MIF Installation/Zaha Hadid (Andy Marshall)

What is architecture without the photograph?

I think it was Goodhart- Rendel that said “The architectural drawing is interesting, the photo is magnificent, the building is an unfortunate but necessary stage between the two“

Since the dawn of the Daguerreotype, the photograph has constantly been re-inventing the way we look at the built form; and it has been said that the pioneering German photographers of the 1920’s actually helped shape how the International Modern Movement developed.

Progressive publications such as “The Studio” and “Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration” became promulgators of new styles through the medium of photography.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was lauded throughout Europe because of his success at the Vienna Secessionist Exhibitiion, but spooky rationale wouldn’t have crept into the interiors of Europe without the very carefully edited and limited set of photographs, which were part of the first viral wave of  architectural images to transcend international boundaries.

Hermann Muthesius’ Das Englische Haus (which arguably became the single most influential book of domestic design throughout Europe at the start of the C20th) relied heavily on the impact of the photograph as an integrated part of the overall design.

Sometimes, the architectural photograph becomes just as iconic as the subject as in Case Study House 22 by Julius Shulman.

The photograph is the principal currency in which architecture is traded.

I can verify with my own experience how an image, or a set of images has played a part in bringing focus to an architectural cause.

I am often humbled at the thought that some of my images have actually brought about real physical change.

To this end  I find myself constantly seeking new and refreshing ways to maintain our fascination with architecture, which not only includes skill and informed choice, but also includes the expanding array of ways and means to produce a photograph.

There was a day when it was the simple use of a lens which expanded the creative spectrum.

Toy Town York (Andy Marshall) : taken with a tilt-shift lens (more…)

Now the digital camera has been the catalyst for creative methods such as HDR and panorama’s.

Beverley Minster HDR (Andy Marshall) (more…)

The combination of the digital image with a computer has created a constant stream of images with real dynamic impact.

Little Moreton Miniplanet (Andy Marshall)  (more…)

And now the informality of the mobile phone  is creating new ways of recording and viewing and immersing ourselves in architecture.

Faux Tilt Shift (Andy Marshall) created by Iphone app TiltshiftGen

Triptych (Andy Marshall) created by Iphone app Lifecards

E Card (Andy Marshall) - created by Iphone app Postman

Panorama (Andy Marshall) - created by Iphone app Pano

Instamatic (Andy Marshall) - created by Iphone app ShakeItPhoto

Genius Loci Gif:  (Andy Marshall) taken with Imotion app for Iphone

More than ever, photography is proving to be the critical medium for synergising the architectural experience; and with the advent of the internet and social media it has created dynamic and revolutionary ways of communicating such images.

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