The PHOTOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE on ARCHITECTURE By Martin Oddershede Page 1 of 9 Table of Contents The First Sign of Architecture in a Photographical Matter .............................................................. 3 Early Photographers Dedicated to Architecture ........................................................................... 3 Architectural Photography Movements ........................................................................................... 5 Ezra Stoller ....................................................................................................................................... 6 The Impact on Todays Architecture................................................................................................. 8 Bibliography..................................................................................................................................... 9 Page 2 of 9 The First Sign of Architecture in a Photographical Matter Architectural photography is an instrument to appreciate and understand the work and thinking behind a designing, structural and geometrical piece of art. The history behind photography has a great impact on our modern architecture, and the relationship between those things is close. Nicéphore Niépce is a very important person within photography and especially architectural photography. He is mostly known as the inventor of photography although Lois Daguerre was the creator of the daguerreotype process, the first available photographic process. Niépce made the first known permanent photography of a real scene through his invention of heliography, using the lithographical technique. His associate at that time, Daguerre, followed him through his pioneering work, and after Niépce’s death Daguerre continued his work and created the daguerreotype. “View from the Window at Le Gras” is the first photograph ever created and is developed by Nicéphore Niépce around 1826. It shows parts of buildings from his neighborhood and nature in the background in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. This photograph was not only the first permanent photograph, it was also the first architectural photographical image. From that on, it was revolutionary inventions and developing of new ”View from the Window at Le Gras” by Nicéphore Niépce, methods and techniques that made the future for 1826-1827 architectural photographs and in general all photographers. Around the 1860’s architecture and buildings began as being an establishment for photographers, especially because it was well-suited for the photographical techniques at that time, which required long time exposure. Early Photographers Dedicated to Architecture In the beginning of the 20th century architectural photography changed. Up until then, it wasn’t a recognized, ambitious way of taking photographs as it was taking portrait photographs. One of the first photographers dedicated to capture unique architecture was the Englishman Frederick H. Evans. Evans was born in London in 1853 and began his career within photography in 1898. He is known for his stylized and complex photographs of buildings and particularly cathedrals in England and France. Evans’ believed that lightning meant everything. Before taking the shot, he often studied the Page 3 of 9 different light in the cathedrals for weeks to capture the right moment. His pure technique and devotion in finding the right light, culminated in one of his most famous photographs named “A Sea of Steps”. He wanted to create spiritually and visually beautiful pictures without any altering or retouching, and where lights and shadows plays wonderfully together in a static way. The ”A Sea of Steps” by Frederick H. Evans, 1903 mountain of steps in this photograph curves in an amazing way with the aesthetic light, capturing our eyes. The smaller steps leading up to enlightening door, gives relations with God. Especially when surrounded by the ecclesiastical elements. Eugène Atget was a Frenchman born in 1857. As Evans, Atget also was one of the first men that focused his photographical talent on the architecture. He presented the architecture of the urban environment and the streets of Paris through his 18x24 cm plate photographs. Atget’s main goal was to perpetuate the essence of the old beauty of Paris before the urbanization took over. The historical context of his original work within street photography is important to recognize. He inspired many photographers and is today admired as a forerunner of the modern type of architectural photography. One photographer must be mentioned when writing about Eugène Atget. Berenice Abbott. She is the reason Atget’s work is appreciated ”Church of St. Gervais, Paris” by Eugène Atget, today. Abbott was a close friend to Atget during his last 1903 years. She was fascinated of his architectural photographical work of Paris, which is one of her greatest motivations making her extraordinary work “Changing New York”, a collection of the Page 4 of 9 transformation of New York City throughout The Great Depression and the modernization of “The Big Apple”. Even though Atget still photographed long into the modern photography movement came, he avoided this influent impression and held on to his own style although the polished steel and modern photographers were about to overtake the city. He is an example of a real artist. Atget did it because he was driven and believed that architecture and photography was a way of storing time and history, no matter what his fellow colleagues said. Architectural Photography Movements There are three main fields or movements within the theme of photographical architecture; urban photography, modern photography and fine art photography. These three different kinds of photography in history have all the architectural element in common. Urban photography is a movement that is connected to the term “street photography”, although it is not the same. It seeks to capture the environment, cityscapes, objects and not just people and humanitarian feelings. Eugène Atget, as mentioned above, is a character that represents urban photography by his everyday scenes of the streets of Paris. Urbanization has been over us in many years, and more than half of the world lives in urban areas or cities. Urban photography is not like other photographical movements where you want to ‘capture the moment’. In general, architectural photography is not about capturing the moment, but more showing and commenting the world. All in all, urban photography is everything that is urban. It can be a critical way of displaying the world and it can be a beautiful way. It can be a way of making urban research, discovering cultures and architectural differences. In the beginning of the 20th century, a new trend and movement was introduced. Modern photography had a huge impact on architecture, and on modern architects. In fact, many architects employed modern photographers to document their works. During the modern movement, many architectural magazines were created which shaped a platform and promotion for architecture. Common aspects of the early modern period were that photographers started modifying their photographs, inspired by the pictorialism period. They began to use filters, techniques and processes so they were able to create their own scenery of fog, mist, rain, etc. As a counteraction to pictorialism, straight photography began to bloom in the beginning of 1920’s. The values of straight photography are the reality of the image which means no manipulation and sharp focus. The camera became a Page 5 of 9 transmitter of the reality, and the period of modern photography was the foundation of photojournalism, which is widely used and known today. In contrast to the representative stands of photojournalism, fine art photography was created as an expression of artists ideas of an image. The artist uses the camera to create art instead of capturing what we see. With fine art photography it became possible to make static pictures become motional and dynamic. Michael Wesely is a fine art photographer that uses an ultra-long- time exposure technique to put his ”The Museum of Modern Art, NYC (series of 4)” by Michael Weseley, impression on his work. 2004 Precisionism was one of the first pictorial movements towards architecture. The precisionism was an American art movement made by artists and was a contribution to the beginning of the modernism. The movement was mainly within America and centralized their landmarks, industries, machinery, geometries and architecture. Precisionistic photographers, such as Charles Sheeler, were the first commercial photographers photographing ‘architecture’ as structures and industrial plants. It was during the industrialization when photographers and painters generated the movement, thereafter peaked around the 1930’s and had inspired many new urban movements that rapidly enhanced the architectural understanding. Ezra Stoller The American architectural photographer Ezra Stoller is one of the most influential photographers in modern history. His career has brought many modern buildings recognition and iconic prizes because of his uniquely way of capturing the modern architecture. Stoller was an architect student and during his education his interest of photographing sculptures and buildings begun. After his graduation, he got associated with Paul Strand, from where he further developed his photographical skills. Many defines his images as the mid-century modernism. Page 6 of 9 ”Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright” by Ezra ”John Hancock Building, Skidmore”