essay about architectural photography

Architectural Photography | The Art of Capturing Structures

Architectural photography, at its core, is the art of capturing buildings and structures in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and accurately representative. It’s not just about taking photos of buildings; it’s about conveying the essence, design, and context of those buildings. From the towering skyscrapers that define a city’s skyline to the intricate details of a historic church, architectural photography tells the story of spaces and places.

1. Introduction to Architectural Photography

1.1. historical evolution.

The history of architectural photography can be traced back to the early days of photography itself. In the 19th century, as the camera became more accessible, photographers began to document the world around them, including the built environment. Early architectural photographers like Eugène Atget in Paris and Julius Shulman in the USA captured not just buildings, but the spirit of the age, reflecting societal changes, technological advancements, and cultural shifts.

Over the years, as architectural styles evolved, so did the techniques and approaches to photographing them. The rise of modernist architecture in the 20th century, for instance, brought with it a new way of seeing and documenting buildings, focusing on clean lines, geometric shapes, and the interplay of light and shadow.

1.2. Importance in Today’s Digital Age

In today’s digital age, architectural photography has taken on even greater significance. With the proliferation of platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and architectural blogs, there’s an ever-growing audience eager to consume visually striking images of architecture. These platforms have also provided a space for both professional architectural photographers and amateurs to showcase their work, share their perspectives, and engage with a global community.

Moreover, in the realm of real estate, tourism, and architectural design, high-quality architectural photography plays a pivotal role. It can influence property values, attract tourists, or even sway public opinion on new architectural projects. In essence, architectural photography serves as a bridge, connecting people to places, and stories to structures.

2. Deep Dive into Architectural Photography

2.1. characteristics of architectural photography, 2.1.1. aesthetic representation.

Architectural photography is not just about capturing a building; it’s about portraying its soul. The aesthetic representation involves capturing the essence of the architecture, its design philosophy, and the emotions it evokes. This requires a keen eye for detail, understanding the play of light and shadow, and recognizing the unique features that make each building stand out.

2.1.2. Accurate Depiction

While aesthetics are crucial, architectural photography also demands accuracy. This means ensuring that the building’s proportions are correct, the colors are true to life, and the context (surrounding environment) is appropriately represented. This accuracy is vital, especially for architects and designers who use these photographs as a reference.

2.1.3. Interplay of Light and Shadow

One of the defining characteristics of architectural photography is the emphasis on lighting. The way light interacts with a building can dramatically change its appearance. From the golden hues of the morning sun to the dramatic contrasts during the golden hour , understanding and harnessing light can elevate an architectural photograph.

2.2. Principles of Architecture Photography

2.2.1. perspective control.

Perspective is pivotal in architectural photography. It determines how the viewer perceives the building’s size, shape, and position. Using tools like tilt-shift lenses or post-processing techniques can help photographers control distortion and present buildings in their true form.

2.2.2. Emphasis on Design Elements

Every building has design elements that define its character. It could be the intricate patterns on a historic facade, the sleek lines of a modern skyscraper, or the unique curvature of an avant-garde structure. Recognizing and emphasizing these elements is a fundamental principle of architectural photography.

2.2.3. Contextual Relevance

A building doesn’t exist in isolation. Its surroundings, whether it’s the urban jungle of a city or the serene landscapes of the countryside, play a crucial role in its perception. Capturing this context, and understanding its relevance to the architecture, is essential.

2.3. Three Approaches to Photographing Architecture

2.3.1. documentary approach.

This approach is about capturing buildings as they are, without any artistic embellishments. It’s factual, straightforward, and often used for historical records or academic purposes.

2.3.2. Artistic Interpretation

Here, the photographer uses the building as a canvas to create a piece of art. This could involve playing with angles, lighting, or even post-processing to present a unique interpretation of the architecture.

2.3.3. Commercial Perspective

Used primarily for advertising or promotional purposes, this approach emphasizes the most attractive features of a building. It’s about showcasing the architecture in the most marketable way, often highlighting its functionality, luxury, or uniqueness.

2.4. Technical Aspects of Architectural Photography

2.4.1. best focal length and why.

The ideal focal length for architectural photography often lies between 24mm and 70mm. Wide-angle lenses (like 24mm) are great for capturing expansive buildings or interiors, while a 50mm lens offers a more natural perspective, closely resembling human vision.

2.4.2. Ideal Aspect Ratio and Its Importance

The 3:2 aspect ratio, common in most DSLRs, is often preferred for architectural shots. However, the best aspect ratio can vary based on the building’s dimensions and the desired composition . Sometimes, a 1:1 (square) or 16:9 (widescreen) might be more fitting.

2.4.3. Optimal F-stop and Its Impact

An f-stop between f/8 and f/11 is generally ideal for architectural photography. This range provides a broad depth of field, ensuring both the building and its surroundings are in sharp focus.

3. Artists in Architectural Photography

3.1. historical figures and their contributions.

• Eugène Atget : Known for his extensive documentation of Paris. His work is preserved at institutions like The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) .
• Julius Shulman : Celebrated for his photographs of Californian architecture. His collection can be found at the Getty Research Institute .

3.2. Contemporary Artists and Their Unique Styles

• Iwan Baan : Recognized for his documentary-style approach, capturing the life and culture surrounding architecture.
• Helene Binet : Celebrated for her black-and-white images, emphasizing the interplay of light and shadow.

3.3. Instagram Stars in Architectural Photography

• Fernando Guerra ( @fernandogguerra ): His feed showcases modern architecture, candid moments, and aerial shots.
• Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda ( @anniset & @drcuerda ): Known for their imaginative and playful architectural photographs.
• Mike Kelley ( @mpkelley_ ): An architectural and interiors photographer known for his unique style.
• Romain Laprade ( @romainlaprade ): He captures buildings with a focus on light, color, and texture.
• Minimal Motifs ( @minimalmotifs ): His feed is a blend of minimalism and architectural brilliance.
• Derek Swalwell ( @derek_swalwell ): An Australian photographer capturing both architecture and landscapes.
• Nicanor García ( @nicanorgarcia ): He captures the essence of urban architecture, often focusing on geometry and symmetry.
• Sebastian Weiss ( @le_blanc ): His feed is a testament to the beauty of architectural details.

4. Critical, Aesthetic, Philosophical, and Social Aspects of Architectural Photography

4.1. aesthetics and philosophy of architectural photography.

• Architectural photography is not just about capturing a building; it’s about capturing the essence of a structure. The way light interacts with surfaces, the shadows cast by intricate details, and the overall form of the structure play crucial roles in the final image. This dance of light and shadow can transform a mundane structure into a work of art.
• Perspective plays a pivotal role in architectural photography. The angle from which a building is captured can entirely change the viewer’s perception. Wide-angle lenses can exaggerate features, while telephoto lenses can compress space. The choice of perspective can either enhance or distort reality, making it a powerful tool in the hands of the photographer.

4.2. Social Implications and Representations

• Buildings are not just physical structures; they are manifestations of the era, culture, and society in which they were built. Through architectural photography, one can trace the evolution of societal values, technological advancements, and artistic movements. For instance, the grandeur of Gothic cathedrals speaks of religious fervor, while the sleek lines of modern skyscrapers reflect technological progress and urbanization.
• The cultural and historical context of a building can add layers of meaning to a photograph. Capturing remnants of ancient civilizations or structures that have withstood wars and natural calamities can evoke emotions of awe, nostalgia, and reverence.

4.3. Critical Analysis and Interpretation

• Just as in any art form, there’s often a gap between the photographer’s intent and the viewer’s interpretation. While the photographer might aim to highlight certain architectural features or the play of light, the viewer might be drawn to the mood or the memories the image evokes. This duality adds depth and richness to the field of architectural photography.
• Over the years, the critique of architectural photography has evolved from merely assessing technical proficiency to analyzing artistic expression, narrative strength, and contextual relevance. Modern critiques often delve into the socio-political implications, environmental context, and the ethical considerations of the images.

4.4. Ethical Considerations in Architectural Photography

• In the age of digital photography and advanced post-processing tools, the line between authenticity and manipulation can blur. While minor edits to enhance an image are generally accepted, significant alterations that misrepresent a structure can be ethically questionable. It’s crucial for photographers to strike a balance between artistic expression and truthful representation.
• Photographers wield the power of representation. Through their lens, they can either celebrate or critique architectural marvels. However, with this power comes the responsibility to represent structures and spaces without bias, ensuring that the essence of the architecture is neither diluted nor exaggerated.

5. Becoming a Professional Architectural Photographer

5.1. starting out in architectural photography.

• Building a Portfolio: Start by photographing local buildings, landmarks, and structures to showcase your skills.
• Continuous Learning: Attend workshops, online courses, and seminars to hone your skills. Websites like Udemy and Coursera offer courses in architectural photography.
• Networking: Join photography clubs, online forums, and attend industry events to connect with fellow photographers and potential clients.

5.2. Earning Money from Architectural Photography

• Freelancing: Offer your services on platforms like Upwork or Freelancer .
• Collaborate with Real Estate Agencies: Real estate agents often require high-quality photographs of properties for listings.
• Work with Architecture Firms: Partner with architecture firms to photograph their completed projects for their portfolios.

5.3. Sharing Your Work and Gaining Feedback

• Online Portfolios: Create a personal website to showcase your work. Platforms like Squarespace or Wix can help.
• Social Media: Share your work on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to gain visibility.
• Photography Forums: Websites like DPReview and PhotographyTalk allow you to share your work and receive feedback from fellow photographers.

5.4. Proposing Your Services

• 5.4.1. Local Advertisements: Advertise your services in local newspapers, community boards, and online classifieds.
• 5.4.2. Online Directories: List your services on directories like Photography Directory or Photographer’s Directory .

5.5. Potential Earnings in Architectural Photography

• 5.5.1. Factors Influencing Earnings: Location, experience, specialization, and client base can significantly impact earnings.
• 5.5.2. Average Earnings: While earnings can vary, beginner architectural photographers can expect to earn between $30,000 to $50,000 annually, with experienced photographers earning upwards of $100,000.

6. Equipment for Architectural Photography

6.1. Cameras and Lenses: Recommendations and Reviews

• Full-frame DSLRs : These cameras offer superior image quality and are ideal for architectural photography. Examples include the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the Nikon D850 .
• Mirrorless Cameras : These are lightweight and also offer excellent image quality. Examples include the Sony A7R IV and the Fujifilm GFX 100 .
• Tilt-shift Lenses : These lenses allow for perspective control, making them perfect for architectural photography. Examples include the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the Nikon PC-E NIKKOR 24mm f/3.5D ED .
• Wide-angle Lenses : Essential for capturing expansive structures. Examples include the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art and the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 .

6.2. Tripods, Drones, and Other Accessories

• Tripods : Essential for stability, especially in low light conditions. Recommended brands include Manfrotto and Gitzo .
• Drones : For capturing aerial views of architectural marvels. Top picks include the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the Autel Robotics EVO II .
• Filters : Polarizing filters can enhance architectural photographs by reducing reflections and amplifying the sky’s vibrancy. Brands like Hoya and B+W are renowned for their quality.

6.3. Post-Processing Software and Tools

• Adobe Lightroom : A favorite among photographers, Lightroom offers tools for color correction, lens profile adjustments, and basic editing.
• Adobe Photoshop : An advanced tool for intricate edits, Photoshop allows for perspective alterations and image compositing.
• Capture One : Known for its exceptional color grading capabilities, Capture One is a top choice among architectural photographers.

7. Conclusion

Architectural photography, as we’ve explored, is not just the act of capturing buildings but an intricate dance of light, shadow, and perspective. It’s a genre that tells stories, encapsulating the essence of eras, cultures, and the visions of architects. From the grand Gothic cathedrals that speak of a bygone era’s religious fervor to the sleek modern skyscrapers symbolizing technological progress and urbanization, every photograph holds a narrative.

The journey through the technicalities, from understanding the best equipment to the nuances of focal lengths and aspect ratios, underscores the depth and complexity of this field. It’s not just about having the right gear but knowing how to use it to bring a structure to life. The interplay of aesthetics, philosophy, and the socio-cultural implications further elevates architectural photography from mere documentation to an art form.

Artists, both historical figures like Atget and Shulman and contemporary Instagram stars, showcase the genre’s vast range and potential. Their works, diverse in style and approach, offer inspiration and a benchmark for aspiring photographers.

However, as with any art form, architectural photography raises questions. In an age of digital manipulation, what is the line between authenticity and artistic interpretation? How does one balance commercial demands with artistic integrity? And as the world continues to urbanize, how will architectural photography evolve to reflect changing landscapes and societies?

The world of architectural photography is vast, intricate, and ever-evolving. As we stand at this intersection of art, history, and technology, one can only wonder: What’s the next chapter in this captivating story? What new narratives will the future structures and their photographers tell?

8. Further Reading

For those who have been captivated by the world of architectural photography and wish to delve deeper, literature offers a treasure trove of insights, techniques, and inspirations. Here are some seminal works that are considered essential for anyone passionate about this genre:

• A comprehensive guide that covers both the technical and artistic aspects of architectural photography. Schulz delves into the nuances of composition, the intricacies of capturing light and shadow, and the post-processing techniques that can elevate an image from good to great.
• Amazon Link
• A classic in the field, this book offers invaluable advice on capturing architectural marvels. McGrath, with his decades of experience, provides insights into the challenges and rewards of photographing buildings, interiors, and exteriors.
• This book is an exploration of the relationship between architecture and photography. Redstone curates works from renowned photographers, showcasing how they interpret space, form, and design. It’s a visual treat and a deep dive into the artistic side of architectural photography.
• Elwall takes readers on a historical journey, tracing the evolution of architectural photography. From its early days to the modern digital era, the book offers a comprehensive look at how architectural photography has documented and influenced the way we see buildings.

For those embarking on this journey, these books not only offer knowledge but also inspiration. They serve as a reminder of the beauty and complexity of architectural photography, urging readers to see buildings not just as static structures but as stories waiting to be told.

9. Useful Links for Architectural Photography Enthusiasts

Navigating the vast world of architectural photography can be overwhelming. To help you on your journey, we’ve compiled a list of valuable resources that will provide you with further insights, techniques, and inspiration:

MoMA – The Museum of Modern Art’s Photography Department :

• The MoMA in New York City houses an extensive collection of photographs, including architectural photography. Their collection spans the history of the medium and includes works from many renowned architectural photographers.
• Visit MoMA’s Photography Department

Getty Research Institute :

• The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts. Their vast resources include collections on architectural photography, which can be a treasure trove for enthusiasts and researchers alike.
• Explore Getty Research Institute

AA School’s Library :

• The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London has a rich library that offers a plethora of resources on architectural photography. It’s a great place to delve deeper into the subject.
• Visit AA School’s Library
• RIBApix is the Royal Institute of British Architects’ image platform, which showcases a vast collection of architectural photographs. It’s an excellent resource for both inspiration and research.
• Explore RIBApix

ArchDaily :

• ArchDaily is one of the most visited architecture websites worldwide. It provides daily news, projects, products, and events tailored to the interests of architects. Their vast collection of articles and photographs can be a great resource for architectural photography enthusiasts.
• Visit ArchDaily

Architizer :

• Architizer connects architects with the tools they need to build better buildings, better cities, and a better world. Their platform is filled with architectural projects, products, and news, making it a valuable resource for architectural photographers.
• Explore Architizer

B&H Photo Video :

• For those looking to purchase or upgrade their photography equipment, B&H is one of the largest non-chain photo and video equipment stores in the US. They offer a wide range of products and also have a plethora of articles and tutorials on architectural photography.
• Shop at B&H Photo Video

Remember, the world of architectural photography is vast and ever-evolving. These resources are just a starting point. As you delve deeper into this fascinating subject, you’ll undoubtedly discover many more valuable tools and platforms to aid your journey.

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David Campany

Architecture as photography, constructing worlds: photography and architecture in the modern age, barbican gallery / prestel, 2014.

‘Architecture as Photography: document, publicity, commentary, art’.

An essay written for the book accompanying the exhibition  Constructing Worlds: Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age , Barbican Gallery London, 25 September 2014 – 11 January 2015; ArkDes Stockholm, 20 February – 17 May 2015; Museo ICO Madrid, 3 June – 6 September.

A Spanish translation, ‘La arquitectura a través de la fotografía: documentación, publicidad, crónica, arte’  is available in the book Construyendo Mundos: fotografia y arquitectura en la era moderna , published by La Fabrica.

Everyone will have noticed how much easier it is to get hold of a painting, more particularly a sculpture, and especially architecture, in a photograph than in reality. 

Walter Benjamin [i]

It may not be possible to ‘get hold of’ a building, at least not in the way that it might be possible to get hold of a painting or a sculpture. But through photography one might be able to get hold of architecture. By this I mean, and perhaps the cultural critic Walter Benjamin meant, that while a physical building is owned and used, a photograph of it is able to isolate, define, interpret, exaggerate or even invent a cultural value for it. We might even go so far as to say that the cultural value of buildings is what we call ‘architecture’ and that it is inseparable from photography.

Walter Benjamin was writing in 1931, a decade or so into the expansion of the modern mass media. Via illustrated magazines and books, photography was establishing and spreading cultural value. Anything and everything was to be photographed and arranged on the page as a new and perhaps spurious kind of ‘visual knowledge’. Just as Benjamin went on to suggest that the kind of art that will triumph will be the kind of art that looks good in photographic reproduction, architecture will not escape the same fate. In fact he concluded that buildings might be the ultimate art works in this new regime of the image. Of all the fine and applied arts it is built form that has the most to lose to photography (because the camera can never capture it, never ‘get hold of’ it) but as a consequence it also has the most to gain.

Emerging in Europe after the First World War, Modernist architecture travelled unevenly but globally via the printed page. For example, the establishment of what came to be called the International Style could not have happened without photography. Moreover, it is often argued that it was through Modernism that architecture became profoundly, perhaps irreversibly complicit with its camera image. Architects began to design with photographic representation in mind and for good or bad the public began to understand the built world around them in photographic terms.[ii]

View from the Window at Le Gras by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, 1826-27.

We should remember photography’s attraction to architecture goes back to the very earliest camera pictures. Nicéphore Niépce’s View from the Window at Le Gras (1826) was a lucid demonstration of the new medium’s consummate translation of three dimensions into two, although it lacked the detail that soon became so characteristic. Here is Sir John Robison responding to his first view of a group of fine Daguerreotype images in 1839:

‘The perfection and fidelity of the pictures are such that, on examining them by microscopic power, details are discovered which are not perceivable to the naked eye in the original objects, but which, when searched for there by the aid of optical instruments, are found in perfect accordance; a crack in plaster, a withered leaf lying on a projecting cornice, or an accumulation of dust in a hollow moulding of a distant building, when they exist in the original, are faithfully copied in these wonderful pictures.’ [iii]

In noting the cracks and dust, Robison had grasped that the technology of photography belonged to a different order from the aged world around it. Even so, that aging – patina and ruination – was thoroughly photogenic. Through the camera an old building would be subject to ‘a clash with a time not its own.’[iv] Since then, photography has been put to use recording the world’s older buildings and ruins. It has also been used to document and promote new constructions that very much do belong to the time and technology of photography: Victorian bridges and glasshouses, monuments and towers in steel, high-rises and high-tech buildings.

Time and surfaces

While Modernist architecture celebrated industrial smoothness, Modernist photography explored a heightened interest in the surfaces of the world. A gleaming facade and the cracked hands that built it offer themselves up equally to a perfected lens and a glossy print or page. In 1924, Edward Weston, the supreme artist-technician of the high-modern photographic surface, declared: ‘The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.’[v] The same year, László Moholy-Nagy spoke of photography’s rendering of ‘the precise magic of the finest texture: in the framework of steel buildings just as much as in the foam of the sea.’[vi] And in 1930 Pierre Mac Orlan observed: ‘On the photosensitive plate, polished steel finds a still sleeker interpretation of its shining richness.’[vii]

Eugène Atget, Rue de Sein e, Paris 1924

Mac Orlan was writing in a book of photographs by Eugène Atget. Those pictures contained no polished steel. To the contrary, Atget had turned his camera on the remnants of old Paris that had escaped the clash with the modern wrecking ball: old cafés and shop fronts, specimens of historic architecture, conjunctions of buildings accumulating over centuries into ad hoc neighbourhoods. Atget understood the urban fabric as something that exists over generations and is altered by use and weather. Photography and architecture were for him complex repositories of time. There was plenty of polished steel elsewhere in modern cities such as Paris, and plenty of photographers who saw their medium as its publicist or go-between.

Atget made his images quietly, usually on commission but also for himself. He may not have considered photography to be art but it was certainly an art. The medium was unique in its allowing for the intelligent balance of document and interpretation. Atget made images that seemed to lack explicit motive but shared a general condition of openness – a rhetorical muteness, let us say – that awaited completion by whoever bought and used them (industrial designers, urban planners, artists). The Surrealists appreciated Atget’s evocation of a haunted city with its architecture at once inhabited and seemingly dispossessed. And they saw something of their desire for subversion (and subversion of desire) in those laconic and unadorned vistas.

Atget lived on the same street as Man Ray whose darkroom assistant, Berenice Abbott, was captivated by Atget’s pictures. Upon his death in 1927, Abbott acquired a substantial part of Atget’s archive. She took it back to New York where she exhibited it, published two books of it and eventually bequeathed it to the Museum of Modern Art.[viii] Atget’s contemplative disposition struck a chord with those seeking a more reflective relation to architecture, modern time and the city. The 1929 American stock market crash and ensuing crises sharpened the political and social consciousness of many artists. As a result, an equivocal take on progress – looking askance or awry at the white heat of modernisation – became an important part of serious photography. When Berenice Abbott began her own urban documentation in 1935, it was very much in the spirit of Atget. She published her grand project in 1939 as Changing New York . She wrote: ‘How shall the two-dimensional print in black and white suggest the flux of activity of the metropolis, the interaction of human beings and solid architectural constructions, all impinging upon each other in time?’ Abbott mixed images of new buildings with older examples, making bold views in which Manhattan’s layered epochs of beauty and ugliness, of boom and bust, were laid bare. A striking example is House of the Modern Age, Park Avenue & 29th Street (1936).

Berenice Abbott, House of the Modern Age, Park Avenue & 29th Street (1936)

Beneath a cluster of towers of varying merit nestles a two-storey show home built with the latest techniques and equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets. The public paid 10 cents each to visit the ten-thousand-dollar house, erected on a million-dollar vacant lot. The house was temporary but Abbott’s photograph preserves the event and offers a pause for reflection. While America’s offices went skyward, its homes would sprawl laterally to become an endless suburbia. The theatrical singularity of that show home belies the sheer quantity and formulaic repetition that came to dominate twentieth-century housing.

Abbott was friendly with Walker Evans, who took up photography in the late 1920s. At first the giant architecture of Manhattan attracted him. He made celebratory images of soaring verticals, dynamic angles and grid-like facades. They were reminiscent of the European New Vision photography of Moholy-Nagy and others, but like Abbott he soon stepped back to develop a more circumspect attitude. Modish affectation gave way to a more neutral, less forced way of thinking and photographing. He focused on provincial towns away from the extravagance of the big cities. A commission to record Victorian houses around Boston allowed him to develop his approach. In 1933 the results were exhibited, essentially as documents, in the Architecture Galleries of the Museum of Modern Art.[ix] Five years later, Evans was the first photographer to be given a solo exhibition in his own name at MoMA, and more than half of his one hundred prints were architectural.

Page from ‘Photographic Studies’ by Walker Evans, The Architectural Record , September 1930

Walker Evans, Houses and Billboards, Atlanta , 1936.

Evans understood that photography and architecture are related sign systems. Gathered as archives or arranged as sequences, images of buildings could be a path toward sophisticated statements about a society and the ways it pictures itself. He used his large-format camera to cut out and miniaturize facades as surfaces to be read.[x] The reading can be symbolic, metaphorical or literal, not least because so often his photographs included writing and commercial signage. Such images can be understood as found montages that make thinkable the new tensions of modern life. Consider Houses and Billboards, Atlanta (1936). Beyond the formal elegance of the picture it is a document thick with information. It shows a brutal barrier shielding houses from the noise of the growing number of automobiles. The porches of the grand but fading homes now have a blocked view, while the upper balconies overlook a charmless strip. The movie billboards lining the barrier are designed not for the residents but to catch the eye of passing motorists. Between the houses we glimpse the flat roofs of more recent buildings, and on the right there is a light-industrial chimney. Despite some architects’ dreams of grand plans, it is pragmatism and happenstance that have defined the look of most of our towns. Evans played off his cool and steady gaze against the speed of unpredictable change, drawing attention to the composition of the world rather than his own compositional prowess. Measured, reflective and unforced, his photographs do not chase after progress: they study its visible symptoms.

Thomas Struth, Clinton Road, London , 1977

Evans swung wide the doors for generations of photographers. American Photographs , the book that accompanied his 1938 exhibition is still in print. One can work in this idiom anywhere without risk of imitation, or the anxiety of influence. For example, Thomas Struth’s city studies of the 1970s echo Evans’ generosity of seeing and his attention to the telling minutiae of the streetscape.[xi] But perhaps the clearest inheritor has been Stephen Shore, whose photographs made across the Midwestern United States in the 1970s share Evans’ affection for American vernacular culture.[xii] Made on long car trips, Shore’s photographs treat buildings and automobiles as expressions of the same social and economic forces. In 1956 the cultural critic Roland Barthes had declared:

‘I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic Cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.’[xiii]

Stephen Shore, Fifth and Broadway, Eureka, California , September 2, 1974,

The aesthetic and principles of manufacture of any epoch are common to all its products. Modernity merely accelerates and integrates this. As a consequence, its architects have often been designers of other things as well: furniture, cars, trains, planes, electrical appliances, clothes and graphics. Figures as diverse as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mies van der Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames and Raymond Loewy were all exponents of this approach.

Julius Shulman, Case Study House No. 20, Altadena , CA. 1958, Architect Buff, Straub and Hensman

Photography is often at its most complicit when it is recruited to turn the constructed worlds of integrated design into promotional images. Julius Shulman was one of the most adept photographers of modernist environments. It is through his commissioned images that we have come to ‘know’ the work of Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner, Rudolf Schindler, Raphael Soriano and Frank Lloyd Wright among many others. Forms of architecture and design that have already internalised the look and cultural value of photography are distilled by Shulman into media-friendly icons. But nothing dates more acutely than high style. Like modish advertisements in old copies of Life magazine, Shulman’s photographs share the same aspiration as the designed worlds they represent and are subject to the same historical fate. Today such images do not so much promote as stand as documents of the taste and values of an era.

Second thoughts

Spread from ‘Outrage’, June 1955, special issue of Architectural Review , edited by Ian Nairn

It should be said that the architectural profession has always had misgivings about the cosy relationship between buildings and photography, and there has always been dissent. Sometimes it has taken the form of polemics against the conventions of architectural photography.[xiv] Other criticisms have emerged more implicitly within visual essays by architects and writers. For example, between the 1950s and 1970s Ian Nairn wrote excoriating attacks on the shortcomings of UK architects and planners, as well as heartfelt defences of places and ideas that were endangered or out of favour. His texts were often complemented by deliberately perfunctory images devoid of arty ingratiation. One of his most influential tirades was ‘Outrage’, a special issue of The Architectural Review from June 1955. Nairn railed against what he called the Subtopia of the post-war English landscape: ‘[A] mean and middle state, neither country nor town, an even spread of abandoned aerodromes and fake rusticity, wire fences, traffic roundabouts, gratuitous notice-boards, car-parks and Things in Fields.’ Throughout the issue, deadpan snapshots embody the laziness, cynicism and lack of vision Nairn attempts to diagnose. Sometimes a couple of photos and a caption do it all. A notorious page of ‘Outrage’ carries two near-identical views down unloved streets, one captioned ‘leaving Southampton’, the other ‘arriving at Carlisle’, with the entire length of England implied between.

Just as the discipline of art history has intermittent doubts over its use of photography as innocent reproduction, so the field of architecture has sustained an important current of reflection about its use of images. In some respects the critical discourses established in the architectural press of the post-war decades paved the way for the rise of architecture in much wider discussions of culture, politics, art and value. This in turn led several architects to understand their own practices in broader cultural terms. In 1972, Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour published Learning from Las Vegas , a provocative call for architects to be more in tune with popular taste. The profession should less heroic, less snobbish and more accepting of context and pragmatism, they argued. And they should not have their heads in the sand about the relation between money, built form and image (something perfectly explicit in Las Vegas!) The book’s mix of text and photographs placed it in a long line of widely read but serious architectural manifestos that goes all the way back to Le Corbusier’s Vers une architecture (1923), published in English as Towards a New Architecture (1927). While some see Learning from Las Vegas as an apology for raw capitalism and the market’s dictation of the environment, it can also be read as a critique of all that. In architecture the line between the genuinely popular (i.e. democratic) and the populist (pandering to lowest common denominators of value) is particularly fine and requires constant vigilance.

Installation view, showing photographs by Stephen Shore, of Signs of Life: Symbols of the American City . The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 1976

Extending their ideas, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates staged ‘Signs of Life: Symbols of the American City’ at The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC in 1976. The exhibition approached the American urban scene as a complex puzzle in need of decoding. Many towns had become postmodern collages of architectural quotation: English village windows and Italianate brackets sharing facades with colonial ironwork and classical balustrades. In the gallery space various images were placed in relation real objects (neon signs, furniture, pieces of architecture). Stephen Shore, who was then deep into his photography of vernacular towns and buildings, was commissioned to make documents. A number of these were blown up and presented as near life-size substitutes for American streetscapes.

Like Atget, Abbott and Evans before him, Stephen Shore was interested in photographing the present for the benefit of the future. Such a task keeps the photographer alert to the interrelation of all the different components that may co-exist in an urban scene. He explains:

‘There is an old Arab saying, ‘The apparent is the bridge to the real.’ For many photographers, architecture serves this function. A building expresses the physical constraints of its materials: a building made of curved I-beams and titanium can look different from one made of sandstone blocks. A building expresses the economic constraints of its construction. A building also expresses the aesthetic parameters of its builder and its culture. This latter is the product of all the diverse elements that make up ‘style’: traditions, aspirations, conditioning, imagination, posturings, perceptions. On a city street, a building is sited between others built or renovated at different times and in different styles. And these buildings are next to still others. And this whole complex scene experiences the pressure of weather and time. This taste of the personality of a society becomes accessible to a camera.’[xv]

Or, as the television critic AA Gill puts it, ‘the built landscape is the great pop-up lexicon of who we are, humanity’s diary. It’s what we thought and hoped for.’[xvi]Yet we cannot assume that being accessible to the camera means the built landscape can be interpreted easily. Over centuries, architecture evolved symbolic languages that allowed buildings to declare their purpose, or at least codify it. Churches looked like churches, houses looked like houses, banks looked like banks and so on. However, with the beginnings of Modernism this began to be replaced by the idea that built form should follow function, along with a truth to the materials used. While this might imply a certain clarity or honesty, the modernising impulse also homogenises, tending towards rationalised modular forms that often cut the ties between function and legibility. This has been felt equally in the ‘high’ architecture of prestige buildings and the ‘low’ architecture of social housing and the factory. The modern show home photographed by Berenice Abbott in 1939 used the same principles as the modern office. In the knee-jerk reaction against such anonymity however, decoration often becomes purely cosmetic. Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour called this the ‘decorated shed’, but decorated or not, the shed has become a source of anxiety about the runaway forces of rationalisation. Is it what we want everywhere, for everything?

Lewis Baltz, ‘North Wall Steelcase 1123 Warner Avenue Tustin, 1974’ from T he New Industrial Parks near Irvine, California , 1974

In his quintessentially postmodern movie, True Stories (1986), David Byrne plays a wide-eyed guide to a world in which surface and meaning have come apart almost entirely. ‘This is the Varicorp building, just outside Virgil’, he tells us. ‘It’s cool. It’s a multipurpose shape. A box. We have no idea what’s inside there.’ Byrne’s disarmingly jolly delivery suggests something is wrong. A decade or so earlier, the California-based photographer Lewis Baltz had come to the same conclusion. His series The New Industrial Parks near Irvine, California (1974) documents the exteriors of small and medium sized industrial units of the kind we now find clustered on the edges of all towns and cities. They are erected quickly according to standardised systems and designed to suit as many commercial needs as possible. The sparsely decorated exteriors give a thin illusion of calm and continuity. In reality the units can be rented to businesses long- or short-term, depending on the volatility of markets. This is Baltz describing his project:

‘I was born in one of the most rapidly urbanising areas in the world: Southern California in the post-war period. You could watch the changes take place; it was astonishing. A new world was being born there, perhaps not a very pleasant world. This homogenised American environment was marching across the land and being exported. And it seemed nobody wanted to confront this. I was looking for the things that were the most typical, the most quotidian, everyday and unremarkable. And I was trying to represent them in a way that was the most quotidian, everyday and unremarkable. I certainly wanted to make my work look like anyone could do it. I didn’t want to have a style; I wanted it to look as mute, and as distant as to appear to be as objective as possible … I tried very hard in this work not to show a point of view. I tried to think of myself as an anthropologist from a different solar system … What I was interested in more was the phenomena of the place. Not the thing itself but the effect of it: the effect of this kind of urbanization, the effect of this kind of living, the effect of this kind of building. What kind of people would come out of this? What kind of new world was being built here? Was it a world people could live in? Really?'[xvii]

Shot in deep focus and fine detail, Baltz’s photographs are highly descriptive, even analytical. Across his series of fifty-one images, the distances between the camera and the subject are kept consistent, as is the light. Frontal and rectilinear, these pictures do not appear to contest the presumed objectivity of photography. Indeed, they provide as good a record as any of the surfaces of the things in front of Baltz’s lens. Instead the problem of representation is displaced on to the world itself: what can we know when the appearance of our environment tells us so little about its meaning and function? As Baltz himself put it: ‘You don’t know whether they are manufacturing pantyhose or megadeath’.

Baltz came to prominence around the same time as Bernhard and Hilla Becher, who photographed in a similar manner but were interested in buildings where function was still inscribed in form and legible: lime kilns, cooling towers, blast-furnaces, winding towers, water towers, gas holders and silos. In a 1970 publication of their work, they state:

Cover of Berhard and Hilla Becher, Anonyme Skulpturen: Eine Typologie Technischer Bauten , 1970

‘We show objects predominantly instrumental in character, whose shapes are the results of calculation, and whose processes of development are optically evident. They are generally buildings where anonymity is accepted to be the style. Their peculiarities originate not in spite of, but because of the lack of design.’[xviii]

That book was titled Anonyme Skulpturen ( Anonymous Sculpture ) and through it the Becher’s work came to occupy a pivotal place at the intersection of photography, architecture and art. Its reception as art was part of a complex re-embracing of the typological series by a culture fraught with suspicion about utopian rationality. In such a setting, these cool photographic studies associated the documentary image less with the older ‘new sobrieties’ of the 1920s and ‘30s that they clearly echoed, than with the newer ambivalence of Minimalist sculpture and Conceptual Art. [xix] The serial blankness of their work looked considered and random, didactic and obtuse, familiar and odd, smart and dumb. Most artists using photography at the time were opting for the dulled aesthetic of the anonymous, ‘deskilled’ amateur, but working in the guise of trained technicians the Bechers presented an equally rich puzzle for art. Their series or grids of highly crafted images erased all traces of signature style, while even their choice of subject matter was intriguing. Those industrial structures had no place in the official discourses of architecture, let alone art. Since then of course the interest shown in the vernacular by contemporary art, and the interest shown in the vernacular and contemporary art by architecture has grown immeasurably, along with the canonical status of the Bechers’ work.

Nevertheless, it would be misplaced to assume that the Bechers’ work was particularly of its time. In fact the difficulty of defining its time seems to be the source of its enduringly slippery fascination. Beyond subject matter, the characteristic feature is the even, flat light. In such light buildings are, as Richard Sennett put it in a discussion of the work of Thomas Struth, ‘endowed with a life all their own’. [xx] Weak light makes for wilful buildings, renders them insistent but inscrutable. Light is usually the animator of the world and photography its captor, but when the light refuses animate the world appears dead, and the task that befalls the photographer is not to ‘shoot’ so much as embalm. To photograph in milky light is to photograph a world that appears to have already been plucked from time. [xxi]

That Northern Europe, the cradle of modernity’s hurtling progress is for much of the time bathed in a light that almost eliminates shadow may not be without significance. This was the preferred light for much of the rationalised and informational imagery produced in the nineteenth century, where the absence of shadow was equated with impartial judgment. Clear, soft illumination was construed as liberating the world from the prejudice of chiaroscuro and the drama of shadows. Revelling in the wealth of visible detail made available, positivist science deduced objectivity from the inscrutable, and clarity of knowledge from the clarity of appearances. The Bechers stare at things with an air of objectivity so outside fashion that their subjects almost stare back. Resisting the spectacle and modish artifice that has preoccupied Western art since Pop, they have extended and deepened the potential complexities of the impassive ‘document as art’ that were first sensed in the 1920s. Their work belongs to art and transcends it too. Moreover photography’s ticket into the art of the last hundred years has been its flirtation with non-art and the document. The Bechers’ anonymous photography of anonymous architecture fits this perfectly.

The photograph transformed

Through their teaching in Dusseldorf and through their profile in contemporary art, the Bechers have influenced generations of photographers interested in architecture. However, much of the work made in their wake has courted art much more openly and lost a degree of ambiguity on the way. For example while the Bechers infer the sculptural, much of Andreas Gursky’s globetrotting output often makes quite explicit reference to it, while the sheer size of his monumental gallery prints affords them an obvious status as exhibitable objects.

Thomas Ruff, Ricola, Mulhouse , 1994

Thomas Ruff’s architectural imagery, typified by a photograph of Herzog & de Meuron’s Ricola building in Mulhouse-Brunstatt, France, operates at a similar scale and is a complex example of the ever-closer alliance between those who make buildings and those who photograph them. In fact the Ricola building features a surface design derived from a photograph of a leaf by Karl Blossfeldt who, along with August Sander and Albert Renger-Patzsch in the 1920s, had championed the New Vision photography inherited by the Bechers. However, Ruff photographs this building at night, with the additional drama of artificial light under an acid purple sky. His image is a document, an art work and an advertisement.

Charting the increasing dominance of photography in the making, promotion and experience of architecture, the American cultural critic Fredric Jameson drew a distinction between what he saw as the openness of the architect’s drawn plans and the closed tyranny of the photograph:

‘The project, the drawing, is… one reified substitute for the real building, but a “good” one, that makes infinite utopian freedom possible. The photograph of the already existing building is another substitute, but let us say a “bad” reification – the illicit substitution of one order of things for another, the transformation of the building into the image of itself, and a spurious image at that … The appetite for architecture today … must in reality be an appetite for something else. I think it is an appetite for photography: what we want to consume today are not the buildings themselves, which you scarcely even recognise as you round the freeway … [M]any are the post-modern buildings that seem to have been designed for photography, where alone they flash into brilliant existence and actuality with all of the phosphorescence of the high-tech orchestra on CD.’[xxii]

Jameson was writing in 1991, at the cusp of a profound transformation that well-nigh collapsed the distinction between architectural design and photographic imaging. At that time several architectural firms were at the forefront of the development of computer software that would enable not just new methods of design but new modes of presentation and publicity. Today, buildings are often preceded by photorealist renderings that even mimic the characteristics of traditional lens-based images such as flare, differential focus and converging verticals. Construction sites are encircled with mural-sized depictions of buildings to come. These are photographic images with a future tense: this architecture will be.

Rut Blees Luxemburg, From the series London Dust , 2012.

Temporarily at least, the latest global recession has betrayed many such promises. For her series London Dust , Rut Blees Luxemburg has photographed the hoardings around the site of The Pinnacle, in the City of London, a particularly high-profile casualty of the halt on new construction in Europe. The planned 300-metre-high tower has stalled at the seventh floor. London Dust shows the glossy publicity fading and besmirched by the city’s incessant grime.

Adam Broomberg  & Oliver Chanarin, from the series Chicago , 2006

The simulation of buildings can also be concrete. After eighteen months of negotiations, in 2005 Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin secured access to a very secret place. Codenamed Chicago, it is a mock-up Arab town built by the Israeli Defence Force for training in urban combat. Hidden from view by the inhospitable Negev desert, Chicago was where the Israeli military practiced its destruction of Palestinian settlements. Granted a matter of hours to photograph the facility, the duo chose the clearest and most optimal views; but rather than grounding this concrete reality, the extreme objectivity of their pictures has an unexpected effect. They flip us into the register of hyper-real simulation of the kind we associate with the aesthetics of ‘virtual reality’. These are the forced monocular perspectives typical of violent video game graphics with their surveying ‘point of view’ shots. Indeed, the photographs share something of the video game’s status as model – a fantasy of worldly control. What took place in Chicago was the safe rehearsal of imaginary mastery, yet these photographs are also documents of a real place which now no longer exists (the Israeli military has since destroyed it and built a new training site).

Still from Victor Burgin, A Place to Read , video projection, 2010

With its rather corporate connotations, computer-generated imaging remains largely a tool of mainstream practices, but there are examples of more overtly critical and resistant use. In 2009 the artist Victor Burgin was invited to make a piece of work in response to the city of Istanbul.[xxiii] After several visits he became interested in the Taşlik coffee house and garden, constructed in 1947-48. Designed by Sedad Hakki Eldem, on a site overlooking the Bosphorus, it blends elements of seventeenth-century Ottoman architecture with twentieth-century Modernism. It was open to everyone. Then in 1988 it was dismantled to make way for a luxury Swissôtel. Part of the coffee house was re-built but in a different position, and now serves merely as an orientalist tourist restaurant. Working from drawings and photographs, Burgin resurrected the building virtually.[xxiv] A 3D model conjures it up in all its democratic glory. Presented as a video projection titled A Place to Read , camera movements in and around the space are intercut with texts weaving together historical anecdotes and fictions that encourage the viewer to consider a brief moment in Istanbul’s passage from Empire to contemporary global capitalism. ‘A woman at the opening of the installation at the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul was in tears’, recalled Burgin, ‘she had known the original coffee house as a child.’[xxv] Burgin’s imagery promised no ‘proof’ in the traditional photographic sense, yet it elicited the same emotional charge. An image can resonate no matter what its material or technological base.

Jeff Wall, Morning Cleaning, Mies van der Rohe Foundation , Barcelona 1999

The revisiting of a lost building through archival documents also informs Jeff Wall’s photograph Morning Cleaning, Mies van der Rohe Foundation, Barcelona (1999). The pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, is a now a Modernist touchstone. It has a particularly complicated relationship with photography. Rather than housing an exhibit, the structure was intended to be the exhibit, a showcase for Mies’ architectural thinking and ‘an ideal zone of tranquility’, as he put it, set apart from the bustle of the Exposition. It was also intended to be temporary and within a year it was taken down. However, in the ensuing decades its reputation grew, largely through photographs and the consolidation of Mies’ reputation. In 1983 reconstruction began using photographs and original plans. The pavilion reopened in 1986 and in the 1990s several artists were invited to make responses to it, including Victor Burgin, Jeff Wall, Hannah Collins and Günther Förg. Wall photographed a man named Alejandro, one of the team of three responsible for keeping the pavilion clean. The morning routine was shot every day for two weeks, always from the same camera position. Wall’s colour photograph is a composite image that allows the all the detail of the shadows and highlights produced by the strong morning sun to be rendered correctly (something that is beyond a single exposure). The image still celebrates the building but it also sets itself apart. Unlike architectural photography of the 1920s, the point of view here is offset from the pavilion’s geometry. Moreover, Wall pictures the space as a site of both ‘high’ contemplation and ‘low’ work. The cleaners must arrive and leave before the pavilion opens to the paying public. We see the black carpet is rucked, soap bubbles slide down the glass and the ‘Barcelona Chairs’ – designed by Mies for this building – are shifted out of place. This is a commentary on the legacy of high Modernism. As Wall himself notes:

‘[These] buildings require an especially scrupulous level of maintenance. In more traditional spaces a little dirt and grime is not such a shocking contrast to the whole concept. It can even become patina, but these Miesian buildings resist patina as much as they can.’[xxvi]

Such photographs are complex meditations on all too familiar tension between architectural aspiration and lived experience. They show us idealised spaces populated not by idealised occupants or affluent consumers but by those who often remain invisible. Somehow, somewhere along the line, powerful architecture lost sight of the democratic goals of its modern citizenry. Far too often we find ourselves at odds, or in deadlock, with the built world around us.

 Pasts and futures

If we accept that the experience of architecture may now be inseparable from the experience of its imagery, and that photography may now belong to the very same networks of spectacle, it becomes clear that an independent and critical photography of architecture is as vital as it is endangered. My essay thus far has attempted to track something of this critical spirit from its origins in the 1920s. I end with an example that might point us toward future possibilities.

In 2009 the Swiss artist Jules Spinatsch photographed the annual Ball at the Vienna Opera House (the Wiener Staatsoper). Completed in 1869, the style of the building is typically neo-Renaissance, but its form is an idealised expression of mid-nineteenth century spectacle and power. By that time, opera had become an integral part of the social calendar for Europe’s high society and political elites. The plan optimises the number of boxes viewable from each box and from the seats in the stalls. Since 1935 the annual Opera Ball has had an international standing as a rather smug and self-congratulatory dressing-up party for the day’s dubious mix of politicians, businessmen, debutantes and imported celebrities. In the long and luxurious evening, attendees prop up their reputations and grease the wheels of power with an appeal to ‘tradition’. Since the 1960s, the ball has been picketed by various groups objecting to its outdated values. Inside there is barely any need for a performance: all the seats in the stalls are covered over by a ballroom floor, while tiers of extra boxes are erected on the stage to complete the narcissistic, self-gazing circle. In 2009 Spinatsch suspended two interactive network digital cameras in the centre of the Opera House. They were programmed to track incrementally, taking in the entire space, ceiling to floor. One image was recorded every three seconds between the start of the Ball at 8.32pm and its conclusion at 5.17am: 10,008 photographs in total. While doing so, the cameras together completed two full rotations, so every spot in the opera house was covered exactly twice during the evening.

Jules Spinatsch, Installation view of the circular panorama  Vienna MMIX – 10008/7000 , Karlsplatz, Vienna, 2011

In 2011 Spinatsch installed his results as a 360° panorama in Vienna’s Resselpark, Karlsplatz. The images were arranged as a chronological grid, the beginning of the evening wrapping around to meet its end. However, instead of placing the spectator at the centre surrounded by the view, Spinatsch put the panorama on the outside, inverting the space of the Opera House to allow viewers to encircle it. The socially exclusive interior is exposed to a democratic exterior. Subversively then, the cavorting elite is put on display for all of Vienna’s citizens to see.

While we ought not overestimate the radicality or ‘impact’ of Spinatsch’s gesture, his rethinking of the twin spectacles of architecture and hi-tech imagery is welcome. And if architecture and photography are destined to remain intertwined then we are obliged ask what it is we want from both.

[i] Walter Benjamin, ‘A Little History of Photography’ (1931), Selected Writings: 1931 – 1934, translated by Rodney Livingstone and others, edited by Michael W Jennings (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005, p523)

[ii] See for example Beatriz Colomina, Privacy and Publicity: Modern Architecture As Mass Media (MIT Press, 1996)

[iii] Sir John Robison, ‘Perfection of the Art, as stated in Notes on Daguerre’s Photography’( The American Journal of Science and Arts , Vol. 37, No. 1, July 1839, pp 183-185)

[iv] As Denis Hollier put it, ‘Like the mutilated classical statue, a photograph seems to result from the art work’s encounter with a scythe of real time, showing the bruise imprinted upon an art work by a clash with a time not its own.’ See Denis Hollier, ‘Beyond Collage: Reflections on the André Malraux of L’Espoir and of Le Musée Imaginaire ’ ( Art Press , no. 221, 1997.

[v] Edward Weston, entry for 10 March 1924, in The Daybooks of Edward Weston (Aperture, 1973) quoted in Nancy Newhall ed., Edward Weston: the flame of Recognition (Gordon Fraser, 1975, p12.

[vi] László Moholy-Nagy, ‘The Future of the Photographic Process’ ( Malerei, Fotografie, Film , 1925), reprinted in English (MIT Press, 1969, p 33)

[vii] Pierre Mac Orlan, Preface to Atget: Photographe de Paris (E Weyhe, 1930). In an article on contemporary photography from 1932, Marcel Fautrad declared: ‘Life … is profoundly marked by Metal. METAL. METAL. Cold contact that bristles. And yet “an aesthetic is born of the surrounding need for metal”’. See Marcel Fautrad ‘The Poetics of Metal’ (June 1932), reprinted in Janus ed., Man Ray: the Photographic Image (Gordon Fraser, 1977, p 219)

[viii] See Atget: Photographe de Paris (E Weyhe, 1930); and Berenice Abbott, The World of Atget (Horizon Press, 1964)

[ix] Walker Evans: Photographs of Nineteenth-Century Houses , Museum of Modern Art, New York, 16 November – 8 December 1933

[x] Clement Greenberg suggested that Evans’ best pictures had ‘backs’ i.e. no receding perspectival space. See Clement Greenberg, ‘The Camera’s Glass Eye: Review of an Exhibition of Edward Weston’ (1946) in Clement Greenberg, The Collected Essays and Criticism , Vol. 2: Arrogant Purpose , 1945–49 , ed. John O’Brian, (University of Chicago Press, 1986, pp 60-63). Jean-François Chevrier has called this kind of photograph an ‘image-sign, a document-monument’, and it recurs throughout Evans’ work. Jean-François Chevrier ‘Dual Reading’ in Jean-François Chevrier, Allan Sekula and Benjamin HD Buchloh eds., Walker Evans & Dan Graham (Witte de With, 1992, p19)

[xi] The long list would also include photographers as diverse as Wilhelm Schürmann, Gabriele Basilico, Simon Norfolk and Sze Tsung Leong

[xii] Shore was given a copy of Evans’ American Photographs for his twelfth birthday: ‘It feels much deeper than just an influence. When I saw his work I recognised someone who thought the way I would think if I were mature enough to think that way.’ See ‘Ways of Making Pictures, Stephen Shore in conversation with David Campany’, in Stephen Shore (Fundacio MAPFRE, 2014)

[xiii] Roland Barthes, ‘The New Citroën’ (1956) in Mythologies (1957), (Hill and Wang, 1972). Barthes was prompted to write by the arrival of the streamlined Citroën DS, its curves reminiscent of American designs of the era.

[xiv] See for example Michael Rothenstein, ‘Colour and Modern Architecture, or ‘The Photographic Eye’, ( The Architectural Review , vol. XLIV, May 1946); ‘“Bliss it was in that Dawn to be Alive”: An Interview with John Brandon-Jones’ ( Architectural Design , vol. 10, no. 11, 1979); and Tom Picton, ‘The Craven Image, or The Apotheosis of the Architectural Photograph’ ( The Architects’ Journal , 25 July 1979)

[xv] Stephen Shore, ‘Photography and Architecture’ (1997) in Christy Lange et al, Stephen Shore , (Phaidon Press, 2008)

[xvi] AA Gill, ‘Brutal honesty is always the best policy’ ( The Sunday Times , 2 March 2014)

[xvii] Audio interview with Lewis Baltz: http://www.lacma.org/art/nt-baltz.aspx . The early significance and influence of the New Industrial Parks series was secured through its inclusion the in the influential 1975 exhibition and book New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape (along with the work of Bernhard & Hilla Becher, Frank Gohlke, Henry Wessel, John Schott, Nicholas Nixon and Stephen Shore). See William Jenkins, New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-altered Landscape, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, 1975

[xviii] Bernhard and Hilla Becher, Anonyme Skulpturen : Eine Typologie Technischer Bauten (Art Press Verlag, 1970)

[xix] An early article on the Bechers by the minimalist sculptor Carl Andre two years later cemented the arrival of their work as art. See Carl Andre, ‘A Note on Bernhard and Hilla Becher’ ( Artforum vol. 11, no. 4, December 1972)

[xx] Richard Sennett, ‘Recovery: The Photography of Thomas Struth’ in Thomas Struth, Strangers and Friends (Institute of Contemporary Arts, London/Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston/Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1994, pp 91-99)

[xxi] It should be said here that there has always been an ‘expressive’ tradition within the photography of architecture. This is Helmut Gernsheim’s little paragraph entitled ‘The Weather’ from his book Focus on Architecture and Sculpture, an original approach to the photography of architecture and sculpture (Fountain Press, 1949): ‘It will be evident from the nature of the work that the weather plays a most important role in the architectural photographer’s life. Generally speaking, outdoor photographs should not be taken on a dull day: only sunlight lends life to form. The photographer may have to wait for days or even weeks until the conditions are as he wants them, but it will repay the trouble. Sometimes I have spent days at a hotel hoping that the sun would break through, and more than once it happened that I returned to London after several days of fruitless waiting, only to find that the very next day was fine and sunny.’

[xxii] Fredric Jameson, ‘Spatial equivalents in the world system’ in Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Duke University Press, 1991, pp 97-129)

[xxiii] The occasion was the festival Istanbul 2010: Cultural Capital of Europe

[xxiv] Previously, Burgin had also made a video project in response to the Barcelona Pavilion

[xxv] ‘Other Criteria: Victor Burgin in conversation with David Campany’ ( Frieze  no. 155, April 2013)

[xxvi] Jeff Wall in Craig Burnett, Jeff Wall (Tate, 2005, pp 90-91)

                                   David Campany

Some views of  Constructing Worlds: Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age  at the Barbican Gallery, London, 2014/2015. Installation photographs by Chris Jackson.

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Klaus Pichler goes behind the scenes of Vienna's Natural History Museum

Photo essay:  a shark in a corridor and a toad seated on a filing cabinet are among the scenes found by Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler when he went backstage at the Natural History Museum Vienna (+ slideshow). More

Nelson Garrido captures the modern architecture of Kuwait's Golden Era

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Photo essay: land marks

29 October 2020 By Eleanor Beaumont Photography

Human hands build and break up the Earth; carving cruel lines through the soil they wreak crisis upon our climate, divide here from there and reap profit from the process

Private Land, Brassington, Peak District, 1989, from Fay Godwin’s Our Forbidden Land series, a polemic for the right to roam which Godwin followed up by rallying MPs to trespass on land owned by the Duke of Devonshire

Credit: Album / Alamy

Mongolia 3, by Daesung Lee, 2014

Credit: Daesung Lee

People pock the Earth, marking territory. We build walls, draw lines, dig holes, scorch the ground, simmer the sea. We erase, rip and reassemble in a violent flutter, our traces strewn across the surface. Flimsy fences and small insistent squares forbid entry though the land unfolds open arms. We run blissfully over the edge, over the wall, the point of no return, and continue still, out of control, overwhelmed and fearful.

From Sebastião Salgado’s famous series Gold Mine, Serra Pelada, Brazil, taken in 1986

Credit: Sebastião Salgado / nbpictures.com

Photograph of a promotional fridge magnet depicting diamonds sourced in Yakutia, Russia, displayed as part of Viktor Brim’s installation Imperial Machine, 2020

Credit: Viktor Brim

Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi’s Raia Mutomboki series, 2013, portraying a Belgian tin ore mining building in the South Kivu region of the Congo

Credit: Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi

Under the clawing of thousands of hands, the ground yawns and yields treasure. Human bodies pour into the fissure, become the earth through the critical lens, a seething dark sea. Twenty cents in return for a sack of land hauled from its jaws, gold guarded jealously by fists of rock. The clenched hands open only for a good price: enough to skim the cracks in the crumbling Soviet Union, or to oil the wheels of empire. Despite emancipation from colonial tyranny, the tentacles of European capitalism continue to burrow the land, grasping and suffocating, homes and villages lost in the rubble. Studded with jewels, streaked with metal, the richest lands remain the most impoverished, haunted by imperial ghosts.

Tetrapods #1, Dongying, China, 2016, by Edward Burtynsky

Credit: © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Flowers Gallery, London / Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto

An aerial view of a burned tract of Amazon jungle as it was cleared by loggers and farmers near Porto Velho, Brazil, 29 August 2019, taken by Ricardo Moraes

Credit: REUTERS / Ricardo Moraes

Beached, 2017, by Leah Dyjak

Credit: Leah Dyjak

The Earth is not earth but a fine smothering concrete skin, fossilising the Anthropocene. The planet burns, seas bubble and overflow, waves snatch hungrily at boiling tarmac. At one edge, the land swirls and eddies; at another, the sea bed is bolstered and armed with lumpen concrete, tossed into the ocean to calm the furious waters. Not to protect human life but to defend fields of oil, to grease the colossal cogs of economy. Land is cleaved by the strong arms of capital; hot lines struck through jungle to clear room for human labour. Trees are worth more dead than alive, and the land they stand on worth even more. But the hands that light the flame and wield the saw are manipulated by forces swilling beyond the bounds of the forest, coursing through the ground like poisonous roots. Land is laid waste in its wake.  

Planting of the God TV Forest on the former land of the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, 9 October 2011, from Desert Bloom, part of The Erasure Trilogy by Fazal Sheikh

Credit: Fazal Sheikh

A section of Everest, 2019, a photographic collage by Sohei Nishino, measuring 263 by 150cm

Credit: Sohei Nishino

Napoli 1, 2019, from Sue Barr’s The Architecture of Transit series

Credit: Sue Barr / architectureoftransit.com

The layers of land rustle, like thin pages overlaid, pencil marks rubbed out, made again, hidden, torn out and replaced. The top sheet tears and reveals a second crust below, a tangle of road held high on long limbs. The land’s surface fragments and photographs jostle like stones, leaves of feeble fluorescent canvas an unlikely human triumph against the cold fury of the Earth’s highest peaks. Sometimes the lead of the pencil splinters under too much force, the sheets press together, friction grows hot. The Bedouin settlement of al-Araqib has been erased by Israeli authorities more than 160 times, calmly overwritten by stamped thumbprints, camouflaged beneath neat concentric seams of saplings.  

Yto Barrada’s Belvédère 2, Tangier – The Strait Project, 2001

Credit: Yto Barrada, courtesy Pace Gallery / Sfeir-Semler Gallery / Beirut / Galerie Polaris

From Dafna Talmor’s Constructed Landscapes series, 2018, collaged negatives of landscapes in Israel, Venezuela, the UK and USA

Credit: Dafna Talmor

Gordon Parks’ Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama, 1956, part of The Segregation Story series

Credit: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation

Lines are scored into earth, fracturing the land into shards. The hand which wields this scalpel belongs to an arm faraway, guided into the grooves of river beds and mountain valleys, along the fraying edge of oceans, swayed and disrupted by conflict, imperial ambition, colonial conquest. Two lands brush, almost touch; the liquid border between Morocco and Spain hardens and fortifies, the drawbridge to Europe cruelly drawn. Boundaries tighten and stick to skin, close in. Along the street, lines closely guarded, fenced or unseen, decide who walks and who does not. The wall unbuilt is as impenetrable as that built high and wide; they are each handmade.

AR October 2020

Since 1896, The Architectural Review has scoured the globe for architecture that challenges and inspires. Buildings old and new are chosen as prisms through which arguments and broader narratives are constructed. In their fearless storytelling, independent critical voices explore the forces that shape the homes, cities and places we inhabit.

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10 Architecture photographers to follow

Introduction:

Architecture photographers are visual storytellers who specialize in capturing the beauty, design, and essence of buildings and structures. They possess a keen eye for compositing, lighting, and spatial relationship, enabling them to showcase architectural designs in the most captivating and thought-provoking manner. These photographers go beyond simply documenting buildings: they strive to convey the emotions, narratives, and intentions behind the architectural creations. Through their lenses, they explore the interplay of light and shadow, the lines and curves that shape spaces, and the intricate details that make each structure unique. Architecture photographers work in diverse settings, from urban landscapes to remote locations, capturing a wide range of architectural styles, from historical landmarks to cutting-edge contemporary designs. They often collaborate with architects, designers, and publications to showcase their work, contributing to the appreciation and understanding of architecture as an art form.

1. Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman (1910-2009) was an iconic architectural photographer renowned for his influential work capturing mid-century modern architecture in southern California . His photographs have become synonymous with the glamorous lifestyle and architectural vision of the era. Shulman’s distinctive style combined the intentions behind each structure he photographed. Shulman’s images not only documented the building but also conveyed the emotions, functionality , and lifestyle associated with them. One of his most famous photographs, “Case Study House #22”, captures the iconic image of a woman in a glamorous dress overlooking the nighttime lights of Los Angeles, epitomizing the fusion of architecture, design, and modern living.

2. Iwan Baan:

Iwan Baan is a highly acclaimed Dutch architectural photographer known for his unique approach to capturing the interaction between architecture, people, and the urban environment . Baan’s photography often goes beyond traditional architectural documentation, focusing on the human experience within the built environment. His images skilfully convey the context, atmosphere, and social dynamics surrounding architectural structures. Baan is renowned for his ability to capture the vitality and energy of a place, often incorporating elements of daily life and the surrounding community in his compositions. His photographs often feature people inhabiting and engaging with architectural spaces, creating a narrative that goes beyond static representations. Through his lens, Baan showcases the symbiotic relationship between architecture and its users, providing a fresh and dynamic perspective.

3. Richard Silver:

Richard Silver is an accomplished architectural photographer known for his unique and captivating approach to capturing buildings and structures. His distinctive style involves creating vertical panoramic images that showcase architectural marvels from bottom to top, offering a fresh perspective and a sense of grandeur. Silver’s photographs often highlight the intricate details, symmetry, and geometric patterns found in architecture, while also emphasizing the scale and presence of the structures. His vertical panoramas provide a comprehensive view that captures the essence of a building, showcasing its design, form, and surrounding environment in a single captivating image. 

4. Andreas Gursky:

Andreas Gursky is a renowned photographer known for his large-scale, immersive, and meticulously detailed images that capture vast landscapes, urban environments, and contemporary scenes. His work explores the complex relationship between humans, technology, and the built environment , often depicting themes of globalization, consumerism, and the impact of mass culture. Gursky’s photographs are characterized by their incredible clarity, composition, and scale. He meticulously composes his images, often using elevated vantage points or digital manipulation to create a sense of expansiveness and depth. His use of rich color palettes and intricate patterns creates a visual rhythm that draws viewers into his images, encouraging contemplation and reflection.

5. Michael Wolf:

Michael Wolf (1954-2019) was a highly influential German photographer known for his captivating and thought-provoking images that explored urban life and architecture. His work often focused on the dense and vibrant urban landscapes of mega-cities, particularly in Asia, where he lived for many years. Wolf’s unique approach involved capturing the complexity and intricacy of cityscapes through meticulous attention to detail. He emphasized repetitive patterns, layers, and juxtapositions within the urban environment, creating visually arresting compositions that highlighted the effects of rapid urbanization and population density.

6. Hiroshi Sugimoto:

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a highly acclaimed Japanese photographer known for his captivating and minimalist approach to capturing the essence of architecture, landscapes, and cultural artifacts. His work often explores themes of time, history, and the interplay between reality and representation. Sugimoto’s signature series, “Seascapes”, features long-exposure photographs of serene seascapes where the horizon line seamlessly merges with the sky, creating a sense of timelessness and infinite vastness. 

7. Vincent Laforet:

Vincent Laforet is a highly acclaimed and award-winning photographer and filmmaker known for his exceptional aerial photography and storytelling skills. He gained widespread recognition for his ground-breaking series” AIR”, which captured mesmerizing cityscapes and landscapes from a unique perspective, showcasing the world from above. Laforet’s aerial photographs offer a bird’s-eye view that reveals the intricate patterns, textures, and symmetries of urban and natural environments. Through his lens, he captures the energy and beauty of cities, creating dynamic and visually striking compositions that leave a lasting impression on viewers.

8. Fernando Guerra:

Fernando Guerra is a highly acclaimed Portuguese architectural photographer recognized for his exceptional ability to capture the essence and beauty of contemporary architecture. With a keen eye for detail, composition, and light, Guerra’s photographs showcase architectural designs in a way that goes beyond mere documentation , revealing their spatial qualities, textures, and unique atmospheres. Guerra’s distinctive style combines precision and artistry, resulting in visually striking images that highlight the interplay of light and shadow, the geometry of structures, and the relationship between built forms and their surroundings.

9. Tim Griffith:

Tim Griffith is an accomplished architectural photographer renowned for his ability to capture the beauty, grandeur, and unique qualities of buildings and structures. With a keen eye for composition, light, and detail, Griffith’s photographs showcase architectural designs in a visually striking and captivating manner. Griffith’s work often focuses on the interplay of form, space, and light, revealing the intricacies and textures of architectural elements.

10. Paul Warchol:

Paul Warchol is an accomplished architectural photographer based in New York city. With over 30 years of experience, Warchol has established himself as a sought-after photographer known for his meticulous attention to detail and ability to capture the essence of architectural designs. Warchol’s photographs beautifully showcase the interplay of light, space, and form. His compositions are characterized by their clean lines, precise geometry, and careful consideration of architectural elements. Whether capturing sleek modern structures or historic buildings, Warchol’s images convey a sense of balance, harmony, and visual impact.

https://www.archdaily.com/photographer/paul-warchol

https://www.archdaily.com/photographer/tim-griffith

https://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/new-page-5

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/may/02/michael-wolf-obituary

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170817-how-the-dsseldorf-school-revolutionised-photography

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/richard-silver-global-time-slice

https://www.wescover.com/creator/richard-silver-photo

https://www.stirworld.com/think-columns-photographer-iwan-baan-on-capturing-life-of-different-places#gallery-1

He is a young and enthusiastic minded person, and keen to observe and learn new things in every given opportunity.He's interest in nature and architecture made him enter the landscape architecture field. He is open to learning new things and adapting new ways to produce a desired outcome.

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7 Tips for Snapping a Killer Architectural Photograph

The best architectural photographs can tell you more about a building or cityscape than any essay or lecture..

Feast your eyes on the world's most outstanding architectural photographs, videos, visualizations, drawing and models with the winners of Architizer's inaugural Vision Awards . Sign up to receive future program updates >  

The art of architectural photography is a passion not just for architects, but everyone with a desire to capture the environment around them in all its glory. This desire extends far beyond simply archiving a building’s physical features: we yearn to capture the mood, atmosphere and emotion of places and the people that inhabit them. This is what Architizer’s One Photo Challenge — our global annual competition dedicated to architectural photography — is all about.

With 2 top prizes of $2,500 and global recognition for your work, this is a competition you will want to get involved with. Head this way to learn more and upload your submission:

Enter the One Photo Challenge

Architizer’s popular architectural ideas competition poses a simple question: Can you capture a single photograph that tells a powerful story about architecture? The best architectural photographs can tell you more about a building or cityscape than any essay or lecture, informing and inspiring in equal measure.

But what does it take to achieve such lofty goals with your phone, a compact or even an SLR? I am no technical expert when it comes to the genre, but I have taken a few snaps in my time: 10,000 photographs over 9 months of traveling in 2012 drew me so deeply into this niche, I suspect I’ll never view the built environment the same way ever again!

Here’s what I learnt over the course of that extraordinary year, primarily relating to composition and shot selection. Hopefully, one or two of these tips will aid you in your own quest for photographic immortality…

1. Let There Be Light

Khan, Ando and Zumthor will tell you as much — light is the most crucial tool in an architect’s box, and the same can be said for photographers in the field. For exteriors, visit your subject in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky to capture images with a greater degree of contrast — assuming, of course, the weather is kind to you. I have been known to sit for an hour or more, waiting for the clouds to break so I can catch my favorite buildings at their glorious best. It pays to be patient!

Look for concentrated natural light sources within buildings too, for dramatic, high contrast shots full of atmosphere.

2. Color Me Stunning

Black turtleneck clichés abound, many architects would consider themselves somewhat allergic to color — there is nothing like a high-contrast monochromatic image to accentuate the striking forms and uncompromising lines of a modernist icon by Niemeyer or Corbusier.

However, it is possible — bear with me here — for a flash of color could provide a distinctive, eye-catching moment within your image, communicating architectural language by accentuating a window reveal, a soffit, or a key structural element. Try photographing the work of Richard Rogers, with his vibrant Pompidou ductwork, to kick-start your newfound love affair with color.

3. The Rule Of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is typically recognized as a safe bet when considering composition in photography: keep your primary subject or focal point off centre, a third of the way across the view, to creating additional tension, energy and interest within the image. For more distant shots, a composition should have balance and weight if the horizon sits a third of the way up the image.

Having said all this, if your subject lends itself to a centred composition, or a zoomed-in detail, go right ahead – rules are made to be broken!

4. Rhyme and Rhythm

A certain Johann Wolfgang once compared architecture to frozen music, and you can see his point: Some of the greatest works in our time have some wonderful rhythmic qualities . If you can find the right angle from which to take your photograph, these rhythms can be emphasized, revealing the logic behind the designer’s thinking and the structural qualities of the building in a single, stunning image.

Once you have those repeated elements within your viewfinder, align diagonal lines of perspective with the corners of the photograph to add depth and balance in equal measure.

5. Clean vs. Chaotic

A classic architectural cliché is illustrated in that most infamous of Tumblrs, ‘Unhappy Hipsters’: Clean-cut minimalism, free from even the slightest speck of dust, a children’s toy, or — heaven forbid — a smiling face. However, consider shooting buildings in all their ugly glory : Anarchic apartment blocks, traffic-filled streetscapes and rusting industrial monoliths can tell a story that your slick, set-piece image may never manage.

The same can be said for weather: Capturing your favorite architectural icon on a crisp, clear day is just fine, but what about shooting it during the chaos of a thunderstorm, or even a blizzard? Brave the elements and find out, hardy souls.

6. The Human Touch

Speaking of smiling faces, who needs ’em? I have spent many a long day waiting with growing frustration as people walk in front of the church or museum elevation I’m trying to catch a perfect, person-free image of. We are all about the architecture, not the portraiture… right?

Ok, I must grudgingly admit that sometimes people can add an awful lot to your photograph. From a practical point of view, they provide comparable scale — tiny people in front of gargantuan skyscrapers really throw the urban environment into sharp perspective. On top of this, they can also provide that vital injection of cultural and social context — after all, without their inhabitants, buildings are merely objects upon the plains.

© Scott Fillmer

7. All the Gear, No Idea

If you search around the internet for architectural photography guides, you will be swamped with a plethora of recommendations regarding equipment and specifications: wide-angle lenses, tripods, tilt-shift lenses, polarising filters, bellows for detail shots, long exposures for night scenes, varied apertures… the list goes on.

If you are just starting out, reading about all of this can be bewildering – but ultimately, the best way to learn is to get out there and experiment . You will soon learn how the gear works and which settings will give you the result you are looking for.

Right, I’m off to the dark room, excuse me…

Submit your best architectural photo in the inaugural One Photo Challenge for shot at $2,500 and global recognition:

Top Image: 56 Leonard Street by Herzog & de Meuron, photographed by One Photo Challenge juror Paul Clemence.

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• How to Write an Architecture Essay - Examples and Tips

• Crafting an Outstanding Architecture Essay Tips and Techniques

Imagine standing in front of a majestic Gothic cathedral, its spires reaching toward the heavens, or gazing at the sleek, gravity-defying lines of a modern skyscraper. Architecture surrounds us, shaping our world and influencing our lives in profound ways. The challenge, however, lies in translating the intricate beauty and complexity of architecture into a compelling essay. Welcome to our comprehensive guide on how to write an architecture essay . This post will offer you practical tips, insightful examples, and a clear roadmap to help you craft essays that truly stand out. Whether you're an experienced essay writer or a student just beginning, this guide is tailored to meet your needs and elevate your writing skills. Through this guide, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence needed to effectively communicate the fascinating elements of architecture in your essays.

What is an Architecture Essay?

An architecture essay is an academic paper that explores various aspects of architecture, such as design principles, historical developments, or theoretical frameworks. It requires a deep understanding of architectural concepts and the ability to communicate them effectively.

Architecture essays can take many forms, including analytical essays that dissect a particular architectural style, descriptive essays that vividly portray a building or space, critical essays that evaluate architectural theories, and comparative essays that draw parallels between different architectural movements.

In both academic and professional contexts, architecture essays play a crucial role. They help students develop critical thinking skills, enhance their understanding of architectural history and theory, and contribute to ongoing discussions within the field. For professionals, these essays can inform practice and influence contemporary architectural design.

Pre-writing Strategies

Brainstorming techniques.

Before you start writing, it's essential to generate ideas. Try mind mapping to visually organize your thoughts, freewriting to explore your initial impressions, or researching architectural styles and movements to find inspiration.

Developing a Thesis Statement

A strong thesis statement is the backbone of your essay. It should be specific, arguable, and relevant to your topic. For example, "The use of sustainable materials in modern architecture not only reduces environmental impact but also enhances aesthetic appeal."

Researching and Gathering Sources

Reliable sources are vital for supporting your arguments. Look for books, scholarly journals, reputable websites, and industry publications that provide credible and relevant information. Libraries and online databases like JSTOR and Google Scholar are excellent starting points.

Structuring Your Architecture Essay

Introduction.

Your introduction should capture the reader's attention and set the stage for your essay. Begin with an engaging opening statement or anecdote related to your topic. Follow this with background information and your thesis statement to outline the main points you will discuss.

Body Paragraphs

Organize your body paragraphs logically, each focusing on a single idea that supports your thesis. Start with a topic sentence, provide evidence and analysis, and conclude with a sentence that ties the paragraph back to your central argument. Use clear transitions to ensure coherence.

Examples and Case Studies

Consider this excerpt from an analytical essay on Gothic architecture:

"The ribbed vaults and flying buttresses of Notre-Dame de Paris not only exemplify the structural innovations of the Gothic era but also create a sense of upward movement, drawing the viewer's eye towards the heavens."

Analysis: This excerpt is effective because it combines specific architectural terminology with a vivid description, linking form and function in a way that enhances the reader's understanding.

Here's a sample from a descriptive essay on Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater:

"The cantilevered terraces of Fallingwater extend over the waterfall, merging the building with its natural surroundings. The use of locally quarried stone and natural light creates a harmonious balance between architecture and nature."

Analysis: The descriptive language and focus on sensory details make this excerpt engaging and informative, illustrating the unique features of the building.

From a comparative essay on modern and postmodern architecture:

"While modern architecture emphasizes minimalism and functionalism, postmodern architecture embraces eclecticism and ornamentation. This shift reflects broader cultural changes and challenges the notion of a universal architectural style."

Analysis: This comparison highlights key differences between the two movements and situates them within a broader cultural context, demonstrating critical thinking.

Citing Sources and Referencing

Citation styles.

Different disciplines use different citation styles. In architecture, MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style are commonly used. Be sure to follow the guidelines specific to your assignment or publication.

In-text Citations

Include in-text citations whenever you quote, paraphrase, or reference someone else's work. For example, in MLA style, you might write: "According to Smith, 'the use of light in architecture is crucial' (45)."

Reference List

Your reference list should appear at the end of your essay. Format it according to the citation style you are using, and include all sources cited in your text. Double-check for accuracy and completeness.

Tips for Writing Excellence

Style and tone.

Achieving excellence in writing begins with maintaining a formal, objective tone throughout your essay. This approach ensures that your writing remains professional and credible. Avoid colloquial language and personal opinions unless the assignment specifically requests them. Colloquial expressions can make your writing appear informal and diminish its impact. Instead, strive for clarity and precision in every sentence you construct. Use direct and concise language to convey your points effectively. Remember, the goal is to communicate your ideas clearly and professionally.

Vocabulary and Terminology

Using precise terminology is crucial for conveying your ideas accurately. This is particularly important in specialized fields such as architecture, where specific terms can significantly enhance the clarity of your writing. Instead of using vague or ambiguous language, opt for precise words that accurately describe your concepts. For instance, rather than saying "nice design," you could specify "innovative use of geometric forms." This level of detail not only strengthens your argument but also demonstrates your understanding of the subject matter.

Structure and Flow

A well-structured essay is easier to read and understand. Begin with a clear introduction that outlines the main points you will discuss. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea, with a topic sentence that introduces the point, followed by supporting sentences that elaborate on it. Use transition words and phrases to ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs. This helps guide the reader through your argument and makes your essay more cohesive.

Research and Citations

Thorough research is the backbone of a strong essay. Make sure to use credible sources and properly cite them to avoid plagiarism. Incorporate evidence from your research to support your arguments. This not only adds weight to your points but also shows that you have engaged with existing literature on the topic. Proper citation also allows your readers to verify your sources and further explore the subject.

Proofreading and Editing

Thorough proofreading and editing are essential for producing a polished essay. Start by checking for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inconsistencies. These small errors can distract readers and undermine the professionalism of your writing. Reading your essay aloud can help you identify awkward phrasing and improve the overall flow. Additionally, consider seeking feedback from peers or mentors. Fresh eyes can often catch errors you may have missed and provide valuable insights.

Visual Aids and Examples

Incorporating visual aids and examples can enhance the clarity and impact of your essay. Diagrams, charts, and images can help illustrate complex ideas and make your writing more engaging. However, ensure that any visual aids you include are relevant and add value to your content. Use them to complement your written text, not replace it.

Writing an architecture essay involves a blend of creativity, analytical thinking, and effective communication. By understanding the structure and purpose of these essays, employing pre-writing strategies, and paying attention to detail, you can craft essays that are both informative and engaging. Remember, the key to excellence lies in thorough research, precise language, and thoughtful organization.

By Liliana Alvarez

• Architecture Essay
• How to Write an Architecture Essay
• Crafting an Outstanding Architecture Essay Tips
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Analysis of Architecture in Photography Essay

Architecture in photography serves as a captivating intersection of art, culture, and history, offering viewers a unique lens through which to understand the built environment. This essay aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between architecture and photography, delving into how photographers capture and interpret architectural spaces, the impact of technological advancements on architectural photography, and the role of architectural photography in shaping perceptions of built environments.

Photography has long been intertwined with architecture, with early practitioners such as Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott capturing the essence of architectural marvels in their work. These photographers understood the importance of composition, lighting, and perspective in conveying the beauty and significance of architectural structures. Through their lens, viewers were transported to distant cities, historical landmarks, and innovative architectural designs, fostering an appreciation for the built environment.

One of the key strengths of architectural photography lies in its ability to document and preserve architectural heritage. Photographers like Julius Shulman immortalized iconic buildings such as the Fallingwater House by Frank Lloyd Wright, ensuring that future generations could experience these architectural masterpieces even if they were unable to visit them in person. In doing so, architectural photography serves as a visual archive, capturing the evolution of architectural styles and techniques over time.

Furthermore, architectural photography plays a pivotal role in architectural discourse and critique. Photographers like Andreas Gursky and Candida Höfer employ a meticulous approach to capture architectural spaces, highlighting elements of symmetry, scale, and spatial relationships. Their work prompts viewers to contemplate the social, cultural, and political dimensions of architecture, challenging conventional perceptions of space and place.

Technological advancements have revolutionized the practice of architectural photography, enabling photographers to experiment with new techniques and perspectives. The advent of digital photography and image editing software has democratized the medium, allowing aspiring photographers to manipulate light, color, and composition with ease. Additionally, advancements in drone technology have expanded the possibilities of architectural photography, offering aerial views and unique vantage points that were previously inaccessible.

Despite these advancements, the essence of architectural photography remains rooted in capturing the essence of architectural spaces. Whether through black-and-white film photography or high-resolution digital imagery, photographers continue to strive for authenticity and integrity in their representation of architecture. In doing so, they provide viewers with a deeper understanding of the relationship between form and function, tradition and innovation, past and present.

In conclusion, architectural photography serves as a powerful means of exploring, documenting, and interpreting the built environment. From its origins in the early days of photography to its contemporary manifestations in the digital age, architectural photography continues to captivate audiences with its ability to evoke emotion, provoke thought, and inspire appreciation for the beauty and complexity of architecture. As technological advancements and artistic trends continue to shape the practice of architectural photography, it is imperative that we recognize and celebrate its role in shaping our perceptions of the world around us.

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Comparative Essay On Traditional Architecture Vs. Modern Architecture

Difference Between Traditional Architecture And Modern Architecture Architecture is an art form that has evolved throughout history, reflecting the culture, values, and technological advancements of a particular era. Traditional architecture and modern architecture are two distinct styles that showcase different approaches to design, materials, and construction techniques. In this essay, we will explore the key differences between traditional architecture and modern architecture. One of the main differences between traditional architecture and modern architecture is the design philosophy. Traditional architecture is often inspired by local customs, history, and cultural traditions. It incorporates elements that have stood the test of time and have been passed down through generations. On the other hand, modern architecture embraces innovation, minimalism, and functionality. It focuses on clean lines, open spaces, and the use of new materials and technologies. In terms of construction techniques, traditional architecture relies on craftsmanship and manual labor. Skilled artisans and craftsmen bring intricate details and ornate embellishments to life. Traditional buildings often feature hand-carved decorations, intricate masonry, and traditional building materials like stone, wood, and clay. In contrast, modern architecture utilizes industrialization and mass production techniques. It emphasizes efficiency and speed of construction. Modern buildings are often made of steel, glass, and concrete, with a focus on simplicity and geometric shapes. Traditional architecture is deeply rooted in cultural identity and heritage. It reflects the values, beliefs, and social structure of a particular community or region. Traditional buildings often blend harmoniously with the surrounding environment, using natural materials that are locally sourced. They showcase a sense of continuity and respect for the past. In contrast, modern architecture is more universal and globalized. It transcends cultural boundaries and embraces a more cosmopolitan aesthetic. Modern buildings often stand out in their surroundings, with bold designs that make a statement. Another significant difference between traditional and modern architecture is the use of technology. Traditional architecture relies on age-old techniques and craftsmanship, passed down through generations. It often lacks the technological advancements that modern architecture benefits from. Modern buildings incorporate advanced engineering, structural systems, and sustainable technologies. They are designed to be energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and adaptable to changing needs. In conclusion, traditional architecture and modern architecture represent two distinct approaches to design, construction, and cultural expression. Traditional architecture emphasizes heritage, craftsmanship, and cultural identity, while modern architecture embraces innovation, functionality, and efficiency. Both styles have their unique merits and contribute to the rich tapestry of architectural history. By understanding the differences between traditional and modern architecture, we can appreciate the diverse range of styles that shape our built environment....

Photography In Paul Strand's Essay Photography The New God

Photography In Paul Strand's Essay "Photography: The Art of Seeing" Photography is a captivating art form that has the power to capture moments and emotions like no other medium. In Paul Strand's essay "Photography: The Art of Seeing," he explores the essence of photography and its ability to reveal the world in a unique and profound way. Strand begins his essay by emphasizing the importance of truly seeing and observing the world around us. He believes that photography is not just about pointing a camera and capturing an image, but rather about understanding the essence of the subject and conveying it through the photograph. This requires a deep connection with the surroundings and an ability to perceive the beauty and significance in even the simplest of things. One of the key aspects of Strand's approach to photography is his emphasis on capturing the essence of a subject. He believes that a successful photograph goes beyond mere documentation and instead reveals the true nature and character of the subject. Whether it is a landscape, a portrait, or a still life, each photograph should tell a story and evoke emotions in the viewer. It is this ability to convey meaning and evoke emotions that sets photography apart as an art form. Furthermore, Strand highlights the importance of composition in photography. He argues that the arrangement of elements within the frame is crucial in creating a visually pleasing and impactful photograph. By carefully considering the placement of objects, the use of light and shadow, and the overall balance of the image, the photographer can create a composition that draws the viewer's attention and guides their gaze. In addition to composition, Strand also emphasizes the significance of light in photography. He believes that light is the essence of photography and plays a pivotal role in determining the mood and atmosphere of a photograph. Whether it is the soft, golden light of a sunrise or the harsh, dramatic shadows of midday, the photographer must understand and harness the power of light to create compelling photographs. In conclusion, Paul Strand's essay "Photography: The Art of Seeing" delves into the intricacies of photography as an art form. Through his exploration of seeing, capturing the essence of a subject, composition, and the role of light, Strand provides valuable insights into what makes a photograph truly impactful. By applying these principles, photographers can elevate their craft and create images that not only document the world but also reveal its beauty and significance. Photography is indeed an art of seeing, and it is through this art that we can capture and share the essence of the world around us....

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Essay on Analysis of Hume’s Critique of Causation

Analysis of Hume's Critique of Causation David Hume, an influential Scottish philosopher of the 18th century, made significant contributions to epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. Among his most renowned works is his critique of causation, a concept central to our understanding of the world. Hume's analysis challenges traditional notions of causation, raising profound questions about the nature of our knowledge and the foundations of science. Hume's critique begins with a fundamental distinction between two types of reasoning: matters of fact and relations of ideas. According to Hume, relations of ideas are truths that are necessarily true, such as mathematical or logical propositions. Matters of fact, on the other hand, are contingent truths derived from experience. Causation, Hume argues, belongs to the latter category – it is not a necessary truth but rather a product of our observations and inferences. Central to Hume's critique is his skepticism about the concept of necessary connection. Traditional accounts of causation posit that there is an inherent connection between cause and effect, such that the occurrence of the cause necessitates the occurrence of the effect. However, Hume challenges this notion, arguing that our belief in necessary connection is based not on reason but on custom and habit. We observe one event regularly following another and infer a causal relationship, but there is no logical necessity underlying this inference. Hume further dissects the idea of causation by examining our impressions of causality. He identifies two types of impressions: those of the senses and those of reflection. While sensory impressions provide us with vivid perceptions of objects and their qualities, impressions of reflection involve our internal mental states and operations. Causation, Hume argues, is not directly perceivable but rather a product of our reflective impressions – we infer causation based on our experiences and observations. Critics of Hume's analysis often point to its radical implications for science and everyday reasoning. If causation is not grounded in necessary connection, they argue, then the foundations of scientific inquiry are called into question. However, proponents of Hume's critique suggest that it leads to a more humble and cautious approach to knowledge. Rather than assuming a priori the existence of necessary connections, we should acknowledge the limitations of our understanding and recognize that causation is a concept constructed by the human mind to make sense of our experiences. In conclusion, Hume's critique of causation offers a profound challenge to traditional notions of causal necessity. By questioning the foundations of our beliefs about cause and effect, Hume invites us to reevaluate the nature of our knowledge and the methods of scientific inquiry. While his analysis may unsettle some, it also prompts a deeper reflection on the nature of causation and its role in our understanding of the world....

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Essay on Critique Analysis of Crafting Strategy

Crafting strategy is a fundamental aspect of organizational management, encompassing the processes involved in formulating and implementing strategies to achieve organizational goals. While crafting strategy is essential for long-term success, it is not without its limitations and criticisms. This essay will analyze some of the critiques leveled against the traditional approach to crafting strategy and discuss potential areas for improvement. One common critique of traditional strategic planning processes is their rigidity and inflexibility in dynamic environments. Traditional strategies often rely on extensive planning and forecasting, which may become obsolete in rapidly changing markets or unpredictable circumstances. The emphasis on detailed plans and long-term projections can hinder organizations' ability to adapt quickly to emerging opportunities or threats. In today's volatile and uncertain business landscape, organizations need to adopt more agile and flexible approaches to strategy crafting that allow for rapid adjustments in response to changing conditions. Furthermore, traditional strategic planning processes tend to be top-down and hierarchical, with decision-making concentrated among senior executives. This centralized approach may overlook valuable insights and perspectives from frontline employees who have a more nuanced understanding of customer needs and market trends. Excessive reliance on top-down decision-making can stifle innovation and creativity within organizations, as ideas and feedback from lower levels of the hierarchy may not be adequately considered. To address this critique, organizations should adopt more inclusive and participatory approaches to strategy crafting, involving employees at all levels in the strategic planning process and encouraging collaboration and cross-functional communication. Another criticism of traditional strategic planning is its focus on analysis and prediction at the expense of experimentation and learning. Traditional strategies often prioritize exploiting existing competencies and resources over exploring new opportunities and capabilities. This exploitation-oriented mindset can lead to complacency and a reluctance to take risks or pursue innovative ventures. To foster a culture of innovation and adaptability, organizations should embrace a more exploratory approach to strategy crafting, encouraging experimentation, learning from failures, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. In conclusion, while traditional approaches to crafting strategy have their merits, they are not without their limitations and criticisms. To remain competitive in today's dynamic business environment, organizations must be willing to challenge conventional wisdom and adopt more agile, inclusive, and experimental approaches to strategy crafting. By embracing flexibility, inclusivity, and a culture of innovation, organizations can navigate uncertainty more effectively and position themselves for long-term success....

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Jenny from Forrest Gump Personality Trait Analysis Essay

Jenny from Forrest Gump: Personality Trait Analysis Jenny Curran, portrayed by Robin Wright in the iconic film "Forrest Gump," is a character whose complexity and depth have intrigued audiences for decades. Throughout the film, Jenny exhibits a wide range of personality traits shaped by her tumultuous upbringing and life experiences. By delving into her character, one can unravel the intricate layers that define Jenny's persona. Firstly, Jenny is characterized by her resilience in the face of adversity. Growing up in a troubled home environment marked by abuse and neglect, she learns to adapt and survive. Despite facing numerous challenges, including poverty and emotional trauma, Jenny displays remarkable strength in navigating her circumstances. Her resilience is evident in her ability to persevere through hardship and emerge as a survivor, refusing to be defined by her past. Moreover, Jenny possesses a rebellious and free-spirited nature that sets her apart from societal norms. Throughout the film, she rebels against conventional expectations and embraces a lifestyle marked by spontaneity and independence. From her involvement in countercultural movements to her pursuit of artistic endeavors, Jenny's rebellious spirit is a defining aspect of her personality. It is this nonconformist attitude that allows her to break free from the constraints of her upbringing and forge her own path in life. Additionally, Jenny grapples with inner turmoil and self-destructive tendencies stemming from her troubled past. Despite her outwardly confident demeanor, she harbors deep-seated insecurities and struggles with feelings of unworthiness. Throughout the film, Jenny grapples with issues such as low self-esteem and a sense of aimlessness, seeking solace in fleeting moments of escape. Her internal conflict serves as a poignant reminder of the lasting impact of childhood trauma and the complexities of the human psyche. In conclusion, Jenny from "Forrest Gump" is a multifaceted character whose personality is shaped by a combination of resilience, rebellion, and inner turmoil. Her journey serves as a compelling exploration of the human experience, highlighting the strength and vulnerability that coexist within us all. Through her struggles and triumphs, Jenny reminds us of the power of resilience in overcoming adversity and the importance of embracing our true selves, flaws and all....

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Analysis Of The Poem ' Ozymandias ' By Percy Shelley Essay

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Essay on Rylands v Fletcher Case Analysis

In the legal landscape of tort law, the case of Rylands v Fletcher holds a significant position, particularly in establishing the principle of strict liability for harm caused by escaping substances or things from one's land to another. This landmark case, decided by the English Court of Exchequer Chamber in 1868, has served as a cornerstone for understanding liability in situations where one party undertakes hazardous activities on their land, leading to damage or injury to another party. The case originated from the construction of a reservoir on Fletcher's land by an independent contractor employed by him. Due to the contractor's negligence, water flooded an adjacent mine owned by Rylands, resulting in significant damages. Rylands sued Fletcher, alleging that the flooding was a consequence of Fletcher's non-natural use of his land, for which he should be held liable. The court, in its judgment, ruled in favor of Rylands, establishing the doctrine that a person who brings or accumulates on their land anything likely to cause mischief if it escapes is liable for any resulting damage. What sets Rylands v Fletcher apart from other tort cases is its departure from the traditional fault-based liability, introducing the concept of strict liability. Unlike negligence, where the focus is on the defendant's conduct, strict liability holds the defendant responsible regardless of fault if certain conditions are met. In Rylands v Fletcher, the crucial condition is the escape of a substance or thing from the defendant's land, leading to damage to the plaintiff's property. This strict liability principle has since been applied in various jurisdictions and has had a lasting impact on tort law. Furthermore, Rylands v Fletcher has prompted debates and discussions on the scope and limitations of strict liability. Courts have grappled with defining what constitutes a non-natural use of land and determining the extent of liability in complex scenarios. Over time, judicial interpretations and legislative interventions have shaped the application of the Rylands v Fletcher doctrine, balancing the interests of plaintiffs seeking compensation and defendants engaged in lawful activities on their land. In conclusion, Rylands v Fletcher stands as a seminal case in tort law, establishing the principle of strict liability for harm caused by escaping substances or things from one's land. Its legacy continues to influence legal doctrines and shape the resolution of disputes arising from land-related activities. As courts navigate evolving challenges in a dynamic legal landscape, the principles elucidated in Rylands v Fletcher provide a foundational framework for addressing issues of liability and accountability....

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Website Analysis Essay

In today's digital age, websites play a crucial role in shaping the online presence and success of businesses, organizations, and individuals alike. A well-designed website serves as a virtual storefront, providing visitors with valuable information, engaging content, and seamless navigation. Analyzing websites allows us to understand their effectiveness in achieving their intended goals, whether it's to inform, sell products, or connect with an audience. First and foremost, the design of a website significantly impacts its overall effectiveness. A visually appealing layout with intuitive navigation enhances the user experience, encouraging visitors to explore further. Elements such as color schemes, typography, and imagery contribute to the website's aesthetic appeal and reinforce its brand identity. Additionally, responsive design ensures that the website is accessible and functional across various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Furthermore, content plays a vital role in capturing and retaining the attention of website visitors. Compelling and relevant content not only informs but also engages and motivates users to take desired actions, whether it's making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting the business. High-quality written content, accompanied by multimedia elements such as videos, infographics, and interactive features, enriches the user experience and communicates information effectively. Moreover, the performance of a website is crucial for ensuring optimal user experience and achieving business objectives. Factors such as page load speed, uptime, and security influence how visitors perceive and interact with the website. A slow or unreliable website can frustrate users and lead to high bounce rates, negatively impacting conversions and overall success. Therefore, regular performance monitoring and optimization are essential to maintain a seamless and efficient online presence. In conclusion, analyzing websites allows us to evaluate their design, content, and performance to ensure they effectively meet their objectives. A well-designed website with engaging content and optimal performance enhances user experience, fosters brand credibility, and drives desired outcomes. By continuously monitoring and optimizing websites, businesses and individuals can stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape and effectively connect with their target audience....

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Exploring the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod: Prototype for medieval shrines

Novgorod the Great (Veliky Novgorod). Cathedral of St. Sophia, south view. March 14, 1980

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian chemist and photographer Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky developed a complex process for vivid, detailed color photography.

His vision of photography as a form of education and enlightenment was demonstrated with special clarity through his photographs of medieval architecture in historic settlements northeast of Moscow such as Vladimir, which he visited in the Summer of 1911. 

Vladimir. Dormition Cathedral, northeast view. Right: Regional Administrative Building (1785-90). Summer 1911

Dormition Cathedral 

Among his several views of the town are two photographs of the monumental limestone Dormition Cathedral . Completed in 1158 by Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky (?-1174), the Dormition Cathedral was rebuilt in a larger and more complex form during the reign of his half-brother, Vsevolod III (1154-1212). The impetus for the expansion stemmed from a fire in 1185 that destroyed much of Vladimir and severely damaged this central cathedral. 

Veliky Novgorod. Fortress (detinets), view across Volkhov River. From left: Bell Gable, St. Sophia Cathedral, St. Nicetas Wing, Vladimir Tower. May 19, 1995

In reconstructing the Dormition Cathedral in 1185-1190, Vsevolod's builders dismantled the attached galleries, but retained the smooth limestone walls of the original structure as the core of the rebuilt cathedral, encased on three sides with new aisles. The cathedral was crowned by four secondary domes placed diagonally to the main dome.  

The resulting grand structure conformed to an elongated plan with a large central dome typical of major shrines in Novgorod, such as the Cathedral of St. Sophia, built almost 150 years earlier. Although constructed of different materials, the two cathedrals show important similarities in adapting Byzantine traditions to the territory of early medieval Rus’ (as the lands of the Eastern Slavs were collectively called).   

‘Novgorod the Great’ & Christianity         

Cathedral of St. Sophia, southeast view. Main apse with south gallery (left) & apse of Chapel of Nativity of Virgin, to the right of which is the 16th-century Chapel of Sts. Joachim & Anna. May 27, 1998

Officially referred to since 1999 with its medieval designation ‘Novgorod the Great’ (‘Veliky Novgorod’), this northwestern Russian city near Lake Ilmen is a magnificent repository of medieval Russian art, with more than fifty churches and monasteries extending from the 11th to the 17th centuries. In 1992, this wealth of historic monuments – centered on the Novgorod Kremlin or ‘detinets’ – was honored by inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage list.             

Medieval chronicles first mention Novgorod between 860 and 862, when the eastern Slavs summoned Varangian leader Rurik to assume control of their affairs.  Although the Rurikovich rulers transferred power to Kiev at the end of the 9th century, Novgorod continued to exercise control over a vast area of northern Rus’.            

Cathedral of St. Sophia, east facade. Apse with detail of original plinthos brickwork beneath stucco. March 27, 1991

In 989, following the official acceptance of Christianity in the domains of Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev, Novgorod was visited by Vladimir's ecclesiastical emissary, Bishop Joachim of Kherson. The bishop overturned pagan idols into the Volkhov River and commissioned the first stone church, dedicated to Sts. Joachim and Anna, as well as the wooden Church of St. Sophia, with thirteen "tops" (domes).            

Turbulent times 

The political history of Novgorod was far from calm, for the city not only frequently challenged its leaders, including Rurik, but also participated in the princely feuds that wracked the Kievan state. Nevertheless, Novgorod prospered during the 11th and 12th centuries, as part of the Dnieper trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea. With its mercantile wealth, the city had the means to create a citadel and an imposing architectural ensemble of churches. 

Cathedral of St. Sophia, northeast view with north gallery & apse of Chapel of St. John the Divine. March 14, 1980

The Volkhov River, which separated the city into the ‘Trading Side’ and the ‘Sophia Side’ (after the Cathedral of St. Sophia), provided an essential link for trade and exploration within a network of waterways that led in every direction. The extent of this commercial activity produced literate citizens independent of Kiev and its representative in Novgorod (usually, the brother or son of the grand prince in Kiev).         

Cathedral of St. Sophia   

The oldest surviving and most imposing monument in the city is the Cathedral of St. Sophia (Divine Wisdom), built between 1045 and 1050 and located in Novgorod's ‘detinets’ or kremlin on the west bank of the Volkhov River. The cathedral was commissioned by Vladimir Yaroslavich, the prince of Novgorod, as well as by his father, Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise and by Archbishop Luke of Novgorod.            

Cathedral of St. Sophia. West facade, center bay with fresco of Old Testament Trinity. March 14, 1980

It is fitting that Yaroslav, whose own Sophia Cathedral in Kiev was entering its final construction phase at this time, should have played a role in the creation of the Novgorod’s St. Sophia.  Novgorod had been the base of his power during the reign of his father, Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev.            

Cathedral of St. Sophia. West facade, center bay with Sigtuna Door. November 18, 1979

With the building of large masonry cathedrals dedicated to the Divine Wisdom in both Kiev and Novgorod, Yaroslav rendered homage to one of the most sacred mysteries of the Orthodox Church and established a symbolic link between the two major cities of his realm and Constantinople. 

Brick & mortar upgrade            

In addition, Yaroslav's participation would have been essential from a practical point of view. Masonry construction was rare in Novgorod before the middle of the 11th century and a cathedral of such size and complexity could only have been constructed under the supervision of experienced builders.           

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. Central crossing under main dome. May 19, 1990

They applied a method of placing blocks of local rough gray limestone within a mortar of crushed brick and lime that imparted a pink hue to the coarsely textured façades. Narrow plinthite (an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other minerals) brick was used for the interior arches and vaulting, as well as for other segments that required structural precision. Stucco was first applied only in the interior, which was then covered with frescoes painted by local and foreign masters from Greece and the Balkans.            

On the exterior, the cathedral walls presented a highly textured appearance, even after cladding with mortar to reduce the unevenness of the surface. The earliest reference to the application of whitewash to the walls appears in the Novgorod chronicle in the year 1151.            

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. View east from choir gallery toward icon screen & central apse. March 27, 1991

The Novgorod cathedral included enclosed galleries attached to the north, west and south facades. Originally intended to be only one story, the galleries evolved during the building of the Novgorod cathedral into an integral part of the structure on both levels. The north and south galleries contain chapels on the ground level, while the west gallery includes a round stair tower that leads to the upper gallery levels, including the choir gallery in the main structure.            

The facade above the west portal displays fragments of a medieval fresco depicting the Old Testament Trinity. The portal itself contains the bronze Magdeburg or Sigtuna doors, produced in Magdeburg in the 1050s and taken as loot from the Varangian fortress of Sigtuna by Novgorod raiders in 1117.            

Pièce de résistance 

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. North wall of southeast gallery with 19th-century wall paintings & 12th-century frescoes of Sts. Constatine & Helen (right). March 27, 1991

The culminating point of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral is its ensemble of cupolas, whose original form would have had a lower pitch than the helmet-shaped domes now in place. The dome over the central crossing predominates in height and diameter, yet the four subsidiary domes are so closely placed, as to appear part of one perfectly devised whole. the structure itself provides a visual base for the domes, with its lack of surface decoration and sharply etched roof line of pointed and arched gables (‘zakomary’).            

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. West wall of southeast gallery with 19th-century wall paintings & excavation showing original level of main floor. March 27, 1991

The cathedral was flanked with enclosed galleries attached to the north, west and south facades. Originally intended to be only one story, the galleries evolved into an integral part of the structure on both levels. The north and south galleries contain chapels on the ground level, while the west gallery has a stair tower that leads to the upper galleries. The emphasis on height is maintained in the interior where the piers of the main aisles soar directly to the barrel ceiling vaults.  

Fresco period

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. Central apse with decorative masaic panels (late 11th-century with 19th-century restoration). March 27, 1991

Novgorod chronicles indicate that the interior was painted with frescoes over a period of several decades.

Cathedral of St. Sophia, interior. Central apse with 19th-century wall paintings. March 27, 1991

According to the Third Novgorod chronicle, soon after the completion of construction "icon painters from Tsargrad (Constantinople)" painted Christ with his hand raised in blessing (probably an image of the Pantocrator in the central dome) and other representations of the Savior. Fragments of the 11th-century work – including full-length paintings of Emperor Constantine and his mother Elena – have been uncovered, as well as early 12th-century frescoes.            

Cathedral bell gable (zvonnitsa). March 14, 1980

Most of the original painting of the interior has vanished under centuries of renovations (The current frescoes date primarily from the 19th century).

Evfimiev Clock Tower, east view. May 20, 1990

The Novgorod cathedral lacked the elaborate mosaics characteristic of major churches in Kiev before the mid-12th century, yet there was decorative mosaic work on the floor and in the altar space.      

Surrounding architecture      

Facated Chambers with 19th-century exterior. May 29, 1992

The St. Sophia Cathedral is surrounded by an array of historic monuments that include the massive Cathedral Bell Gable (15th-18th centuries), the Clock Tower (now dated to the 1670s) and the Archbishop's Chambers – also known as the Faceted Chambers, originally built in the 1430s and substantially rebuilt in the 19th century.

Novgorod citadel (detinets), Vladimir Tower. March 13, 1980

The fortress walls and towers have been maintained and restored to a 15th-century appearance, although some of the towers date to the late 13th century.             

Novgorod citadel (detinets), Feodor Tower. March 13, 1980

Facing the St. Sophia Cathedral to the south is the gargantuan bell monument known as the ‘Millennium of Russia’. Designed by the sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin and others, the monument was unveiled in 1862 to honor the millennium of the founding of dynastic authority among the ancient Rus.            

Novgorod citadel (detinets), Monument to Millennisum of Rus. May 29, 1992

At the top of the monument is a massive bronze globe surmounted by an angel holding a cross. Around the sphere are six statuary groups signifying defining moments in the history of Russian statehood, from Rurik, founder of the first dynasty, to Peter the Great, founder of the Russian Empire.

Monument to Millennisum of Rus. From left: Novgorodian overturning statue of pagan god Perun, Prince Rurik, Prince Dmitry Donskoy with subdued Tatar. May 29, 1992

At the bottom of the bell are scenes with exemplary figures from spiritual, cultural, state and military service.             

Monument to Millennisum of Rus. From left: Ivan Betsky, Cathedrine the Great, Alexander Bezborodko, Grigory Potemkin, Viktor Kochubey, Alexander I, Mikhail Speransky, Mikhail Vorontsov, Nicholas I. June 4, 1993

In the early 20th century, Russian photographer Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky developed a complex process for color photography. Between 1903 and 1916, he traveled through the Russian Empire and took over 2,000 photographs with the process, which involved three exposures on a glass plate. In August 1918, he left Russia and ultimately resettled in France where he was reunited with a large part of his collection of glass negatives, as well as 13 albums of contact prints. After his death in Paris in 1944, his heirs sold the collection to the Library of Congress. In the early 21st century, the Library digitized the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection and made it freely available to the global public. A few Russian websites now have versions of the collection. In 1986, architectural historian and photographer William Brumfield organized the first exhibit of Prokudin-Gorsky photographs at the Library of Congress. Over a period of work in Russia beginning in 1970, Brumfield has photographed most of the sites visited by Prokudin-Gorsky. This series of articles juxtaposes Prokudin-Gorsky’s views of architectural monuments with photographs taken by Brumfield decades later.

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How to Create an Engaging Photo Essay (with Examples)

Photo essays tell a story in pictures. They're a great way to improve at photography and story-telling skills at once. Learn how to do create a great one.

Learn | Photography Guides | By Ana Mireles

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Photography is a medium used to tell stories – sometimes they are told in one picture, sometimes you need a whole series. Those series can be photo essays.

If you’ve never done a photo essay before, or you’re simply struggling to find your next project, this article will be of help. I’ll be showing you what a photo essay is and how to go about doing one.

You’ll also find plenty of photo essay ideas and some famous photo essay examples from recent times that will serve you as inspiration.

If you’re ready to get started, let’s jump right in!

Table of Contents

What is a Photo Essay?

A photo essay is a series of images that share an overarching theme as well as a visual and technical coherence to tell a story. Some people refer to a photo essay as a photo series or a photo story – this often happens in photography competitions.

Photographic history is full of famous photo essays. Think about The Great Depression by Dorothea Lange, Like Brother Like Sister by Wolfgang Tillmans, Gandhi’s funeral by Henri Cartier Bresson, amongst others.

What are the types of photo essay?

Despite popular belief, the type of photo essay doesn’t depend on the type of photography that you do – in other words, journalism, documentary, fine art, or any other photographic genre is not a type of photo essay.

Instead, there are two main types of photo essays: narrative and thematic .

As you have probably already guessed, the thematic one presents images pulled together by a topic – for example, global warming. The images can be about animals and nature as well as natural disasters devastating cities. They can happen all over the world or in the same location, and they can be captured in different moments in time – there’s a lot of flexibility.

A narrative photo essa y, on the other hand, tells the story of a character (human or not), portraying a place or an event. For example, a narrative photo essay on coffee would document the process from the planting and harvesting – to the roasting and grinding until it reaches your morning cup.

What are some of the key elements of a photo essay?

• Tell a unique story – A unique story doesn’t mean that you have to photograph something that nobody has done before – that would be almost impossible! It means that you should consider what you’re bringing to the table on a particular topic.
• Put yourself into the work – One of the best ways to make a compelling photo essay is by adding your point of view, which can only be done with your life experiences and the way you see the world.
• Add depth to the concept – The best photo essays are the ones that go past the obvious and dig deeper in the story, going behind the scenes, or examining a day in the life of the subject matter – that’s what pulls in the spectator.
• Nail the technique – Even if the concept and the story are the most important part of a photo essay, it won’t have the same success if it’s poorly executed.
• Build a structure – A photo essay is about telling a thought-provoking story – so, think about it in a narrative way. Which images are going to introduce the topic? Which ones represent a climax? How is it going to end – how do you want the viewer to feel after seeing your photo series?
• Make strong choices – If you really want to convey an emotion and a unique point of view, you’re going to need to make some hard decisions. Which light are you using? Which lens? How many images will there be in the series? etc., and most importantly for a great photo essay is the why behind those choices.

9 Tips for Creating a Photo Essay

Credit: Laura James

1. Choose something you know

To make a good photo essay, you don’t need to travel to an exotic location or document a civil war – I mean, it’s great if you can, but you can start close to home.

Depending on the type of photography you do and the topic you’re looking for in your photographic essay, you can photograph a local event or visit an abandoned building outside your town.

It will be much easier for you to find a unique perspective and tell a better story if you’re already familiar with the subject. Also, consider that you might have to return a few times to the same location to get all the photos you need.

2. Follow your passion

Most photo essays take dedication and passion. If you choose a subject that might be easy, but you’re not really into it – the results won’t be as exciting. Taking photos will always be easier and more fun if you’re covering something you’re passionate about.

3. Take your time

A great photo essay is not done in a few hours. You need to put in the time to research it, conceptualizing it, editing, etc. That’s why I previously recommended following your passion because it takes a lot of dedication, and if you’re not passionate about it – it’s difficult to push through.

4. Write a summary or statement

Photo essays are always accompanied by some text. You can do this in the form of an introduction, write captions for each photo or write it as a conclusion. That’s up to you and how you want to present the work.

5. Learn from the masters

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Making a photographic essay takes a lot of practice and knowledge. A great way to become a better photographer and improve your storytelling skills is by studying the work of others. You can go to art shows, review books and magazines and look at the winners in photo contests – most of the time, there’s a category for photo series.

6. Get a wide variety of photos

Think about a story – a literary one. It usually tells you where the story is happening, who is the main character, and it gives you a few details to make you engage with it, right?

The same thing happens with a visual story in a photo essay – you can do some wide-angle shots to establish the scenes and some close-ups to show the details. Make a shot list to ensure you cover all the different angles.

Some of your pictures should guide the viewer in, while others are more climatic and regard the experience they are taking out of your photos.

7. Follow a consistent look

Both in style and aesthetics, all the images in your series need to be coherent. You can achieve this in different ways, from the choice of lighting, the mood, the post-processing, etc.

8. Be self-critical

Once you have all the photos, make sure you edit them with a good dose of self-criticism. Not all the pictures that you took belong in the photo essay. Choose only the best ones and make sure they tell the full story.

9. Ask for constructive feedback

Often, when we’re working on a photo essay project for a long time, everything makes perfect sense in our heads. However, someone outside the project might not be getting the idea. It’s important that you get honest and constructive criticism to improve your photography.

How to Create a Photo Essay in 5 Steps

Credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh

1. Choose your topic

This is the first step that you need to take to decide if your photo essay is going to be narrative or thematic. Then, choose what is it going to be about?

Ideally, it should be something that you’re interested in, that you have something to say about it, and it can connect with other people.

2. Research your topic

To tell a good story about something, you need to be familiar with that something. This is especially true when you want to go deeper and make a compelling photo essay. Day in the life photo essays are a popular choice, since often, these can be performed with friends and family, whom you already should know well.

3. Plan your photoshoot

Depending on what you’re photographing, this step can be very different from one project to the next. For a fine art project, you might need to find a location, props, models, a shot list, etc., while a documentary photo essay is about planning the best time to do the photos, what gear to bring with you, finding a local guide, etc.

Every photo essay will need different planning, so before taking pictures, put in the required time to get things right.

4. Experiment

It’s one thing to plan your photo shoot and having a shot list that you have to get, or else the photo essay won’t be complete. It’s another thing to miss out on some amazing photo opportunities that you couldn’t foresee.

So, be prepared but also stay open-minded and experiment with different settings, different perspectives, etc.

5. Make a final selection

Editing your work can be one of the hardest parts of doing a photo essay. Sometimes we can be overly critical, and others, we get attached to bad photos because we put a lot of effort into them or we had a great time doing them.

Try to be as objective as possible, don’t be afraid to ask for opinions and make various revisions before settling down on a final cut.

7 Photo Essay Topics, Ideas & Examples

Credit: Michelle Leman

• Architectural photo essay

Using architecture as your main subject, there are tons of photo essay ideas that you can do. For some inspiration, you can check out the work of Francisco Marin – who was trained as an architect and then turned to photography to “explore a different way to perceive things”.

You can also lookup Luisa Lambri. Amongst her series, you’ll find many photo essay examples in which architecture is the subject she uses to explore the relationship between photography and space.

• Process and transformation photo essay

This is one of the best photo essay topics for beginners because the story tells itself. Pick something that has a beginning and an end, for example, pregnancy, the metamorphosis of a butterfly, the life-cycle of a plant, etc.

Keep in mind that these topics are linear and give you an easy way into the narrative flow – however, it might be difficult to find an interesting perspective and a unique point of view.

• A day in the life of ‘X’ photo essay

There are tons of interesting photo essay ideas in this category – you can follow around a celebrity, a worker, your child, etc. You don’t even have to do it about a human subject – think about doing a photo essay about a day in the life of a racing horse, for example – find something that’s interesting for you.

• Time passing by photo essay

It can be a natural site or a landmark photo essay – whatever is close to you will work best as you’ll need to come back multiple times to capture time passing by. For example, how this place changes throughout the seasons or maybe even over the years.

A fun option if you live with family is to document a birthday party each year, seeing how the subject changes over time. This can be combined with a transformation essay or sorts, documenting the changes in interpersonal relationships over time.

• Travel photo essay

Do you want to make the jump from tourist snapshots into a travel photo essay? Research the place you’re going to be travelling to. Then, choose a topic.

If you’re having trouble with how to do this, check out any travel magazine – National Geographic, for example. They won’t do a generic article about Texas – they do an article about the beach life on the Texas Gulf Coast and another one about the diverse flavors of Texas.

The more specific you get, the deeper you can go with the story.

• Socio-political issues photo essay

This is one of the most popular photo essay examples – it falls under the category of photojournalism or documental photography. They are usually thematic, although it’s also possible to do a narrative one.

Depending on your topic of interest, you can choose topics that involve nature – for example, document the effects of global warming. Another idea is to photograph protests or make an education photo essay.

It doesn’t have to be a big global issue; you can choose something specific to your community – are there too many stray dogs? Make a photo essay about a local animal shelter. The topics are endless.

• Behind the scenes photo essay

A behind-the-scenes always make for a good photo story – people are curious to know what happens and how everything comes together before a show.

Depending on your own interests, this can be a photo essay about a fashion show, a theatre play, a concert, and so on. You’ll probably need to get some permissions, though, not only to shoot but also to showcase or publish those images.

4 Best Photo Essays in Recent times

Now that you know all the techniques about it, it might be helpful to look at some photo essay examples to see how you can put the concept into practice. Here are some famous photo essays from recent times to give you some inspiration.

Habibi by Antonio Faccilongo

This photo essay wan the World Press Photo Story of the Year in 2021. Faccilongo explores a very big conflict from a very specific and intimate point of view – how the Israeli-Palestinian war affects the families.

He chose to use a square format because it allows him to give order to things and eliminate unnecessary elements in his pictures.

With this long-term photo essay, he wanted to highlight the sense of absence and melancholy women and families feel towards their husbands away at war.

The project then became a book edited by Sarah Leen and the graphics of Ramon Pez.

Picture This: New Orleans by Mary Ellen Mark

The last assignment before her passing, Mary Ellen Mark travelled to New Orleans to register the city after a decade after Hurricane Katrina.

The images of the project “bring to life the rebirth and resilience of the people at the heart of this tale”, – says CNNMoney, commissioner of the work.

Each survivor of the hurricane has a story, and Mary Ellen Mark was there to record it. Some of them have heartbreaking stories about everything they had to leave behind.

Others have a story of hope – like Sam and Ben, two eight-year-olds born from frozen embryos kept in a hospital that lost power supply during the hurricane, yet they managed to survive.

Selfie by Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is an American photographer whose work is mainly done through self-portraits. With them, she explores the concept of identity, gender stereotypes, as well as visual and cultural codes.

One of her latest photo essays was a collaboration with W Magazine entitled Selfie. In it, the author explores the concept of planned candid photos (‘plandid’).

The work was made for Instagram, as the platform is well known for the conflict between the ‘real self’ and the one people present online. Sherman started using Facetune, Perfect365 and YouCam to alter her appearance on selfies – in Photoshop, you can modify everything, but these apps were designed specifically to “make things prettier”- she says, and that’s what she wants to explore in this photo essay.

Tokyo Compression by Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf has an interest in the broad-gauge topic Life in Cities. From there, many photo essays have been derived – amongst them – Tokyo Compression .

He was horrified by the way people in Tokyo are forced to move to the suburbs because of the high prices of the city. Therefore, they are required to make long commutes facing 1,5 hours of train to start their 8+ hour workday followed by another 1,5 hours to get back home.

To portray this way of life, he photographed the people inside the train pressed against the windows looking exhausted, angry or simply absent due to this way of life.

You can visit his website to see other photo essays that revolve around the topic of life in megacities.

Final Words

It’s not easy to make photo essays, so don’t expect to be great at it right from your first project.

Start off small by choosing a specific subject that’s interesting to you –  that will come from an honest place, and it will be a great practice for some bigger projects along the line.

Whether you like to shoot still life or you’re a travel photographer, I hope these photo essay tips and photo essay examples can help you get started and grow in your photography.

Let us know which topics you are working on right now – we’ll love to hear from you!

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Ana Mireles is a Mexican researcher that specializes in photography and communications for the arts and culture sector.

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Essay on Photography

Students are often asked to write an essay on Photography in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Photography

What is photography.

Photography is the art of capturing pictures using a camera. A camera is like a box that keeps a moment from running away. When you take a photo, you save a memory that you can see later.

Types of Photography

There are many kinds of photography. Some people take photos of nature, like mountains and rivers. Others click pictures of cities or people. Some even capture stars at night. Each type tells a different story.

The Importance of Photography

Photos are important because they help us remember past times. They show us how things were and how they have changed. Photos can make us feel happy or sad by reminding us of different moments.

Learning Photography

Anyone can learn photography. You start by learning how to use a camera. Then you practice taking photos. Over time, you get better at making your pictures look nice. It’s fun to learn and can become a hobby or a job.

250 Words Essay on Photography

Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera to create a picture. This can be done using a digital camera or even a phone today. In the past, people used film cameras that had to be developed in a dark room.

The Magic of Cameras

A camera is a tool that takes in light through a lens and saves the image. In old cameras, light hit a film to create a photo. Now, digital cameras use electronic sensors to record the image. The sensors work like our eyes, catching light and colors.

There are many kinds of photography. Some people take pictures of nature, like forests and animals. Others like to take photos of cities and buildings. There are also photographers who take pictures of people and capture their emotions and moments.

To be good at photography, you need to learn how to use a camera well. You also need to understand light and how it affects your photos. Practice is important. The more you take pictures, the better you get at it.

Sharing Photos

After taking pictures, people often share them with others. They might put them on the internet, in a photo album, or hang them on a wall. Sharing photos lets others see the world through your eyes.

500 Words Essay on Photography

Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera to create an image. This can be done using a digital camera that stores pictures electronically or an old-fashioned film camera that records them on film. When you take a photo, you freeze a moment in time, which you can look back on later.

The History of Photography

The story of photography began hundreds of years ago with simple cameras called pinhole cameras. Over time, inventors created better cameras and ways to make pictures clearer and more colorful. In the past, taking a photo was not easy; it took a long time for the picture to be ready. But now, thanks to modern technology, we can take pictures instantly with digital cameras and even our phones.

How Photography Works

A camera works a bit like our eyes. When we look at something, light enters our eyes and helps us see. Similarly, when you take a picture, light comes into the camera through a hole called the lens. Inside the camera, the light hits a part that is sensitive to light, either film or a digital sensor, and creates an image.

Photography is important for many reasons. It helps us remember special moments like birthdays or holidays. It also lets us see places we’ve never been to and learn about different people and animals. Newspapers and websites use photos to show us what is happening in the world. Photography can even be a way for people to express their feelings and tell stories without using words.

The Fun of Photography

Photography can be a lot of fun. It lets you be creative and can even turn into a hobby or a job. You can take pictures of your friends, pets, or trips you go on. With photography, you can explore new places and meet new people. The best part is, you can start at any age and keep learning and enjoying it your whole life.

In conclusion, photography is a powerful form of art that lets us capture memories, explore the world, and share stories. It’s a skill that anyone can learn and enjoy. Whether you’re taking a picture of a beautiful sunset or snapping a photo of your best friend laughing, photography helps us save those special moments forever.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Happy studying!

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• Tourist Attractions
• Tourist Attractions in Russia
• Novgorod Oblast Tourist Attractions

Veliky Novgorod

The whole city of Veliky Novgorod is a big museum; there are many well-preserved monuments dating back to the 11th century and later centuries.

Veliky Novgorod attractions

Novgorod kremlin, trade side and yaroslav’s courtyard, st. george's monastery, vitoslavlitsy museum of wooden architecture.

Request a private tour, tailor-made for individuals and small groups to meet your needs and preferences.

Discover historical attractions of Veliky Novgorod

• Private trip from St. Petersburg
• Visit Novgorod Kremlin and the Cathedral of St. Sophia
• Explore Yaroslav’s Court with its medieval churches
• Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel

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World Heritage Site

For world heritage travellers.

The Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings are a veritable 'conservatory' of Russian architecture of the Middle Ages and later periods (11th-19th centuries).

(Veliky) Novgorod was an important center on the trade route between the Baltics and Central Asia and a former capital of the Novgorod Republic that covered northern Russia. It developed into one of the major centres of Russian culture, which exerted national influence on stone architecture and painting.

Community Perspective : Novgorod can be visited on a day trip from Sint Petersburg. Recommended is to walk around the Kremlin walls to be able to appreciate the different towers and to view the frescoes at the Church of Transfiguration.

Map of Novgorod

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Michael Novins

United States - 03-Oct-18 -

In September 2018, I took an early morning train for the three-hour trip from Saint Petersburg to Veliky Novgorod, founded in 859 and traditionally considered the cradle of Russian statehood. Veliky Novgorod is now recognized for dozens of medieval monuments, including monasteries, churches and Kremlin, all added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1992. But the memory of the bear sausage I ate at lunch at  Dom Berga  will linger longer than that of Russia’s foundational religious buildings.

Japan / USA / Europe - 02-Jan-18 -

After recently visiting Chernigov in Ukraine, I’ve had an urge to write about my admiration for this related city of Veliky Novgorod in Russia. I have visited this city twice, in summer 2005 and winter 2009. I like this city more than any cities in the Golden Ring of Moscow simply because it seems to be historically more important and there seem to be more variety of attractions here.

I can’t remember how I got there from St. Petersburg, except that one of the two times I got on a bus from the main bus station in St. Petersburg, which was somewhat far from any of the train stations in St. Petersburg.

Veliky Novgorod is the oldest city in Russia. The so-called first capital of Russia was created by the Vikings (as the theory goes) in 9th century before the creation of Kievan Rus. The Millennium of Russia monument was erected in 1862 to celebrate one millennium anniversary of the Russian statehood.

It seemed that Novgorod had the greatest density of churches of all the places I have ever visited.

The most important church of them all in Novgorod is the St. Sophia Cathedral in the Kremlin, the oldest church in Russia, with the mysterious icon called “Our Lady of the Sign” as the centerpiece, often considered to be the National Icon of Russia! (although one might counter this claim by bringing up the Trinity by Andrei Rublev, stored at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.)

Another church, which is noticeably singled out in the UNESCO’s reasoning for the inscription, is the Church of Transfiguration (Photo), with the frescos painted by Theophanes the Greek, whose relation (as the mentor) to Andrei Rublev was well-documented in the Russian cinematic giant Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece “Andrei Rublev” (1966).

This church was actually one of the reasons I went back to Novgorod in 2009. In 2005 I was there on a Monday when the Church was closed.

Another reason I visited Novgorod again was because I was actually heading further south from Novgorod to Staraya Russa, a village most famous for the summer house (now a museum) of Fyodor Dostoyevsky and as the main setting for his Brothers Karamazov. To think about it, this village is a great choice for a missing nomination!

3.00 Malta - 14-Sep-17 -

I visited this WHS as a day trip from St Petersburg in September 2017. The old city of Veliky Novgorod lies some 200km away from St Petersburg and is quite easily reachable by train, bus or car.

Since I wanted to visit early before the very few Russian tourists and since I found a good chauffeur service offer, I opted for the latter and arrived at around 9am. The Kremlin opens at 6am but all the buildings are accessible as of 10am, apart from the main church where a lovely Sunday mass was being celebrated. There's just a small billboard stating Novgorod's inscription on the WH list but no plaque.

After a short stroll around the buildings within the Kremlin, I headed towards the bridge which crosses the Volkhov River and which leads to Yaroslav's court and marketplace. The panoramic view from the bridge is breathtaking on a sunny day with the red Kremlin wall and the church onion-domes (photo). There are a number of pretty old churches with different Russian architectural styles opposite the Kremlin and some have very old frescoes still visible. The cathedral of St Nicholas is worthy of mention for its colourful fragments of frescoes from the 12th century.

If you're not in a hurry I recommend walking around the Kremlin walls to be able to appreciate the different towers. In the afternoon, I also visited the Yuryev (St George) monastery and the colourful interior of the Cathedral of St George.

All in all I really enjoyed my visit here and I would rank it on the same level as Sergiev Posad as a WHS.

Frederik Dawson

3.00 Netherlands - 20-Feb-12 -

Novgorod or it full official name, Veliky Novgorod which means the Great Novgorod, is an oldest city in Russia and the ancient political center of early Russian state, is well located in the middle of popular tourist route of Moscow and St. Petersburg. To reach Novgorod, I took a night train from Moscow. The train was arrived in early morning; the whole town of Novgorod was still sleeping when I reached the city center. After few directions confusing, I finally saw the large red wall complex of the ancient Novgorod Kremlin. The towers along the wall were fascinating with fairytales-like turret and in a very good condition. Inside the wall, there was a large square with big monument named 'The Millennium of Russia' the monument was full of details of important historical event of this country.

Apart from the monument, there were church and palace complexes inside the Kremlin, but all of them were closed during my visit. Nothing to do I just walked around the complex, I found a group of bells in front of one church was quite astonishing with their large size, and wondered why they were here on the ground. Then I walked around the Kremlin wall, admittedly that I really enjoyed the wall more than the Kremlin inside, the color of the wall and its proportion was just right and really photogenic. Then I went to see the riverside, there was a large monastery on the other side of the river. Before I decided to cross the river, there was a sudden really heavy snow, so I had to walk back to Kremlin to find shelter. After seeing Kremlin covered in thick snow, my friend and I decided that we should went back to the train station as the weather was bad to linger on in Novgorod. A local recommended us to use the bus instead of the train, so we went to bus station and took a next bus to St. Petersburg. It was only 3 hours I spent in Novgorod; it was a very quick visit and full of obstacles, but quite enjoyable trip.

However Novgorod Kremlin cannot be compared with Moscow Kremlin in any sense, the complex exterior was quite simple and plain with no extravaganza decoration similar to Moscow. Also Novgorod Kremlin was lack of charm or atmosphere compared with other plain Kremlin in Rostov or Pskov. The historical value of Novgorod was the reason to visit the place, but if you are not a Russian history enthusiast or World Heritage Site seeker, there are other better places to see beautiful Russia than Novgorod.

Larry Perkins

USA - 04-Dec-09 -

My wife and I went on a day trip from St. Petersburg to Novgorod. Getting there was eventful because of the stern scrutiny we got from the immigration officials on leaving the cruise ship and a lack of public restroom facilities. Our tour guide finally begged the owner of a small restaurant to let us use their outhouse. Once in Novgorod we were able to walk around the old market area and churches where the old open air market stood. Much of the area was damaged in World War II and the churches are still ruins. We walked over the Volkhov River bridge to the walled fortress/kremlin which is wonderfully restored. Ancient St Sophia cathedral was a fascinating church, one of the oldest in Russia. There is a very somber commemorative section of the kremlin park for the millions who lost their lives in World War II. We enjoyed lunch at a restuarant in one of the old fortress towers and shopped in the street market just outside the main gate. Getting rubles was tricky, since there were no foreign tourist facilities we could see. People were friendly, and we enjoyed our day there. We also drove out to Yuriev Monastery and visited the cultural historic park nearby where we saw 15 or 20 wooden buildings which have been moved to the site. People dressed in traditional costumes demonstrated traditional crafts and visited with Russian tourists, though none of them spoke English, except to say hello. The wooden church tower bells rang out as we were leaving. This was our only chance to see Russia outside large cities. We would definitely recommend a visit to Veliky (Great) Novgorod.

Christer Sundberg

Sweden - 26-May-06 -

Buying a train ticket in Russia is an adventure in itself…. have I found the right counter? Will they understand English? Will they rip me off? Will the ticket be correct? But with some assistance from the locals and a smile - which must be something added after the Soviet Union collapsed - I eventually got my ticket to Novgorod the Great, 200 km south of St.Petersburg, and hoped on the fully booked train for some three-and-a-half hour travel through the marchlands on tracks that certainly seen their best days.

Tourists do end up in Novgorod, but usually just for a short visit on a day trip between Russia’s main attractions Moscow and St.Petersburg. But there is still much to see in this historic town and Russia’s first capital. Walking outside and inside the old Kremlin is certainly not the same experience as in Moscow but with combined visits to the impressing Yurev Monastery and the Museum of Wooden Houses outside the city, and maybe a slow stroll along the river Volkov, Novgorod the Great still has a charm of it’s own and one can just imagine how life would have been here over 1000 years ago when it was founded.

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• 3.0 : Frederik Dawson Ivan Rucek Martina Rúčková Szucs Tamas Wojciech Fedoruk Clyde Stanimir Yuri Samozvanov Alexander Lehmann Squiffy Ludvan Ammon Watkins Hanming
• 2.5 : Solivagant Yevhen Ivanovych Ssong.x
• 2.0 : Nan Adrian Turtschi Valentinaui

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Site history, 1992 inscribed, 1991 deferred, unesco website, official website.

Veliky Novgorod

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