I have always considered myself to be greatly attuned to visual aspects of architecture and I believe my natural ability to visualize space is a significant strength. I believe observing spaces first hand has been integral and perhaps more important for my personal development in understanding design than anything else. Photography has also been an instrumental tool for me to help others to understand a space the same way I do – whilst also being a keen hobby of mine.
Cityscape
Whilst predictably architecture is a focus in a lot of my photography, nature is about as important and in many of my photos is the main focus.
Louis Kahn once said that ‘The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building’. The synthesis of the built environment within the natural in architecture provides greater character, excitement and life to our cities
I believe that architecture should be used as a tool to frame this spectacle of the natural world whether it is in a metaphorical or literal way. A mundane everyday street can be illuminated and transformed into something different by something as simple as a low winter sun; or your everyday space like a market can be transformed by embracing, integrating and even utilising the natural world around it.
Facade & Texture
I enjoy taking closeup shots that capture the simplicity of a single element as much as capturing the majesty of a beautiful landscape. The photos on this spread are of successful simple and elegant facades and textures many of which are easily recognisable to an architect.
When taking any landscape photos I like to capture and focus of the most the striking aspect of the scene and therefore try to eliminate as many distractions from the image and as such many of them don’t have any signs of humanity in them. The same approach of reducing ‘image noise’ applies to taking a closeup image.
Corbusier’s famous phrase ‘less is more’ certainly applies to my approach to photography as a whole, and I feel this makes an image all the more striking. In this study of texture and facade Corbusian buildings are coincidentally the subject of two of my photographic studies.
Landscape and Nature
The selected photos in this section are some of my favourite landscape shots. I feel that each one has attributes that can be translated into an architectural idea, whether it be a textured ripple from a sand dune; a natural arch framing a gloomy sea; a deep crevasse formed through a barren land from a melting glacier or even a simple monument framed by an expanse of field.
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