Architectural Photographer | Architectural Photography

Architectural photography at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport

2010-07-06T20:43:00Z

In 1999 Kent County international Airport was renamed in honor of Grand Rapids native son and former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford.

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) recently underwent a major face lift with the addition of a new parking structure with enclosed walkways to the terminal building and a beautiful new canopy that sweeps across the area between the parking structure and the terminal building, covering the entire pick-up and drop-off areas.

I was hired by the architects to photograph the project. There were a few interior photographs on the shot list but the majority of the required images were exterior photographs.

The architect flew in from Texas for the shoot. We met him at the information desk at 10:00am and did a quick walk-through of the facility before beginning the photography.

We began the architectural photography in the late morning with the sun shining through the canopy and striking the “Welcome Wall”. I did a variety of exterior photographs throughout the day, finishing the exterior photography well after sunset. At 11:00pm traffic had slowed so we did a couple of interior photographs of the nearly empty terminal building before the next plane arrived and the building filled with people. By midnight we were finished.

Twilight photo shot 20 minutes after sunset

One of the first shots of the day. The sunlight through the canopy was very cyan.

I used six florescent fixtures with cool white tubes for fill.

Location scouting for architectural photography

2010-06-08T17:03:00Z

Because there are so many variables with an architectural photography project, whenever possible I try to do a walk-through (scouting trip) prior to photography. Whether I’ll be producing interior photography , exterior photography or both, a pre-shoot walk-through is always helpful, especially if my client can accompany me. This gives us the opportunity to walk the project, study the building and see things as they really are, which is not always as the architect intended. If something is not finished or is installed incorrectly, it’s much better to find out during the walk-through than to be unpleasantly surprised on shoot day.

While doing our walk-through prior to the interior photography of a soon-to-be finished project, my client and I were startled to find a body on the floor in a small office of an otherwise empty building. On closer inspection we realized that a painter was sleeping on the floor. Apparently he had come in very early to finish up a few things on the punch list and was just taking a short nap.

This photo was not used in the architect’s AIA awards submittal!

Digital Black and White Infrared Photography

2010-05-31T19:48:00Z

What do you shoot for fun? Forget your portfolio, your website, your school assignment or that new marketing piece that you’re working on. I’m talking about shooting just for fun, just to make images that you think are really cool. Don’t worry if anyone else likes the images. What would you shoot if you won the Super Big Ass Freaking Lottery and didn’t have to worry about money ever again?

I would shoot black & white infrared. I was probably 10 years old when I first saw black & white infrared images and I was blown away! And while infrared photography has very limited commercial use, I have always had a couple of black & white infrared images in my portfolio and on my website. They just look so cool!

In the “days of film” I would always keep a few film holders in the refrigerator loaded with Kodak High Speed Infrared film. I dismantled my black & white darkroom shortly after Kodak announced that they were discontinuing infrared film in both 35mm and sheet film.

Digital photography makes it easier than ever to produce really nice IR images. Just for fun, I removed the low-pass filter from a D70 and shot a few test images. This is the first shot with my newly modified camera. I’ve always preferred the look of images shot with a dark red filter over images shot with an opaque IR filter. For this image I used a red #91 B+W filter over the nikkor lens.

How about an entire portfolio of architectural photography done exclusively in black & white infrared? That would be fun!

*Note that removing the low-pass filter will void the warranty on your camera!

Aerial Photography

2010-05-08T20:37:00Z

The client who needs architectural photography of his/her project will often want aerial photography done as well. Cityscapes, industrial and commercial buildings, golf courses and resorts; these are just a few of the project types that may require aerial photography.

Unless you are terrified of flying, there is no reason that you should not offer aerial photography service to your clients.

When planning your aerial photo shoot you’ll need to make the decision between a fixed wing aircraft (plane) and a rotary wing aircraft (helicopter). Your budget may well make this decision for you since planes are much less expensive to rent than helicopters. My favorite plane for aerial photography is the Cessna 172. In southwestern Ontario and the U.S. Midwest I usually pay in the area of $150 per hour for the plane and pilot. The 172 has it’s wing over top of the cabin (a necessity!) and with the window fully opened (do not try shooting through the glass!) you have a fairly unobstructed view for shooting.

Since you will not get good photos shooting through glass, be sure that the window will open all of the way before you leave the ground. The Cessna has a bracket on the window that allows it to open only a couple of inches. Removing a small screw from the bracket will allow the window to open all the way, but this must be done before take-off. Be aware that the wing, wing strut and landing gear can all end up in the photo when using very wide lenses. Even though a plane cannot legally fly as low as a helicopter, with an experienced pilot this is a very good and safe way of shooting aerial photographs.

I love helicopters but I’m not a fan of small 2-seat helicopters for aerial photography. These small machines are at their maximum capacity with 2 people on board and flying at maximum capacity leaves very little room for error. The larger 4-seat helicopters such as the Bell Jet Ranger or Robinson R44 are at approximately half capacity with two people on board. This provides surplus power making it much easier for your pilot to recover from problems or errors.

I usually have to pay at least $1200 per hour for one of these machines with pilot. But when shooting from the back seat of an R44 (or Jet Ranger) with the door removed and a good, experienced pilot at the controls, you will be able to produce far more and better photos in much less time than is possible from a plane.

I recently did a two-hour shoot over the Detroit River from an R44. We had a long shot list of photos that needed to be done in full sun between 8:30am and 10:30am. To attempt this shoot from a plane would have required several days of morning photo-flights.

I like to bring two DSLR camera bodies; one with a super wide zoom and the other with a mid-range zoom. I use a polarizer on the mid-range zoom, a skylight filter on the super-wide and camera straps on both bodies. I almost never use long lenses when shooting from the air as movement and vibration are magnified by their use. Using two camera bodies avoids the possibility of dropping something in (or from) the aircraft while changing lenses. And airtime is expensive! You need to spend your time shooting, not changing lenses and digging through a camera bag.

There is a lot of planning that needs to go into an aerial photo-shoot; aircraft and pilot availability, site orientation relative to the sun, weather conditions and your equipment. Be sure to bring everything that you will need, but nothing more.

Don’t forget to check on conditions at the site you’ll be shooting. Make sure that the property is cleaned up. Do you want parking lots empty or filled with cars? Is there equipment or machinery on the property that should not be there? Any of these could cause an expensive re-shoot.

If you have properly planned your photo-flight you should have a good time and come back with some great photographs. For me personally, few things are as much fun as hanging out of a helicopter taking photographs on a beautiful morning.

Detroit River

Bob-Lo Island

Architectural Photography Books Top Ten List

2010-05-04T18:05:00Z

Here is my Top Ten List of the very best architectural photography and interior photography books available. This list is not in order of importance; that will depend largely on the photographer’s situation and skill level.

Not all of these books are “how to” or photography technique books. As important as technique is, more important is the way in which a photographer approaches and views his subject.

For that reason several books featuring the work of Julius Shulman (1910-2009) are on this list. Understanding how this master of architectural photography worked and approached his subject can have a tremendous impact on the work and career of an aspiring architectural photographer.

Also, the last book on the list is not an “architectural photography” book, but it is a book that no professional architectural photographer should be without. Best Business Practices for Photographers is about the business of photography and the practices that will allow one to build a successful career in photography. This book should be mandatory in all photography curricula!

And so, without further ado, here is today’s Top Ten List:

-Architectural Photography: Composition, Capture and Digital Image Processing by Adrian Schulz (a must-read book!)

-Architectural Photography: Professional Techniques for Shooting Interior and Exterior Spaces by Norman McGrath Norman McGrath’s first book, “Photographing Buildings Inside and Out” (published in 1987) was a classic and one of the best books ever published on the subject of architectural photography. This latest book features discussion on the use of digital cameras and digital post-production techniques in professional architectural photography. The section “Masters of Style” features five top architectural photographers (including the late Julius Shulman) with accompanying photographs and a discussion of the working methods of each photographer. I would recommend this book even if you have already read “Photographing Buildings Inside and Out”. If you do not have McGrath’s first book, this is a must read!

-Architectural Photography Inside and Out by Jim Lowe

-Architectural Photographers Sourcebook: A Showcase of Exceptional Architectural Photographers by Sandow Media

-Architectural Photography The Digital Way by Gerry Kopelow

-Lighting for Interiors by John Freeman John Freeman presents the work of some of the U.K.s finest interiorsphotographers in this excellent book.The variety of photographs and thevaried techniques used by the 14 photographers whose work is presentedin this book makes this an invaluable resource for anyarchitectural/interior photographer. All of the images were shot on filmand rely 100% on lighting and photographic shills. A diagram and adescription of the photo and set-up accompany each photograph. Highquality reproduction and printing by Switzerland based RotoVision. My #1 interiors photography book.

-A Constructed View: The Architectural Photography of Julius Shulman by Joseph Rosa, Julius Shulman and Esther McCoy

-Julius Shulman: Chicago Mid-Century Modernism by Julius Shulman and Gary Gand

-Julius Shulman: Moderism Redicovered by Pierluigi Serraino and Julius Shulman

-Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition by John Harrington This is a must have, must read book for any professional or aspiring professional photographer! If followed, the business practices recommended in this book will help any photographer achieve greater professional and financial success. In these days of $1.50 royalty free images photography is becoming a commodity. If you allow your work to become a commodity than your only leverage in the marketplace will be lower pricing. If that happens you'll need to make sure that mom & dad won't mind you living in their basement for the next couple of decades. Please follow John Harrington's advise!

Marketing architectural photography

2010-04-30T15:24:00Z

I had a meeting recently with the marketing director of an architectural firm whose niche is educational facilities. For several decades this firm has specialized in schools, particularly K through 12. While they do occasionally do commercial and residential projects, this firm is well known for their work in the educational field.

Once the main business of our meeting had concluded the conversation turned to photography in general. We discussed the “old days” of film, Polaroid’s and C prints. The marketing director then handed me a large envelope containing several 8.5” x 11” ink jet prints that had been dropped off as samples by an aspiring architectural photographer. Each print had a single image surrounded by a large white border that contained the photographers name and contact information.

The overall design and look of the prints was very nice. Unfortunately for our young photographer, these prints will not be earning him any commissions from this architecture firm.

The photographs were of empty, crumbling industrial buildings. The extremely oversaturated colors and unnatural tones screamed HDR and looked like images from a photography students FLICKR page. Photomatix, anyone?

He may as well have shown a portfolio of food photographs! The first rule of marketing is to know your market. This architectural firm specializes is very clean, bright, modern educational facilities. Their advertising and marketing is directed toward and reflects their specialization. When hiring architects and interior designers, they look for people with education experience.

The samples left by our aspiring architectural photographer showed the marketing director that he did not understand her firm, her firm’s clients or their architectural photography needs. Before sending samples or showing a portfolio, it is imperative that the photographer understands the needs of the potential client. Architectural Record and Architectural Digest contain much better samples of the type of work required by the majority of commercial architects and interior designers.

There is a place for very artsy, edgy photography, but it will not earn you many commissions from architectural firms.

An unusual architectural photography project

2010-04-27T23:57:00Z

A recent architectural photography project had me shooting something a little out of the ordinary.

This building is a switching station for a cellular phone company and will be filled with computers, batteries, power systems and other state-of-the-art equipment.

My client wanted interior photography of the space before the cellular service equipment was installed. They also wanted photographs of the very specialized mechanical work they had done, much of which was in the ceiling. The photos below show some of the sheet metal work and support hardware that will help provide electrical and communications wiring/cabling and also temperature and humidity controlled air.

Architectural photographers often use ladders, but this is the first time that I have used a 12’ step ladder to take photographs in a ceiling. Once the tripod was positioned on the suspended steel girders, I did a custom white balance for the florescent lighting and then did a bracketed set of exposures to capture highlight and shadow detail. The final images were produced by layer masking in Photoshop. This was not a typical interior photography shoot, but it was an interesting one.

Residential interior photography

2010-04-13T13:45:00Z

This interior photography was done during a two-day shoot in January for the Florida based interior designer. One of the main features of this room is the view through the large windows, but on this day the view was not very pretty. Instead of a beautiful snow covered winter day, we had a gray sky and patches snow, brown grass and bare trees.

Architectural photographers must make the best of whatever situation they are faced with, and interior photographers are often faced with such situations. Rather than strip (Photoshop) a spring or summer photograph into the window, I decided to overexpose the outside view and give the room a light airy look. Soft fill light was provided by electronic flash bounced into two large (60”) white umbrellas.

When photographing any project, architectural and interior photographers must always use great care and try to be as unobtrusive as possible. This is especially true when working in an occupied private home. Due largely to the trust and rapport between the young family of six who live in this home and the interior designer, we were allowed complete access to the home and worked from 8:00am until 10:00pm for two days to complete eighteen interior photographs.

Architectural photography at the Romulus Athletic Center

2010-04-08T18:34:00Z

The marketing director of the steel siding company was looking for an architectural photographer to photograph the exterior of the Romulus Athletic Center (Hey, I do architectural photography!). I was contacted and asked to produce several overall exterior photographs and a few detail photos.

I checked the weather forecast at accuweather.com and scheduled the photography for a sunny late summer day. Since the main entrance side of this building faces northwest, and at this time of year the sun sets south of 270 degrees due west, I knew that the hero shot would be a twilight photograph with the glowing sunset reflecting off of the steel siding on the front of the building.

I arrived mid-morning at began shooting overall and detail photographs of the rear and south sides of the building as the sun moved slowly across the sky toward the front of the athletic center. As the sun began to set late in the day I set up my camera for the hero shot. With the camera facing southeast I framed the photo to show the main entrance and the steel clad front of the building receding off to camera right. A few short minutes after the sun dropped below the horizon the southwestern sky began to glow and was reflected beautifully across the front of the building by the steel siding. I did a bracketed set of exposures as the light levels dropped, and then called it a day. A very good day!

Interior Photographer: The Black Box Studio

2010-03-07T14:51:00Z

The interior photography of the new Black Box Studio was a bit of a challenge. To get the true feel of a black box studio I would have preferred to light the stage with a few spot lights and then let the light fall away, leaving the rest of the room in complete darkness; just a stage sitting in a black void.

However, this photograph was done for the architects and it was important to them that the entire space and all of the details and features be visible. Producing photographs that are not only esthetically pleasing but also show all of the details that are important to the designers is one of the biggest challenges faced by architectural photographers and interior photographers.

Our lighting consisted of several tungsten spot lights (fresnel and open faced) at heights of 12 to 15 feet. All light were placed at camera left. A black space like this really sucks up the light, so our exposures were much longer than we would use for a more typical interior space.

When you compare the photo of the new Black Box Studio with the black box studio at the old school, it’s easy to see why the students love their new school.

Commercial photography for Courvoisier Cognac

2010-01-04T21:00:00Z

I was looking through one of my old portfolios and I came across a series of photographs that I thought would make an interesting post for this blog, even though it is not an architectural photography post. As most photographers who have been in business for over 30 years, I have done a great variety of work throughout my career.

In the fall of 1999 I was hired to produce a series of five beverage photographs for Courvoisier Cognac’s Millennium promotion. The typical cognac drinker was a 50+ white male and Courvoisier wanted to increase their market share with the younger crowd. I was given the drink recipes and asked to produce a stylish, colorful image of each drink.

I spent two days experimenting with different looks before I came up with the green drink with the yellow background. That gave me the look I was after and the other drinks were photographed in a similar style. Two identical glasses were used for each photograph. One glass was placed upside down on a stand and the other glass was placed right side up on the base of the upside down glass. A large sheet of white plexiglass was placed 3 feet behind the glasses and a large piece of black velvet cloth was placed between the glasses and the plexiglass. The 4x5 camera was set up, the drink was poured and the studio lights were turned off. The shutter was opened and the exposures were made for the glass and the liquid. Then the shutter was closed and the lights turned back on. I removed the black velvet, backlit the plexiglas with lights covered with colored gels, cocked the shutter, turned the lights off and made the exposures for the background. All of the images were captured on 4x5 transparency film (Fuji Velvia) and there was no retouching or digital manipulation of any kind.

I love the flexibility and control that we now have with digital capture, but there is something very rewarding about capturing a complex image on a sheet of film with no retouching.

Photography of the Woodward Tribute

2010-01-04T01:57:00Z

Calori & Vanden-Eynden, one of the worlds leading firms in the field of signage design, asked me to photograph their newly installed Woodward Tribute in the fall of 2008.

The 30 foot tall solar powered glass tower is internally illuminated by LEDs. The controls and storage battery are housed in the concrete base. While CV&E needed both daylight and night photographs, we knew that the hero shots would be the twilight photos. To prevent the base of the tribute from going too dark I used a wireless trigger to release the shutter and fired flash units by hand during the long (up to 60 seconds) exposures.

The plan was to install 26 tributes, each one mile apart, along the length of Woodward Avenue from downtown Detroit to Pontiac. The economic train wreck of 2009 has temporarily derailed that idea. Hopefully the plan will get back on track as the economy improves.

Woodward Ave. & Cambourne, Ferndale, MI

Architectural Photography of the Detroit Art School. Part 1: The Building

2010-01-04T00:06:00Z

While photographing the Detroit Art School a few years ago I stopped for a few minutes to talk with the principal of the school, Dr. Denise Cotton. Dr. Cotton told me how excited she was about the move to the new facility. “The kids are going to love their new school! “ she said. Dr. Cotton told me the history of the Detroit Art School and about the terrible condition of the old building. Then she asked a favor, would I photograph the old school and some of the classrooms before the old building was torn down. “ I’d love to have photographs as a reminder of just how far we’ve come with the Detroit Art School” she said.

So we followed Dr. Cotton a few miles to the old school, formerly the Wilbur Wright School. After a brief tour of the old three-story building my assistant and I photographed the band room, dance studio, black box theater, auditorium, art room and a few classrooms. Having just spent several days photographing the new school, the condition of the old DAS came as a shock. It was easy to see why Dr. Cotton was so excited for her students and staff to see their beautiful new facility.

I did a large number of exterior views at different times of the day. I photographed this particular view on three different occasions. This twilight view is my favorite.

New Detroit School for the Fine and Performing Arts

Old art school

Architectural Photographer: Interior photography at DTW

2009-12-20T20:20:00Z

Architectural photographers generally have a wide variety of clients. Architects, interior designers and general contractors are just a few of the many types of businesses that at one time or another will require the services of an architectural photographer to produce photographs for their advertising and marketing.

We were hired to produce interior photography at two newly remodeled retail stores at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). So that we would encounter minimal traffic in the airport we began setting up after the stores closed on a Tuesday night. The staff were great and stayed overtime to help clean up and prepare the service and dining areas for photography. The only delays that we encountered were when a couple of late night flights arrived. Then we would have to wait until all of the passengers and crews disembarked and passed by on their way to baggage claim. Other than tighter security, shooting in large airports is not much different than working in any other large commercial or retail space.

http://www.claytonstudio.com

Architectural Photographer: Noi to Motor Burger restaurant make-over

2009-12-20T14:29:00Z

After running Noi successfully for several years, Gino and Jay decided that a fun, upscale burger place would do better in the recession wracked economy of Windsor than their trendy and expensive Italian restaurant. So they shut down Noi, enlisted the help of Gino’s cousin Dan, and in three weeks reopened as Motor Burger. Dan asked if I could produce some nice interior photography of the new place that he could use for marketing. In particular, he wanted photos for the new Motor Burger Facebook page to help create a buzz for the new restaurant prior to opening.

The front of Motor Burger has floor to ceiling windows and faces south. I wanted to highlight the interior lighting so we started photography in the early evening when daylight would not effect the photographs. My objective was to produce very realistic, natural looking photographs of the interior.

When I had finished the interior photography, Gino asked if I could photograph their new outdoor sign. I prefer to photograph illuminated signage at twilight when I can blend daylight with the lighting of the sign. Since it was almost midnight when Gino made his request, a different approach would be required. I’m not a big fan of the “HDR look” for architectural photography, but I thought the technique might produce a very nice image of the sign. I made a series of exposures to capture the full dynamic range of the scene and then selected 5 of those captures and loaded them into Photomatix. A little tone mapping and some tweaking in Photoshop produced the final image. If you’re in the Erie Street area, be sure to stop in and ask Martene for one of their amazing “Spiked Shakes”! http://www.claytonstudio.com

Interior Photography: Bob-Lo Island

2009-12-15T02:16:00Z

Once the home of a major amusement park, Bob-Lo Island is now the home of an exclusive residential development with large single family homes and condominiums. We were hired by the developers to produce interior photography of the Harbourview Condominiums.

Since views of the surrounding waterways are an important feature of the condominiums, we needed nice sunny days a lots of flash for the interior photographs that featured exterior views. The interior photographs that did not have views looking outside could be done after dark.

On the last day of the project I stayed until well past midnight in order to finish the last of the interior photography. By the time all of the cameras and lighting equipment had been packed into the van it was after 1:00am. I drove down to the dock to catch the car ferry back to the mainland, only to find that the ferry had stopped running at midnight. Fortunately I still had the keys to the condominiums and I was able to go back inside and get a few hours sleep before catching the first ferry off of the island at 6:00am. http://www.claytonstudio.com

Architectural Photographer; with or without people?

2009-11-13T16:53:00Z

I was recently contacted by Metropolis Magazine regarding photography that I had done at the Rosa Parks Transit Center (aka: the bus station) in Detroit. The magazine was doing a feature story about the transit center and wanted to use my photographs. The problem was they also wanted photographs of people in the transit center and I had done all of my interior photography without people.

After a few emails to negotiate fees and usage, I headed back to the transit center to produce a few interior and exterior photographs with people in them. Since the photos would be for editorial use, model releases would not be necessary. Because of very tight deadlines I would not be able to wait for good weather and would have to shoot on a very gray, rainy morning.

When I photograph interiors I am concerned with achieving maximum sharpness and the desired depth of field and long exposures are the norm. Photographing a public space while people are coming and going presents anew set of challenges. If the exposures are too long, anyone walking becomes along streak across the photograph.

In years past the majority of interior photography has been done without people. There is now a trend toward including people in the photographs. This trend is being driven by publications that in many cases prefer to run interior and architectural photographs containing people. This is because studies have shown that people will spend more time looking at photographs that have people in them. More people looking at their publication for longer periods of time means that they can better attract advertisers and charge higher space rates. Since architects are always anxious to have photographs of their projects published, they feel that having people in the photos increases the chances of their work being published.

My personal preference is toward not having people in the photographs. Our eyes are always drawn toward images of people. With my photography I am trying to show the space and I would prefer that people look at the architecture and interior spaces, not at people who populate the space.Of course if I were a portrait photographer rather than an architectural photographer, I would no doubt see this differently.

Wil Armster's "Bridge House"

2009-10-28T01:16:00Z

One of the great benefits of being an architectural photographer is the opportunity to work with some very talented people.

Connecticut based architect Wil Armster combines his deep passion for architecture with a truly unique vision.

He designed the 240 ft. long “Bridge House” to sit on the property without disrupting the natural flow of the land. Viewed from the road in mid summer, the house seems to float atop the tall grasses. Since the natural drainage of the land has not been altered, spring thaw transforms the surrounding snows into a river three feet deep flowing beneath the house.

In presenting Mr. Armster with a merit award for his “Bridge House”, the Connecticut chapter of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) had this to say, “ The building is all about careful, artful siting. It has a taut simplicity. The way it sits in the landscape and the landscape itself are perfect. It is all about place. It looks like a big slab of granite, but one that is not hitting the ground. The building illustrates the fact that you do not have to spend a lot of dollars for an excellent project”.

Very well deserved Mr. Armster, congratulations! Visit Wil's website: http://www.armster.com

*Here is a very interesting New York Times article about Wil Armster and his “Space Ship” in Guilford, Connecticut.

NY Times Article

Black & White Infrared Architectural Photography

2009-10-04T01:20:00Z

This photograph of the University of Windsor’s Dillon Hall was probably shot in 2000. I used Kodak’s 4x5 High Speed Infrared black and white film and a Schneider Super-Angulon 72mm XL lens.

No longer produced, this film had excellent sharpness and the look of the final image could be varied tremendously by the use of different filters and by adjusting exposure and development times. I rarely used the opaque infrared filter and preferred the look produced by a medium or dark red filter.

One of the most beautiful and unique characteristics of this film (both 4x5 and 35mm) are the glowing highlights that result from the film not having an anti-halation coating. Prints made with this film have a beautiful, glowing, ethereal look that other infrared films cannot duplicate.

Today’s digital sensors are very sensitive to infrared radiation and are covered with an IR absorbing filter. With many digital cameras it is possible to have the IR filter removed (only by a professional, do not try this at home!) thereby converting the camera to an infrared digital camera. Different looks can be obtained by using different filters over the lens. While I prefer medium or dark red filters, an opaque infrared filter can produce very dramatic images

Architectural photography of the Rosa Parks Bus Terminal

2009-09-20T15:22:00Z

The Rosa Parks Bus Terminal, Detroit, MI

Built by DeMaria Building Company

As an architectural photographer, I enjoyed the challenges that this project presented. We broke the photography down into three categories, each with it’s own issues.

Interior Photographs

The challenges of the interior photography were the huge expanses of glass combined with the high intensity discharge lighting (minus red) used inside. Also, the seating areas are lit with florescent lights, which are also minus red. The highly reflective ceiling looks awesome but added to the difficulty of the interior photography. Shooting in the late afternoon/evening proved to be the best solution.

Twilight Exterior Photographs

Always the most dramatic images, we did the twilight exterior photographs both at morning and evening. The huge contrast range between illuminated fabric canopy and the interior was a major issue. When the skylight level was low enough for the interior to look its best, the brightly lit canopy was burning out. And when the skylight balanced well with the illuminated canopy, the interior was too dark. There were three possible solutions; add supplemental lighting to the interior, reduce the light levels on the canopy or use layer masking in post production. If we were doing only one photograph, adjusting the interior and/or canopy lighting would have been considered. But since we were doing a large number of views on different days, layer masking was the best solution.

Another challenge was the dreaded orange construction barrel! We arrived at 5:00am on a Sunday morning to do the twilight views of the southwest corner (Michigan Ave and Cass Ave.). Lined upon the sidewalk were about a dozen orange barrels. In the darkness before sunrise, my assistant and I received more than a few odd looks as we dragged the barrels along Michigan Avenue. A police officer driving by did stop to ask what the in the *&%* we were doing, but apparently believed our story that we were not stealing the barrels and needed to move them for the architectural photography. We did decline an offer from one of the more ominous looking street people to “guard” our camera equipment while we moved the barrels. It’s surprising how many interesting characters are out in the pre-dawn hours!

Daylight Exterior Photographs.

Because of the taller buildings to the east, south and west, the only sunlit views that could be done of the bus terminal were of the southwest corner (Michigan Avenue and Cass Avenue) and the south side (Michigan Avenue). Shooting at the beginning of August, we needed a clear sunny day from approximately 1:00pm to2:00pm. Earlier or later and shadows from surrounding buildings would be a problem. We had moved the orange construction barrels a few days earlier when doing the twilight photos and only two barrels had been moved back to the intersection. We dragged those out of the shot and made our exposures moments before clouds blocked the sun for the rest of the afternoon.

When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white bus passenger in Montgomery, Alabama she could never have imaged that a beautiful new bus terminal in Detroit would be named for her.