Architectural photography

Posted on November 17, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Architectural photography

About half of the architectural photography that I do is for corporate clients, usually as progress photos of new builds and developments. These projects entail monthly site visits to document how much work has taken place between each shoot. Although the photographs are expected to be a straight-forward record, while I am there I can’t help but look for beautiful light and surprising colours as well.

On one such visit I was intrigued by these markings on a partition wall. Of course they are not an industrial art installation, as I wanted to imagine. Each colour represents a specific completed task, making it easy to know at a glance whether the job has been done, while adding a pleasing pattern of reds, greens, blues and yellows in the process.

The empty playroom

Posted on September 22, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

The empty playroom

Last August we spent a weekend at a remote Cape Cod summer retreat. It was a rambling family home that felt filled with old memories in a setting where time had stood still. As I wandered through the house I came upon this attic playroom. I pictured generations of children up here with the same toys every summer –

the diminutive rocking chair, the train set, the solid wooden horse. But there was something slightly creepy about this abandoned-looking room tucked away at the top of the house with its raking shadows and doors leading off to further dark spaces. Of course, this might just have been my over-active imagination. More photographs of atmospheric residential interiors can be found here.

Vast space of the Brighton Corn Exchange

Posted on September 7, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Vast space of the Brighton Corn Exchange

I have been photographing the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange redevelopment over the past few months. The Corn Exchange is a magnificent former riding house built for King George IV around 1805, when he was still the Prince of Wales. The room is 178 by 58 feet with a 34-foot high unsupported roof. I am listing these statistics because it can be hard to perceive quite how large this space is. To get an idea, if you search this photo carefully you might be able to spot the single tiny workman in the distance.

On my most recent visit I was taken onto the roof by way of the southern end of the building. As I climbed up each level of scaffolding, I attempted to photograph through very dusty old windows. I could see the spectacular view in front of me but I couldn’t get the shot. Finally, at the top of the central arched window I found a single broken pane of glass in the very middle of the building. This allowed me to get a clear shot of the entire room just below ceiling height. You can find more photographs from this project here.

Depot Cinema photos on display

Posted on August 18, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Depot Cinema photos on display

This photo of the week is a throwback to last January at the Depot Cinema, taken as part of a two year project documenting the building of this new state-of-the-art cinema in Lewes. I currently have an exhibit of photos from this project in the Studio room of the Depot itself (open daily 10-6). The show runs until 3 September

as part of Artwave, the annual arts festival for the Lewes District. All photographs from this project can be found here.

On 22 August I will be talking with Carmen Slijpen, the Depot’s Creative Director, about the photos and the project. This free event is at 6pm, so please join us.

Graves at the Brighton Dome

Posted on July 20, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Graves at the Brighton Dome

I was called in at short notice to photograph a 200-year-old Quaker burial site discovered at the Brighton Dome during the redevelopment of the Corn Exchange. I made two visits to document the team from Archaeology South-East while they exhumed several of the 15 complete skeletons. The remains have now all been carefully lifted out and moved to an office where they will be cleaned and examined in detail. Decisions are still to be made about whether they will be reburied, cremated or stored for further study.

While that process sounds very clinical, the reality was an utmost care, respect and diligence shown by the archaeologists. It was a painstaking process to find and catalogue every bone from each grave. I was curious to know how it felt to hold a human skull and was told that the first time was definitely a strange experience. For the record, this was one of the most exciting shoots I have ever been on. More photographs from this shoot are here. More information about the burial site can be found here.

Depot at dusk

Posted on July 7, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Depot at dusk

I finished my final shoot at the Depot Cinema in Lewes after two years of documenting the renovation of this disused brewery depot. I had photographed the inside of the building early one morning before it filled with people but there was one

further visit I was planning, waiting for the right light and the right weather. I wanted to capture that softness of dusk on a summer evening when the light turns blue and the building interior glows warm through walls of glass. More photos from this shoot can be found here.

Category: architecture and renovation