ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY WALKING TOUR PAISLEY SEPTEMBER 8TH 2018 TOM MANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY, 8th September 2018
REFERENCES / INSPIRATION
1. Andreas Gursky Paris Montparnasse 1993 2. Thomas Struth Clinton Road London 1977 3. Joel Sternfield Walking The High Line 2000
In an environment over saturated with images all competing for our attention, dominated by media and advertising, and journalism, the challenge for photographers to make work that stands out has never been greater. This is an exciting time to be doing photography. There are lots of platforms to showcase work, and the whole industry is changing quickly. However timeless principles remain.
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KEY CONCEPTS UNDERSTANDING HOW TO WORK WITH AND CONTROL DIFFERENT VARIABLES THAT COME TOGETHER IN MAKING A GOOD PICTURE LIGHTING AND WEATHER Architecture comes alive in good light. Good quality light is essential to photograph and capture the three dimensional quality of architecture. Everyday Architecture such as stone tenements are transformed by light into magical surfaces that reflect and radiate light. CAMERA SETTINGS, EXPOSURE, FOCUS, WHITE BALANCE. Taking time to manually adjust exposure is key to getting good results and understanding the balance between shadows and highlight areas. PRACTICAL RESTRICTIONS ON SITE, ACCESS AND TIMING OF ACTIVITY AROUND A BUILDING, COMPOSITION AND USE OF COLOUR Taking the time to look around. To look slowly at the built environment and start to notice details, compositions, materials, and colours that work together photographically.Breaking down an image into more abstract or fragmented details where colour, texture and lighting form the image, HOW TO WORK WITH CONTEXT AROUND A BUILDING AND CREATE A SENSE OF PLACE & STORY OR COMMUNICATE MORE THAN JUST DOCUMENTING A BUILDING. By bringing people into an image add life to images and capture use of buildings.
ROUTE THE ROUTE WILL TAKE IN LANDMARK BUILDINGS IN CENTRAL PAISLEY AS WELL AS STREETSCAPES AND MORE EVERYDAY ARCHITECTURE IN BETWEEN KEY LOCATIONS. AT EACH LOCATION I WILL DISCUSS KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER IN PHOTOGRAPHING BUILDINGS AND BE ON HAND TO ADVISE AND HELP WITH QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUE
ROUTE A. PAISLEY ART CENTRE - START AND FINISH POINT B. RUSSELL INSTITUTE C.ST MATTHEWS CHURCH D.FORBES PLACE E. PAISLEY ABBEY AND TOWNHALL F. HIGH STREET G. OAKSHAW TRINITY CHURCH H THOMAS COATS MEMORIAL CHURCH I. PAISLEY MUSEUM
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F. Liberal Club - High Street
B. Russell Institute
C. St Matthews Church
G. Oakshaw Trinity Church
D. Forbes Place
E. Paisley Abbey
H. Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church
I. Paisley Museum
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Russell Institute -Architect: James Steal Maitland (of Abercrombie & Maitland) -Date: completed in 1927 (construction commissioned by Agnes Russell in commemoration of her two brothers) -Style: Art Deco -First building in the west of Scotland to be employ skeleton fabric of reinforced concrete; exterior clad in Blaxter Sandstone Ashlar from the Borders; internal hall is three storeys high and decorated with Italian marble -Originally housed a hospital for children St Matthew’s Church -Architect: William Daniel McLennan -Date: 1905-1907 -Style: Art Nouveau -Stained glass window designed by Robert Anning Bell -’...most significant Art Nouveau church in Scotland...’ Forbe’s Place -Architect: ??? -Date: opened 1838 -Style: Late Georgian / -Heart of Paisley’s shawl making district - complex of warehouses and factories for shawl making Paisley Abbey -Architect??: -Date: Original medieval structure largely destroyed by fire 1307, restored in 14th century; fell into ruin following the Reformation (16th cent.); significant restoration undertaken in 19th and 20th centuries, including reconstruction of the north porch and eastern choir between 1858 and 1928 by Macgregor Chalmers, completed by Sir Robert Lorimer; restoration ongoing -Medieval / Gothic ??? -Interior features include twelve angel corbels and a communion table designed by the architect Pilkington Jackson; Robert Lorimer designed the ceiling bosses; Wallace Memorial Window installed in 1873 -Burial place of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of King Robert Bruce -Restoration of gargoyles on exterior of building in 1990s includes one supposedly inspired by H. R. Giger’s designs for the Alien films! The Liberal Club, Paisley High Street -Architect: ? -Date: 1886 -Style: Victorian Oakshaw Trinity Church [formerly Paisley High Parisch Church] -Architect: John White -Date: 1754; tower added 1767. Later development in Victorian period (1876-77); refurbished 1994 -Style: ??? -Located on the highest point in Paisley; church tower is 49 metres (16 feet) high -Grade A listed building; the church has the largest ceiling of its type (unsupported plaster) of any church building in Europe Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church -Architect: Hippolyte J. Blanc (Edinburgh) -Date: construction began 1885, completed 1894 (commissioned by family of Thomas Coats - who was a prominent member of the congregation - after his death in 1883) -Style: Victorian, Gothic Revival (cruciform plan, flying buttresses, open crown steeple; 1,000 seat capacity)
Paisley Museum -Architect : John Honeyman -Date: opened 1871 -Style: Victorian (?) -Funded by Sir Peter Coats (partner in the threadmakers firm, J & P Coats) -Originally housed collections of the Paisley Philosophical Society, and a library; art and sculpture galleries added in 1882; extended again in 1901 and 1933 -First municipial museum in Scotland
“Light is the photographic medium par excellence; it is to the photographer what words are to the writer; color and paint to the painter; wood, metal, stone, or clay to the sculptor”. Andreas Feininger “Shadow is an amazing subject. Shadow is an absence. As an absence of energy you can compare it to silence or maybe cold air.” Helene Binet “Even the most uninteresting ugly or boring places can for an instant become magical to me” William Eggleston “The real truth of life is on the streets. Photograph the daily lives of people, and how they exist, and how they fight for space and time and pleasure.” Don McCullin
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