A New Way to Photograph Architecture

Entrance Area

Heritage High School, Catoosa County, Georgia

Canon 5D, Canon 24mm f2.8 TS-E Perspective Control lens

 

Blog Note: This series of posts is adapted from my article Architectural Photography the Digital Way, which appeared in  Rangefinder Magazine in 2010.

Things rocked along for a few years, with weddings becoming a larger part of my business. By 2007, though, weddings were not doing so well. The wedding photojournalism niche in my local market, which I had pretty much to myself for years, began to be invaded by a few others and there was a great increase in the overall number of photographers pursuing weddings and driving prices down. At the same time, I became increasingly concerned about the ability of my 70-year-old body to handle the physical demands of wedding photography. (I need not have worried -- I photographed my most recent wedding at the age of 83.)

Public Library, Chattanooga, Tennessee 

Canon 5D, Canon 24mm f2.8 TS-E Perspective Control lens 

 

But I felt I needed to find a new specialty in which I would be dealing with professional clients who knew, and were willing to pay for, the difference between semi-pro and high-level professional work.

The stage was set for a phone call, in March, 2007, from an art director with whom I had worked for many years. Commissioned to design an ad for a contractor who built commercial buildings, she felt the photography provided by the client was not up to her standards. I photographed seven buildings, both exteriors and interiors, with a Canon 5D and a Canon 17-35 f2.8L lens. It was a revelation to be able to photograph exteriors with nothing but a light camera body, a medium-weight tripod, and a few lenses. I realized very quickly that I was onto something.

Siskin Rehabilitation Center, Chattanooga

Canon 5D, Canon 17-35mm f2.8L lens

 

Digital files print exceedingly well at high magnifications, well enough to satisfy just about any client, whether architect or magazine. Personally, I quit worrying about enlarging digital files when I found that a file from my original, six-megapixel 10D would make a 16x20 print indistinguishable from one made from a fine-grain film negative shot with my Pentax 6x7.

Working digitally with a small camera made it easy to move around and shoot a greater variety of angles. The smaller format also meant greater depth of field at every aperture, which, coupled with the stellar performance of the 5D at ISOs such as 400 and 800 meant higher shutter speeds could be used. This factor, combined with the small size of the 5D body, meant less likelihood of camera shake or wind-induced camera movement. To be continued.

Photographs and text copyright 2021, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo

For the glory of God alone

 

Tags: Dave Jenkins, architectural photography, Canon 5D Classic camera, 

Canon EF 17-35 f2.8L lens, Pentax 6x7 camera,