place and time, thoughtfully composed, and beautifully lit. When it comes to hearing about Joe’s processes and behind-the-scenes magic – well – there isn’t a ton out there.
Today’s featured project is a beautiful lesson in persistence, and your teacher is architectural photographer Adam Taylor. Adam is based in Hawaii and you probably know him as the man behind the “License Your Photos” course. One of his recent shoots, Haleiwa House by Peter Vincent Architects & J.
For the years I worked in sales and marketing, there was a principle I kept in mind that I learned early on in my career: people do business with people they like. Barbara Corcoran from ‘Shark Tank’ has a fantastic quote related to this…
“If people like you, they’re going to want to do business with you.
You might know engineer-turned-architecture-photographer Ales Vyslouzil from our past interview with him here on APALMANAC. Or maybe – like me – you follow his work for its beautiful qualities and incredible examples of architecture. Today, Ales has been so kind as to share his photographs of the Mysk Moon Retreat with us, and tell a bit about his process of photographing the resort.
While much of the world is learning to live with the virus, China is continuing to pursue its zero-COVID policy which has seen varying levels of lockdowns across the vast country. None more severe than the one taking place in Shanghai right now, where nearly all of its 26 million residents remain stuck at home in a lockdown that has made headlines across the globe.
APAlmanac was recently provided with an early access opportunity to view Roland Miller’s expansive new book Orbital Planes: A Personal Vision of the Space Shuttle. This 200-page hardcover book being published later this month by Damiani is a beautiful visual tribute to America’s Space Shuttle Program.
If you’re looking to be inspired by an example of corporate architecture that displays a perfect use of figures, wonderful light, and encapsulates the feeling of what it is like to be present in the office, look no further than today’s Project of the Week. Jordan Powers is an architectural photographer based out of Nashville, who was kind enough to share his photographs of the Alliance Bernstein headquarters, as well as heaps of insight into his process of photographing it.
Architectural photographer and “License Your Photos” course instructor Adam Taylor is putting on an architecture photography workshop next week that you can attend online!
The workshop is Wednesday, May 18, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST. Adam will walk you through a shoot from start to finish – including cold calling a client, and ending with the project getting featured on the cover of Hawaii Home & Remodeling magazine, all for $39.
Several weeks ago during a conversation with a prospective home builder client, I was asked “what’s the difference between you and [redacted] real estate photography?” Now, to be honest, the builder was trying to push my buttons a bit to see how I would respond. See, when I quoted him my rates, he did a total per image breakdown and found out that what he would potentially be paying me for just one photo, is about what he pays this RE photography company to shoot an entire house!
Every now and again you come across a project that is truly mindblowing and special. Not just for the quality of the images, but the logistics, planning, and story behind them. Albrecht Voß‘ and his Modern Alpine Architecture series is that project for me. I’ve been following it for quite some time as he has faithfully added more and more pieces to the series.
Nick Merrick is one of the most revered names in architectural photography, and it is easy to see why. With a long a storied career at Hedrich Blessing and his own firm Hall+Merrick+McCaughery, you can find Nick’s photography “in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Chicago History Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the George Eastman House as well as published in prestigious design journals and firm monographs.”
We all know that awful, sinking feeling at the end of a long day when the client says, “Oh hey, can we just grab one more quick shot?” When I had a day rate, those feelings of defeat, exhaustion, and frustration were real. Since I switched to billing hourly, those conversations go something more like this:
Client: “Oh hey, can we just grab one more quick shot?”
This week, our featured project takes us to Maison Des Étudiants De l’ÉTS by MSDL Architects. We’ll be taking a look at the work of architectural photographer Stéphane Brügger, who is based out of Montreal, Canada.
What I really enjoy about Stéphane’s project is his well-timed use of lighting and his careful compositions that show the scale and playful, geometric design of MSDL’s ÉTS campus.
I love seeing the brilliant ideas photographers put into place on their websites, Instagrams, or mention in forums. I’ve noticed that the ones I’m particularly drawn to have less to do with how to make great photos, and more to do with how to run a great business. They typically deal with copyright, marketing, and setting client expectations.
I love everything about Marnie Hawson – her work, her goals, her inclusion of dogs in a shot whenever possible.
Marnie is just the coolest. She is a one-woman certified B Corp photographing exclusively sustainable architecture. For those of her who are familiar with her frequently published, outrageously beautiful work, you are no stranger to what you’ll see in this edition of Project of the Week.
As I sit here about to enter the fourth week of mandatory stay-at-home lockdown in Shanghai, I have had a lot of time to think about where I am in my career as a photographer and inevitably, scroll through social media to compare where my perceived competitors are as well. This, as most of us know, is a recipe for imposter syndrome disaster.
Justin Szeremeta
Lexi Taciak
Matthew Anderson
Shawn Talbot