View Camera Architecture Photographers

[Nicolasllasera]

I have always been interested in architecture and photography. After a looong time reading and buying more gear than anyone could need Im mentally ready to finally start taking my own shots. So I want to keep researching about others work.

So my question is what photographers should I look into that practiced architecture or similar photography with a view camera?

Thanks in advance and hope this can be a useful thread to others in the same path as mine.

[bgh]

Hi Nico--

Glad to hear of your interest! Two names come to my mind right off, one famous and one less so. The famous one is Julius Shulman, the great architectural photographer who did so much to popularize mid-century Modern architecture from the 1930s through the 1960s. You can also check out a guy named Jack Boucher, who was the long-time photographer for the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER) program. He didn't get a lot of press, but he was amazingly productive, and did some fantastic work.

Good luck with your work!

Bruce


I have always been interested in architecture and photography. After a looong time reading and buying more gear than anyone could need Im mentally ready to finally start taking my own shots. So I want to keep researching about others work.

So my question is what photographers should I look into that practiced architecture or similar photography with a view camera?

Thanks in advance and hope this can be a useful thread to others in the same path as mine.

[Greg]

What I told my students was to get a book that included architecture photography near where you live. Here in Connecticut I recommended PHOTOGRAPHS OF ARCHITECTURE by Philip Trager. Most of the photographs in the book were taken at locations within a one hour drive home, with a handful of them taken within a half hours drive from home. At the time to my surprise, two of the photographs were actually taken across the street from where I lived! When I showed slides of some of the photographs to my class, one student got up and told us that he had painted the house that was on the cover of the book.

[Mark Sampson]

Every architecture photographer before year 2000 (and some after) used a view camera. From the USA, post-1940, look at Ezra Stoller, Balthazar Korab, Hedrich-Blessing, Norman McGrath. And our own Kirk Gittings, of course. There are many more, that's just an 'off-the-top-of-my head' list. Enjoy!

[Merg Ross]

Every architecture photographer before year 2000 (and some after) used a view camera. From the USA, post-1940, look at Ezra Stoller, Balthazar Korab, Hedrich-Blessing, Norman McGrath. And our own Kirk Gittings, of course. There are many more, that's just an 'off-the-top-of-my head' list. Enjoy!

Good list, Mark. Pedro Guerrero is on mine, along with Shulman mentioned above. Closer to home I would add Morley Baer, my mentor and well-known for his old 8x10 Ansco on assignments.

[agregov]

I assume you are focusing on analog based photographers? Eugène Atget is pretty huge.

Among contemporary analog photographers, some ideas:

Juergen Nogai was Julius Schulman's most recent partner (before his passing) and is a 4x5 shooter (color transparency and b&w negative). Now based in Germany. He has a number of books available on Amazon. http://www.juergennogai.com
Hélène Binet has shot for many of the top architects in the world (Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor). She shoots mostly FP4 on a 4x5 and develops her own negs in a Jobo. Also, does some of her own printing. Highly recommend her book: https://www.amazon.com/Helene-Binet-Composing-Space-Photographs/dp/0714861197 She also has a great talk on YouTube at the Havard GSD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkpeFr87wOo
Erieta Attali is a 4x5 shooter but also shoots a lot of wide aspect ratio images using a Linhof 6x12. I enjoy her 6x12 images the most. http://www.erietaattali.com
Hiroshi Sugimoto has some wonderful architectural series. He's an 8x10 shooter and silver murals are in the 40x50 range. Represented by Gagosian. https://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/new-page-5/ His most recent architectural series on Italian architecture was just exhibited in NYC. There's some short videos below about the show. And a fun video on his 8x10 camera. https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/gallery/sugimoto-gates-of-paradise

That said, most commercial architectural shooting is done digitally these days with top shooters often using technical cameras that allow for movements (eg. Alpa 12 Max). And there are many excellent shooters to discover there (for example, Christopher Barrett is active in this forum). So, I'm not convinced analog specific output should necessarily be an key element in your research. But of course, that's up to you.

[David E. Rose]

You could look at the older photographers that are part of the ESTO group started by Ezra Stoller, they have a great website! Yukio Futagawa photographed across the globe and published his images in the GA series of magazines and books. Tim Hursley is another name that has not been mentioned, he started as an assistant to Balthazar Korab.

[Nicolasllasera]

Thanks all for the names you suggested, some are known to me some are new. I will research their work and try to share what I produce as soon as I start.

About it being on film its based on what I enjoy using. I know today digital is king in that department but Im not after that for now. I do follow a few photographers that shoot around my area to see what buildings I might be missing.

I just received the Noman McGrath book on shooting inside and outside pictures. Very nice and informational.

[Willie]

http://www.brianvandenbrink.com/newsevents/

Check out the work of Brian Vanden Brink. Good images and he works from Maine. His off time from business he spends photographing for himself and seems to really enjoy photography instead of viewing it as "work".

[h2oman]

Another vote for Philip Trager. I have two of his books, one a sort of retrospective and one called Villas of Palladio. I really enjoy the second. There are many images that don't do much for me, but many others that are fantastic.

[pchaplo]

My fav is Frederick Evans! Here is a good used copy, and a bargain:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/the-chateaux-of-france-marcus-binney/1118895667/2677677660837

[Daniel Unkefer]

All of the older Guys listed above, for sure.

Also Tim Hursley; Tim studied with Balthazar Korab. I think his work is so consistently cool.

http://www.timothyhursley.com/

[archphotofisher]

Magazine "architectural record" this rag has been showing some wonderful photographers in Europe these last few issuses.
Gray Magazine out of the Pacific Northwest has a group of photographers that are really doing nice work.

Lara Swimmer
Eugene Atget

Morley Baer work in west coast

Phil Trager
George Tice
Richard Pare
William Cliff
Stephen Shore
Lewis Baltz

Ezras Stroller
Peter Arron

Nic Lehoux

[Ray Van Nes]

There are couple more to look for and some not well know.
Cervin Robinson and his book Cleveland, Ohio
David Heald - Architecture of Silence
G.E. Kidder Smith - Looking At Architecture