PHOTOGRAPHER
FOCUS
Dave Southwood
Background I was born in Pietermaritzburg, attended University there( Law and History BA), and then moved to Cape Town to be a photographer. I taught myself by photographing incessantly and sneaking into the UCT library on weekends for book dives. For four years, I lived in Berlin, primarily for the photography and music, and have worked in over twenty countries around the globe.
How I got into photography My father was in the US a day before my 22nd birthday. He phoned( landline) to ask me what I wanted, and I said‘ a camera,
please’. Latterly, my friends at University were arts students, so I was constantly trying to organise the world to look good in the photographic frame and plaguing my girlfriend to stretch out and stay still.
Speciality I don’ t have a specialty, but I’ m able to integrate photography, video, sound, and websites. The days of posting ten huge images are over, and most practices now need content for social media. Lately, I have been helping architects revitalise their neglected online presences and have their work published, as a sustained publication strategy brings in clients. Press packs, including photos, copy, and video, are the way forward.
I use‘ tilt / shift’ lenses, which enable the complex manipulation of architectural planes relative to each other.
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