Apartments & Interiors

I love doing architecture and interiors because it is a completely different process to photographing people; each can perhaps act like therapy for the other if you are feeling a little burnt out or jaded.

These pictures were for a friend who wanted to rent his apartment on an exclusive site, I was flying out to Hong Kong the next day but found a couple of hours to do the shots. I was basically left alone to get on with it which is perfect as the therapy of this type of photography is that people are not the subject!

I find I can get into a special zone and the time flies by, just mounting your camera on a tripod makes for a much more considered working method, where you really become acutely ware of every detail and the changing light.

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Ana Lombard, Enlace Estudio

Ana Lombard runs an alternative health studio called Enlace.

I went there on a rainy day somewhat preoccupied with certain things and also trying to sort out a long trip to Buenos Aires.

She knew I was in an odd frame of mind and had a lovely calming manner, which soon put me at my ease and the job was pretty painless in the end.

The place was, perhaps a little more limited than the others in terms of interesting angles, but she, with her glorious smile is my favourite shot. There was someone there getting a massage who was happy to let me get some shots as well and these I rather like too, I used a warming gel on the flash to counteract the rather gloomy light, it was as much for my benefit as the pictures!

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An Evening in Gatwick

I was flying to Tobago for a wedding (I was best man). The way things transpired I ended up having to stay overnight, having flown in from Barcelona.

The groom (Andy) suggested trying the Yotel situated in the South Terminal, it is one of those Japanese style ‘pod’ hotels that you can rent by the hour.

I booked a room, but found I had a few hours to kill before I could check in, so, with nothing better to do, I strolled around Gatwick hopping on the train back and forth between terminals, well, the truth is I had hoped to ensconce myself in a bar, grab some food and try to write a best man speech,whilst polishing of the best part of a bottle of Italian wine, but they closed up shop at 9pm and I found myself adrift in this place.

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L’Adresse, Hair Salon

This was my third shoot for the proposed article on people who have businesses set up in their own Apts or have converted a private residence to such an end.

Damian’s place is of the latter kind, a lovely building in the L’Example barrio of Barcelona. He has a rather select and prestigious clientele, one who, whilst I was taking pictures, definitely did not want to appear in the photos.

Damian is French and before arriving here had lived many years in New York, it’s funny but when I meet people like this, who, like me, absolutely love that city, you feel their wistfulness, and ambivalence about leaving.

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5º 1º, Hair Salon

This was my second shoot about people who have their business’s in either their homes or private apartments.

I had heard about Joan’s place a year or 2 before when a friend had shot a video there for a fashion TV slot and when Olga, who is now writing the story, mentioned another  cool place where she had her hair cut recently the seed of an idea was planted in my mind. I then remembered my friend who trained people from his apt and realised we had 3 good stories which could qualify as an article.

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Daniel Benites, Personal Trainer

I have known Dany for quite a few months. We both go to the same boxing training class, run by Andrea Wheatley, who I got to know after photographing her for a magazine, that is another story you can read here, just click on the link.

Anyway, Dany is a really nice guy and he is another Argentine! I knew through our chats he was a personal trainer and had some kind of set-up in his apt. When I started thinking about a story of people who, not only work from home, but have people go there, I realised he was a possibility.

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Ogilvy, NYC

I was lucky, through my friendship with Yeesan, to get access to the Ogilvy building in Hell’s Kitchen, an old chocolate factory near the river.

Yeesan worked on the refurbishment, she works for Gensler. Her contact there (Cynthia) was great and very helpful, though, I suspect she thought I might be slightly mad when I suggested doing some roof shots (it was around  -7º with a fierce wind; she may have been right).

I am very interested in photographing architecture and that, of course, is as much about interiors as it is exteriors; It is an interesting discipline, I have learnt a lot about what is acceptable, for examples I have a few shops here that use acute angles and shot looking down which might not work with in the stricter world of architectural photography.

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El Prat, Terminal 1

I was flying to New York.

You cannot help but feel exited by such a journey, it is true for me that nowadays most flights are pedestrian affairs, not really much to get excited about, but being in this sparkling new airport at dawn flying to NYC is something special.

Though I do think someone should point out to them that the name is perhaps not the best one they could have come up with; I can just hear the snickers of the Brits ringing around that cavernous space.

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Airport Architecture

I love photographing modern architecture and whenever I am in an airport I often find plenty of inspiration, they are invariably modern, spacious and well lit.

Of course it is not always that easy these days to take photos, the usual idiotic response from officialdom is that when they see a ‘pro’ type DSLR you can bet taking pictures will be risky, this it is of course daft because most compacts and camera phones are more than capable of capturing good images; most of these were shot using a compact Lumix that happens to have a wide angle lens and gives good results.

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The Forum, Take 2

This trip to The Forum was with Naomi whom I am was teaching some photographic techniques to, we had done various theory classes and also shooting portraits with flash etc.

I knew she had a certain reticence towards the idea of photographing modern architecture and I had persisted in suggesting it was an interesting thing to do. In the end she, I believe, pushed to go to The Forum, maybe because I had taken my photography group there the year before with good results.

I think it is a great place to do find images,  initially I was not so enthusiastic, thinking I had already been there and had it covered. Then I realised this was effectively a class so maybe what I wanted was not paramount!

So we headed off on a nice day and whilst pointing things out also got some pictures for myself. More images and the rest of this story »