The previous feature of my architectural photography series featured 11 photographers: Andrew Prokos, Michael Massaia, Juergen Nogai, John Kosmopoulos, Akira Takaue, Thomas Mayer, Irene Kung, Marina_Moron, Shannon McGrath, Ake Eson Lindman, and Yiorgis Yerolymbos. 

https://www.behance.net/gallery/15657851/Arcspacecom-The-Camera 

 

With this feature I want to celebrate the second round of 9 photographers: Brad Feinknopf, Richard Bryant and Arcaid Images Agency, Michael Kenna, Hedrich Blessing Photographers / Nick Merrick, Fabrice Silly, Ezra Stoller and ESTO Photographics Agency, Edward Burtynsky, Thibault Roland, and Angie McMonigal.    

 

Their work, ethos and passion is inspirational and I am grateful for their participation in this open-ended project to illustrate the span and depth of what we define as architectural photography.

Being from a family of architects, Brad Feinknopf has been subjected to architecture all of his life. He has been doing commercial and architectural photography for over 25 years and has done a wide variety of work for many of the world's most well-known architects. Recently, ArchDaily selected Feinknopf as one of their 'Top 13 Architectural Photographers in the World'. Feinknopf received a degree in Design from Cornell University, but from an early age developed a passion for photography. Subsequently, he spend several years assisting notable photographers such as Richard Avedon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Arnold Newman, among others. In 1988, Feinknopf moved to Columbus, Ohio where he established his own studio. His professionalism is evident in his enthusiasm and dedication to his craft, his engaged commitment to quality, and his belief in the fhe notion that good architecture can make a positive difference in people's lives. We are pleased to present his thoughtful perspectives on the many aspects of architectural photography alongside selcted examples from his outstanding oeuvre.

 

Richard Bryant studied architecture before pursuing a career as a photographer. It was a modest start of site progress shots for colleagues and friends and building studies for the Architects' Journal. Photographing the Soane Museum for an edition of World of Interiors brought him to the attention of a wider and international press and the architect James Stirling. Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Gwathmey Siegal, Richard Meier, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid followed. Bryant's interest in historic architecture was fed by two New York-based magazines (House and Garden and Magazine Antiques), both of which sent him around the world to interpret such projects as the Frick Collection in New York and Scholss Charlottenburg in Berlin. In 1991 Bryant was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1996 he was the subject of a television programme and invited to exhibit his own work at the Venice Biennalle. In 1998 Bryant was given an Honorary Fellowship in Design from Kingston University. After the millennium Bryant looked to widen his client base, embarked upon the London project for Rizzoli, and moved from film to digital. Luxury brands, Armani, Bulgari ,Gucci and Netjets and design agency Pentagram became clients, while he still enjoyed architectural and cultural projects. In parallel Bryant has continued to pursue personal projects which include Carlo Scarpa's Museo Canoviano in Possagno and more recently Scarpa's Castelvecchio in Verona and various Constructivist projects in Moscow. Early in his career, with Lynne Bryant, he formed Arcaid Images Agency. Arcaid is one of the world's most comprehensive, privately run, commercial collections of images from all aspects of the built world, ancient to contemporary, iconic to ordinary. With over 130,000 images in their library, they represent nearly 200 photographers in over 30 countries. In 2012, they launched the annual Arcaid Architectural Photography Awards aiming to highlight the skills and creativity of architectural photographers and celebrate the genre. In this feature we are pleased to present Richard Bryant's photography (part 1), a sample of Arcaid Images contributors (part 2) and the winning images of the 2014 competition (part 3).

Michael Kenna is widely considered to be one of the masters of contemporary fine art photography. Kenna was born in 1953 in Widnes, England. Despite aspiring to become a Catholic priest, Kenna's passion for art led him to study at the Banbury School of Art and the London College of Printing. He went on to work as a commercial photographer for several years before moving to the US in the 1980's. Here, he worked with renowned photographer Ruth Bernhard while pursuing his own photographic career. He has lived in the US ever since. Kenna's work has been shown in numerous galleries and museum exhibitions in Asia, Australia, Europe and USA, most notably the collections of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Patrimoine Photographique in Paris. In 2000, the Ministry of Culture in France awarded Kenna with the Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters. Other prestigious awards include the Imogen Cunningham Award (1981), Art in Public Buildings Award (1987), Institute for Aesthetic Development Award (1989), Golden Saffron Award (1996), Honorary Master of Arts Brooks Institute (2003). Kenna has published 47 books that span three decades of photographic journeys from over 30 countries around the world. His has built up an impressive list of clients that include the Bank of America, British Rail, Moet and Chandon and many others. He approaches landscape photography with a conscious focus on the relationship between places and the stories and traces people leave on them. His uncompromising vision is rooted in the craftmanship of printing, the alchemy of the darkroom, and the minimalist aesthetic. With his extensive revisits to locations and the dialogue between the camera and his vision, the photographic act becomes a holistic process of connecting with the world.

 

The photographic studio Hedrich Blessing was founded in 1929 by Ken Hedrich and Henry Blessing in Chicago USA. Since the beginning of the studio's creation they believed in a strong relationship between photographer and architect, as well as mentorship between senior and younger photographers was established. These founding principles became the studio's leading philosophy throughout its history. In 1937, Architectural Forum commissioned Hedrich Blessing to photograph recent works of Frank Lloyd Wright and in the 1950s the studio became associated with documenting the modern architecture movement, particularly with Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Albert Kahn, Buckminster Fuller, Eero Saarinen, Minoru Yamasaki, Harry Weese and Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Although most widely known for its architectural photography, Hedrich Blessing has been working with designers in related fields such as industrial, annual report, product and editorial. Today, there are four photographers leading the studio who build upon its history and tradition: Steve Hall, Tom Harris, Nick Merrick, and Jon Miller. Each beginning as a photographic assistant and was mentored by one of their predecessors. In the firm's 86 year history there have been twenty photographers. In 2013, the studio started offering time-based media in Motion+Sound, ranging from fully produced narratives to more basic time-lapse photography. With a long list of high profile clients Hedrich Blessing is one of the leading architectural photography firms in the US and internationally.

 

Emanating from his imaginary world, Fabrice Silly's works are aesthetic proposals calling on our own imagination. He does not intend to make us travel, but to carry us away. Revisited megalopolis, becoming illusions at the risk of wounding the pride of the highest tower, reminding us that man is ephemeral in a floating world. In his work the tireless quest for an uncluttered style, formally ideal, persevering and, though still discreet, easily recognizable, enables Fabrice Silly to be acknowledged as a true artist.

 

Ezra Stoller was born in Chicago in 1915 and studied architecture at New York University. Graduating with a degree in Industrial Design, Stoller began to photograph architecture. During WWII he worked with photographer Paul Strand at the Army Signal Corps Photo Center. After the war, Stoller continued his career with industrial and scientific commissions as well. Over the next forty years, many modern buildings were recognized and remembered by the images Stoller created. He worked closely with many of the period's leading architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Paul Rudolph, Marcel Breuer, I.M. Pei, Gordon Bunshaft, Eero Saarinen, Richard Meier among others. In 1961, he received the first Gold Medal for Photography from the American Institute of Architects. In his later years, Stoller founded Esto Photographics, a photo agency specializing in images of the built environment, with assignment work and a comprehensive picture library, connecting photographers with designers, publishers and other related professionals. The firm is currently directed by his daughter Erica Stoller. In this feature we are pleased to present a selection from the Ezra Stoller archive, a sample of the agency's current photographers, and a discussion about architectural photography with the Director of Esto Photographics, Erica Stoller.

Edward Burtynsky was born in 1955 in Ontario Canada. He received his BAA in Photography / Media Studies from Ryerson University in 1982 and in 1985 founded Toronto Image Works. Early exposure to the sites of the General Motors plant in his hometown helped to formulate the development of his photographic work. His imagery explores the collective impact we as a species are having on the surface of the planet; an inspection of the human systems we've imposed onto natural landscapes. His photographic depictions of global industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over sixty major museums around the world. As an active lecturer on photographic art, Burtynsky's speaking engagements have been held at the National Gallery of Canada, the Library of Congress in Washington, the TED conferences, among others. His images appear in numerous periodicals each year including National Geographic, the New York Times, The Smithsonian Magazine. Among his distinctions are the TED Prize, The Outreach award at the Rencontres d'Arles, the Roloff Beny Book Award. In 2006 he was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Canada. His work is represented by numerous galleries internationally. Alongside his photographic work he co-directs feature length documentary films such as 'Watermark', the award-winning 'Manufactured Landscapes', and the upcoming 'Anthropocene' in collaboration with co-director Jennifer Baichwal and producer / cinematographer Nick de Pencier of Mercury Films. A selection from this series 'China', 'Mines', 'Oil', 'Quarries', 'Shipbreaking', 'Tailings' and 'Water' is presented in this feature.

 

 

 

Thibault is originally from France and currently based in Boston MA, USA. He was trained in Physics and worked as a researcher at Cornell and Harvard University, where he studied fundamental biological mechanisms using optics and microscopy. He has been photographing for most of his life and developed his original style and art during his travels to numerous countries throughout Europe, North America and Africa. His strong scientific background pushed him to develop a fascination for light, how it interacts with materials, bounces off surfaces, as well as for the notion of time, and how it can be integrated and depicted in still images. It is therefore natural that he developed a passion for long exposure techniques and specializes in seascape, landscape and architecture photography. Thibault's work has been awarded internationally by recognized fine art organizations such as the International Photography Awards and the Prix de le Photographie de Paris. His work has been published by international magazines and organizations such as Chasseur d'Images (Fr), Landscape Photography Magazine (UK), CameraPixo (US), Plus One Collection (book), Adore Noir Magazine (US), The Municipal Art Society of New York (US). He is a Sony Artisan of Imagery and a featured artist of Formatt-Hitech and SmugMug. 

 

After growing up in central Wisconsin, Angie McMonigal has been living for the past 15 years in Chicago, where she gradually transitioned from amateur to professional photographer, focusing on the organic interplay between design, structure, environment and society. She works one-on-one with private collectors, collaborates with art consultants and architectural firms to create contemplative imagery out of the broader urban landscape. Angie's work has been internationally exhibited and published by National Geographic, SHOTS Magazine, F-stop Magazine, among others, and she has received distinctions from the International Photography Awards (IPA) and Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3). She has worked with global and national brands, such as Starwoods Hotels & Resorts Inc., Stir and Icebreaker. 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to arcspace.com and archisearch.gr for hosting the series.