I prefer modern architecture . I love geometry and clean lines too much for this not to be the winner . My favourite piece of " historical architecture " is Grundtvig ' s Church in Copenhagen . It ’ s one of the most calming and beautiful spaces I ’ ve ever been to . I think it ’ s all down to the immense use of a single type of pale coloured brick inside - apparently there are over 5 million .
I WANTED TO MAKE A JOKE ABOUT THE ADAGE " IT ' S WHAT ' S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS ," BUT I COULDN ' T MAKE IT WORK . INSTEAD , I ' LL ASK HOW DO YOU APPROACH INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS DIFFERENTLY ?
With exteriors , I ’ m looking for shapes and leading lines . With interiors , I focus on details and trying to give a sense of scale and the perception of space . Another difference is that my exterior work is solely lit by the sun , whereas interiors you have other light sources to think about . I always want to use natural light , but some interiors need a bit of help in the form of bounced flash or exposure bracketing .
WHAT ARE THE “ RULES ” FOR ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY AND HOW DO YOU BREAK THEM ?
One of the main reasons I became a bit disillusioned with my design career was because I felt like I ’ d learned so much from other peoples ’ work . I felt like the creativity in my designs was often subconsciously coming from somewhere else ; whereas my photography is totally instinctive . Although there ’ s a tonne of technical knowledge I missed out on by not studying photography at university , I actually really value the fact that I have learned just from doing and taught myself . That feeling of creating something with my camera instinctively is what I find so addictive about this game .
I ' D NEVER BE CAUGHT WITHOUT MY ( BLANK ) FUJI LENS .
The 35mm f1.4 is the one you ’ ll find on my camera most of the time . It has little distortion , a considerable range for everyday shooting , and it ' s compact . Plus it looks so good on the XT2 with the square lens hood ! My other favourite lens has to be the 50-140mm f2.8 . This lens is an absolute beast and is great for capturing candid shots of people from a distance . The 2.8 aperture allows you to use it in so many conditions , and also gives you the ability to hand-hold it in a lot of situations .
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH DISTORTION ?
I have a little spirit level in my hot shoe which I use ALL the time . I get weird looks because of it sometimes , but I don ’ t care – it ’ s such a useful tool .
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF LIGHT ? WHAT ’ S THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO SHOOT ?
If I ’ m shooting outdoors , I like morning light . There is a soft , pale haziness to the light at that time that I love . I ’ m a sucker for long shadows too ; so the golden hour at either end of the day is always fun for shooting . For interiors , however , I find it ’ s better to have a cloudy day as it balances out the light levels making it easier to make exposures indoors . Strong sunlight can be really tricky for interiors .
I highly recommend the Sun Surveyor app and also The Photographer ’ s Ephemeris website . When shooting client work , I will always scout out the location using these tools and plan my shoot for the best light . Shooting into a backlit exterior makes for terrible images and sad clients . The sun is the best light and to utilize it best you need to track its movements .
HOW DO YOU CAPTURE THE DETAILS AS WELL AS THE WHOLE ?
Using all the focal lengths at my disposal . As I mentioned before , I will go through a space with each lens and pick off the wider shots , down to the details . That was one of the best things about me switching to Fuji . I sold my Canon and one good zoom lens and got a new Fuji body and 3 lenses which opened up the style of photographs I could create . The different focal lengths allow me to explore and capture spaces like never before .
I GOOGLED ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY AND " TILTED HORIZON ” CAME UP , WHAT ’ S THAT ?
I ’ m pretty sure that will just be about getting your horizon lines straight . When shooting the sea , or a road , or anything really - it ’ s important . Often my friends or family will ask me how to improve their photography and I say the same two things : 1 . Stop looking for interesting subjects and start looking for interesting light . 2 . Stop taking wonky photos .
SYMMETRY CAN BE SO SATISFYING IN A PICTURE , WHEREAS AN UNBALANCED PHOTOGRAPH CAN LEAVE THE VIEWER , WELL , EQUALLY UNBALANCED . HOW IMPORTANT IS SYMMETRY ?
I love looking for symmetry . I ’ m drawn to simple geometric forms . From my study of graphic design at university and working as a designer for a few years after , I ' ve developed an understanding of design rules and how they can be broken . My favourite designs were often ones that adhered to a strict grid but then had elements going completely off or against this grid to break it all up . Or something that was so nearly perfect , but with one element just messing the whole thing up and creating something jarring in contrast to all the perfection in the design . I like to do this with my photography . I will set up a perfect , straight composition and wait for something to come and break through all that perfection . It makes a more interesting image . Perfect is boring .
Sylvanus-Urban . com The Space Issue
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