Honing in on Abstract Opportunities at USC Jacobs Medical Center with Christopher Barrett

We’re back on the blog with the seasoned Chicago-based architectural photographer Christopher Barrett. CB is taking us to the USC Jacobs Medical Center where we will explore this shapely structure, its sweeping curves, interesting materiality, reflective nature, and interplay with light, all against a stunning bright sky backdrop and flush with figures. CB has a lot to share, so I’ll let him take it away:

“For this shoot, we were contracted by the Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design to photograph the University of Southern California Jacobs Medical Center in San Diego.  While I’ve worked for Cannon over most of my career, this was just the second time I was shooting for Mehrdad Yazdani.  He told me that much of what he loved from our previous collaboration was the number of abstract detail shots I found in between shooting the more typical architectural setups. I definitely honed in on some of those opportunities with the new building,” Christopher shares. We’ll take a peek at some of those abstract shots below:

He goes on, “We spent about 2 1/2 days photographing the building, and then I returned a few months later for another 1 1/2 days to complete areas that weren’t ready for the initial shoot.  For the first shoot, I flew in with my long-time assistant, Patsy, and also hired a local assistant who brought some additional lighting to supplement the dozen or so cases I’d checked on the flight.”

“We would sometimes run two setups, and I’d bounce back and forth between the two, with one assistant working on each.  I love working this way sometimes as I feel a bit more like a Director of Photography and I’ve always enjoyed that approach when shooting narrative films,” CB explains. “By the time of the second shoot, Patsy had transitioned to shooting full-time and I worked with a brand new assistant, Brian who turned out to be really great as well.”

Inside, CB’s careful compositions showcase the enormity of the space along with the shapeliness of its design elements.

We also get a good feel for the lighting design, which warms up this space and keeps it from looking too clinical.

CB’s use of figures communicates scale, and helps soften each scene – adding some humanity and life into the frame.

More vignettes and abstract shots flesh out the story of the space and give us some quiet moments as well.

CB speaks a bit about one of his favorite images from the shoot. He tells, “There is an interior view with this beautiful curved wood wall on the left side of the frame, the curved ceiling articulating across the top and yours truly ascending the staircase. The architects were really surprised by this one. Someone else had come out earlier and shot the same space and they said my shot was so much more dynamic. There’s a great lesson there… when you think you’ve totally got the shot, back up a little more and see what else is introduced into the frame.”

Back outside is my favorite photo from the shoot. I love the rhythm and repetition here, but what really does it for me is the color contrast between the blue sky and warm sunlight pouring over the building. Great lighting, CB!

Christopher breaks down another favorite saying, “there is an abstract shot of the exterior at sunset.  There are pink clouds in the sky and the magenta horizon reflects beautifully in the glass façade, while a few interior lights speak to the transparency of the building.  We were done for the day, jumping in the car to head to dinner when I saw that, jumped back out with my little handheld camera and snapped it.”

We wrap things up with CB’s final favorite – the overall exterior at dusk. He says, “It pretty well gives you the story of the building in one image and the lighting was just beautiful!”

Like last time, you can pour over more of CB’s work over at christopherbarrett.net and on Instagram @christopherbarrettphoto.

If you have a project you’d like to be considered for Project of the Week, you can submit it here.