Silhouette Photography
| Last Updated: November 13, 2013
In this showcase series we feature the London architectural photography of Martin Turner. Martin is currently based in Bristol, England, and specialises in architectural and landscape photography.
Martin, could you tell us about your photographic background?
I started my photographic journey in 2006 when I bought my first DSLR, a Nikon D40
. To be honest though any camera would have sufficed as the first few years I left it set on auto.
From the start I was more interested in getting the right composition and not really bothered by technical imperfections. I found it to be an invaluable lesson as having just one thing to concentrate on allowed me to focus entirely on being creative. I then started to experiment with different types of photography, macros/long exposures and I found this to be a turning point for the technical stuff.
Using a camera in all types of light and using filters to increase exposure time was a self teaching way to really understand the exposure triangle – and it was at this point I made the jump to shooting fully in manual. I then realised I wanted to find an area of photography that was much less explored, which is why I bought a fisheye and started bending the rules of architecture.
What (or who) inspires you as a architectural photographer?
The subject mostly. I am fascinated by all types of architecture. I particularly like the work of Zaha Hadid, her ability to push the boundary of architecture and urban design is just fascinating.
What equipment do you use?
I currently have a micro four third setup (Olympus OM-D
) which in some people’s eyes was a bit of downgrade from the full frame setup I had previously. But given the quality I am getting from the camera coupled with having a light camera bag make it a no brainer for me.
I typically choose not to keep up with camera technology and have only ever upgraded as a result of finding a limitation. This has helped massively with becoming a better photographer rather than being one of those annoying ‘all the gear but no idea’ types.
What advice would you have for an aspiring architectural photographer?
Appreciate your subject, and try not to mirror the work of others. It’s really easy to have a portfolio that consists of copied compositions but you are never going to stand out.
I have a number of Flickr contacts that have fallen victim to Flickr and its generosity of content. Whilst some locations do command a cliché composition, it’s always good to spend that little bit of extra time to see what else you can come up with. Some of my own personal favourites have come from experimenting.
Many thanks to Martin for speaking to Photophique. You can see more of Martin’s superb work at longerexposure.com or via his Flickr account.
Photophique has express permission to publish these images and Martin Turner retains full copyright to all photographs featured in this showcase series.
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Hi there, I am amazed at the results you are getting, you are a truly inspirational photographer. Could you give me a list of the buildings/places these are taken from? They are beautiful. Keep up the good work.
Thanks
Tom