The underwater room

Posted on July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by carlotta

The underwater room

Building materials can play the strangest visual tricks. This skylight was covered in a blue plastic film that filtered watery light down into the room below. The two light fittings were also wrapped in plastic, somehow making them appear like they were floating up the wall, accentuating the underwater feeling inside the room. I would happily have stayed there soaking up that sense of submersion. Perhaps it relates to all the time I have spent lately in and on the sea.

This watery room is in an old barn that I’ve been photographing for the past couple of years as it becomes luxury holiday accommodation. The Grain Store is nestled right in the midst of the South Downs, surrounded on all sides by soft rolling hills. You can find more photos of this project here.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed or, of course, a building project documented.

Stephen Lawrence Trust photo award shortlisted

Posted on April 25, 2019June 13, 2019 by carlotta

Stephen Lawrence Trust photo award shortlisted

I was so pleased to find out that my photograph of the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre has been shortlisted for a photography award. It feels especially significant because this has coincided with the very first Stephen Lawrence Day on 22 April.

“Stephen Lawrence Day is about the part we all play in creating a society in which everyone can flourish. It is an opportunity for children and young people to have their voices heard, make the changes they’d like to see and create a society that treats everyone with fairness and respect.”

I spent a year documenting the transformation of the Centre into a co-working hub that supports up-and-coming architects. When you read the intentions and aims of the Trust in the quote above, I am sure you can see why it was such a privilege to help support their project. You can find out more about the Trust here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together. I deliver photographs that delve deeper than showing just the surface of things.

UPDATE: My photograph came in second place out of a shortlist of 12 in my category.

Red Fox visits the orchard

Posted on April 2, 2019April 8, 2019 by carlotta

Red Fox visits the orchard

I have been digging further into my archives for various projects and look who popped up!

I was photographing the extensive and overgrown grounds of the Langney Priory when I ventured into the orchard to find this beautiful fox standing there staring at me. She continued to do so, unblinking and completely still, for several minutes. I was a bit unnerved so I didn’t go further into the orchard and instead went to photograph the walled garden. I returned 5 minutes later and there she was again, stock still, looking at me.

She appeared so perfect and well, foxlike, that I had the strange feeling she was one of those hyper-realistic computer generated images you see in children’s films. Then suddenly, silently, she was gone and I didn’t see her again. The grounds around the Priory have now been cleared and I am hoping she still has her den somewhere safe in the undergrowth.

More of my photographs of the incredible Langney Priory can be found here and more landscape photographs (with occasional inhabitants) can be found here.

The new within the old at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Posted on April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 by carlotta

The new within the old at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

I have been photographing the huge beautiful windows of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange for nearly two years now. I love that they never look quite the same depending on the time of day, the quality of light, the stage of renovation, with panes of glass and without, and sometimes covered by large sheets of semi-opaque plastic.

The amount of work that has gone into their refurbishment is enormous. The size and shape varies for every pane of glass, meaning that each one has to be individually fitted into its specific place. I counted 185 panes in just one of the 11 large windows of the main hall. In all, this has been a monumental task.

It was very exciting, therefore, to see the finished result this week. Several fully renovated windows were freshly painted and pointed and sporting all new glass. Within these shiny panes you can see the reflection of the new modern extension. This white steel and glass box creates a dazzling light-filled space where the exterior becomes the interior and the beautiful old windows are in pride of place.

More photographs of the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange can be found here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together. I deliver photographs that delve deeper than showing just the surface of things.

Golden hour at the Grain Store

Posted on February 15, 2019February 15, 2019 by carlotta

Golden hour at the Grain Store

This week’s photograph comes from a renovation I am documenting on the outskirts of Lewes. A former agricultural building, the Grain Store is in the process of becoming a luxury holiday home nestled in the heart of the South Downs National Park.

The Grain Store’s roof is a large one and took a long time to complete, giving me the opportunity to capture the roofers at work during two of my monthly site visits. This shot was taken in November and I was rushing to grasp the last of the beautiful evening light before the sun set behind the ridge of the Downs.

This was a challenge because the sun was so low and bright that it was blinding me and my camera lens and putting everything into dark silhouette. I particularly like how that golden light source throws the builder’s long shadow across the roof and delineates the texture and shape of each individual slate tile.

There was something very appealing to me about photographing this stage of the building process so I have quite a few roofing shots in my Grain Store gallery. Take a look and see if you think I chose the right one for my photo of the week. They are all here along with photographs of the entire project so far.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together.

A city bursting with colour and pattern

Posted on January 10, 2019January 11, 2019 by carlotta

A city bursting with colour and pattern

I was in Lisbon for a few days recently. Every summer of my childhood I spent a month in a small town nearby so I know the area very well, but it had been over 30 years since I had been there. This time I went with my teenage daughter, and together we (re)discovered the joys of this incredible city. Much about it has changed, but so much of it hadn’t as well. I found myself continually accosted by the beauty of this place.

It is a city bursting with patterns and colours. Whole building façades, entire squares even, are covered in the typical tiles called ‘azulejos’. Some streets run straight up and down the steep hills, lined at regular intervals with balconies, windows and doorways. Others slowly wend their way around ancient squares. The famous yellow trams offer a fairground ride of a journey through the vertiginous narrow alleyways of the oldest parts of the city. I can’t believe it took me 30 years to return. I definitely won’t let it be that long next time. More photographs of Lisbon can be found here.

Category: architecture and renovation