Notable architecture photogs?

[f/stopblues]

Hey guys,

I was browsing the local Borders last night looking for photography books that concentrated on architectural photography. There were very few choices! Does anyone know of any particularly talented architecture photographers that I can look up? Brownie points for LF/film photogs :) Book titles would be great as well. Internet searches so far have turned up a whole lot of sub-par images, but so goes the www.

Thanks!
Chris

[PViapiano]

Robert Polidori is one of my favorites, but it's not pure arch photography. He adds a sociological element to much of his work...

Titles:

Chateaux of the Loire
Metropolis

Also, Julius Shulman's books are still available...classic stuff...

Also, Norman McGrath's how-to book is excellent...David Heald's photos in Frank Gehry's monograph for the Guggenheim Bilbao are outstanding...as is his book Architecture of Silence, a study of Cistercian abbeys in France.

Also, check out our own Kirk Gittings' site on the web...

Look at architect monographs to see what appeals to you, and don't forget the many architectural monthly mags like Architectural Record.

[Merg Ross]

Excellent recommendations above.

Going back in time, I would include: Ezra Stoller, Balthazar Korab, Ken Hedrich & Henry Blessing. I am not sure what work of theirs is available in a single volume but much of it appeared in Architectural Record when I was getting assignments from AR.

Also, Morley Baer did excellent work, mostly for West Coast firms.

[Bill_1856]

There's the "other" Smith -- Kidder, not W. Eugene.

[Bill_1856]

I should have been more specific: G. E. Kidder Smith

http://eng.archinform.net/arch/5756.htm

[paulr]

It would be cool to find a copy of Szarkowski's Louis Sullivan book ... I've never seen it.

[David Swinnard]

For an interesting overview of the history of the subject check out:

"Architecture Transformed - A History of the Photography of Buildings from 1839 to the Present" by Cervin Robinson and Jel Herschman.

In this case "present" stops at about the early 80's. Publication date originally in the late 80s. Trade paperback edition is available currently.

[Gordon Moat]

Okay, these are a selection from the latest Lürzer's Archive 200 Best:

Michael Schnabel (http://www.michaelschnabel.com)
Kai-Uwe Gundlach (http://www.studiogundlach.de)
George Apostolidis (http://www.georgeapostolidis.com)
Marrku Lahdesmaki (http://www.marrkuphoto.com)
Anthony Redpath (http://www.redpathstudios.com)
David Allan Brandt (http://www.davidallanbrandt.com)
Marcelo Coelho (http://www.marcelocoelho.com)
Rolph Gobits only through reps Stockland Martel (http://www.stocklandmartel.com)
Garry Simpson (http://www.garrysimpson.com)
Andy Glass (http://www.andyglassphoto.com)
Harry De Zitter (http://www.dezitter.com)
Nick Meek (http://www.nickmeek.com)
Sean Izzard (http://www.seanizzard.com)
Pete Seaward (http://www.peteseaward.com)
Christian Stoll (http://www.christian-stoll.com)
Robert Wilson (http://www.robertjwilson.com)
Dirk Karsten (http://www.dirkkarsten.com)
Johann Sebastian Hänel (http://www.johannsebastianhanel.com)
Stuart Hall (http://www.stuarthallphoto.com)
Simon Mills (http://www.simon-mills.co.uk)
Edo Kars (http://www.karsphotography.nl)

A talented interior architecture specialist I know is Adrian Wilson (http://www.interiorphotography.net). Originally from the UK, though mostly living in NYC currently. Anyway, there are many talented architecture photographers that you might not find on a Google or Yahoo search. Definitely check out the work of Kirk Gittings, who is one of the regulars here on this forum. Some use large format, sometimes in combination with post processing. A few still use 6x7 or 6x9, and some use all digital capture. Weapon (camera) of choice can often be a personal decision in this area, since even 4x5 can give more than what is needed for the end results.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat (http://www.gordonmoat.com)
A G Studio (http://www.allgstudio.com)

[Richard Kelham]

You could worse than check out the late Richard Einzig
http://www.arcaid.captureweb.co.uk/photography/RichardEinzig.htm

I found his work inspirational in the 1970s...

[chacabuco]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Gabrielle Basilico. A good, and affordable start, is his Phaidon 55 book

[Mark Sampson]

Stephen Rosenthal- I took a workshop from him in 1991, and learned a great deal.
I have two worthwhile books books at home-so no author/publisher info- "Twelve Views" and "The American Architectural Photographer".
The Ezra Stoller series of small books on individual buildings are marvelous- just too small. The monograph "Modern Architecture", by Saunders I think, is a great overview of Stoller's work.
Cervin Robinson's "Cleveland, Ohio".
The out of print books can likely be found at abebooks.com.

[Photomax]

I have "Architecture and its Photography" by Julius Shulman. Great stuff. I love reading comments and techniques from Ezra Stoller as well...

Max

[John Schneider]

This probably doesn't qualify as strict architectural photography (rather more industrial archaeological photography), but I've always been fascinated by the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher (e.g., look at Zeche Hannibal, Industrial Landscapes, or Mineheads).

[f/stopblues]

Wow, you guys are going to keep me busy over the weekend! Thank you for all the responses. I think I'll just start at the beginning of the thread and work my way down.

[neil poulsen]

My favorite is the work of Ezra Stoller. His book Modern Architecture Photographs by Ezra Stoller is really something. While it has some color work, it's primarily black and white.

[claudiocambon]

Although their work is not always thought of as exclusively architectural, 19th century photographers such as Frederick Evans are extraordinary; his church interiors are extraordinary. I just saw a beautiful Roger Fenton shot of a church interior as well. Atget made his living as a sort of stock photographer, and sold many prints to architects. I love a lot of early 20th century people's industrial architecture stuff, mainly Weston, Charles Sheeler, and also quirkily Walker Evans. James Casebere's constructed spaces are interesting. All of these people offer meditations on the value of constructed spaces in one way or another, even if not always in the exclusive sense that is today meant by the term architectural photographer. I would think about what specifically you like about architectural photographs, and comb the history books looking for that. Have fun!

[Ole Tjugen]

Josef Sudek's documentation of the reconstruction of the St. Vitus cathedral should count as "architectural".

[roteague]

This is a book on the subject I got a Borders a couple of months ago:
"Architectural Photography - Inside and Out" by Jim Lowe, Photographers Institute Press. Most of the images are of the UK, the photographer is UK based. Great work, mostly LF.

[Kirk Gittings]

Paul Strand, Time in New England. Architectural photography cannot be narrowed down to the photography of contemporary buildings. There is architecture, historic architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture etc. and social context has always been an integral part of the genre just as social context is integral to architectural design in general. Architecture is designed for people. Artists like Polidori are at the leading edge of AP if you see AP in its larger context rather than as a narrow commercial enterprise.