BACKGROUND
"...do what you love and call it work..."
I am a Minneapolis-based architectural photographer. I studied architecture in the late 1960’s, and received my Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1973. I have worked as a practicing architect for over thirty years.
My interest in architectural photography dates to 1972 when I acquired my first large format camera - a 4”x5” Kodak Masterview with a 90mm Schneider Angulon lens. I became proficient with a 4”x5” format view camera and used both Calumet and Sinar cameras throughout my career as an architect. To a great extent, view camera technique informs my way of framing and capturing architectural subject matter.
Later, as an architect and in-house photographer at Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd. (MSR), I documented over fifty of their completed projects prior to launching my architectural photography practice. I’ve been providing architectural photography services as a professional for fifteen years.
My work has been published in a variety of books and periodicals and has been exhibited at the University of Minnesota, College of Design. I've worked professionally utilizing both the 4”x5” format (film) and direct digital capture with perspective correction lenses. In 2010 I co-founded IDE[A] - Imaging the Designed Environment [Architecture] - a Minneapolis-based architectural photography collaborative consisting of seven Minneapolis photographers and film-makers. While IDE{A} is no longer active as a group, the experience was transformative for me, and has lead to significant growth as an architectural photographer and distinct collaborative learning experiences working closely with other professionals in Minnesota and beyond.
METHODS & APPROACH
I do not see myself as a documentary photographer. My strong preference is deliberate and thoughtful interpretation of design, architecture and the built environment. I utilize the "eye" and the sensibilities that I've developed as a practicing architect to inform my work. I make images, rather than taking photos, utilizing specialized photographic tools - both hardware and software.
I shoot almost exclusively with tilt-shift lenses, varying from super-wide through moderate telephoto, to manage perspective, and to fine tune composition without changing camera position, once a shot has been established. To optimize image composition, and evaluation when shooting architectural interiors, I shoot wirelessly tethered to an iPad, which also allows me to manage camera settings, and to shoot remote from the camera when advantageous.
HOME PAGE IMAGES
1 - Corporate Offices, Border States Electric | Fargo, ND | HGA
2 - Abbey Church, St. John's University | Collegeville, MN | Marcel Breuer
3 - American Enterprise Group (AEG) | Des Moines, IA | SOM, Gordon Bunshaft
4 - Carleton College, Anderson Hall | Northfield, MN | EYP Architecture & Engineering
5 - Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 1963 | New Haven, CT | SOM, Gordon Bunshaft
6 - University of Minnesota, Bell Museum of Natural History | St. Paul, MN | Perkins+Will
7 - Christ Church Lutheran, Education Wing | Minneapolis, MN | Eero Saarinen
8 - Minneapolis City Hall | Minneapolis, MN | Long & Kees
9 - University of California, San Diego, Geisel Library | San Diego, CA | William Pereira Associates
10 - Goose Creek Safety Rest Area | Harris, MN | VJAA
11 - Hilton Hotel | Rochester, MN | HGA
12 - Grande Arche de la Defense | Paris, France | Johann Otto von Spreckelsen
13 - Lakewood Garden Mausoleum | Minneapolis, MN | HGA
14 - Salk Institute | La Jolla, CA | Louis Kahn
15 - UM, Science, Teaching & Student Services | Minneapolis, MN | Kohn, Pedersen, Fox with HGA
16 - University of Minnesota Health Sciences Education Center | Minneapolis, MN | Perkins+Will
17 - Westwood Hills Nature Center | St. Louis Park, MN | HGA
18 - York Hall, Revelle College, UCSD | San Diego, CA | Donald Neptune & Joseph Thomas
