This week I’m going back to Istanbul, one of my favorite cities in the world. The people, the history, the architecture, the FOOD.
When we travel, we are compelled to photograph architecture. In New York, the Empire State Building. In Rome, the Colosseum. And in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque.
Of course there are lots more choices for each city that I mentioned but you get the idea.
We tend to want to go as wide as we can and fit everything into one picture. I do that a lot myself. But for really interesting architectural shots, don’t forget to include some shots that display the ‘essence’ of the architecture.
This day, I went back to the Blue Mosque as the sun was setting. The exterior was bathed in shadow while the interior structure, the mosque itself was bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.
The composition of the front of the mosque brilliantly lit and framed by the shadows of the entryway was a perfect composition and practically screamed at me, “Here I am! Take the shot before the sun goes down!”
So I listened to the Blue Mosque and took this shot.
Between the architecture of the mosque and the Muslim sign above the entrance ‘frame’, this photo gives us the very ‘essence’ of this world-beloved place of worship.
So to bring home shots that others may miss, remember the ‘essentials’ of architectural photography.
And as always, please help me keep this site and my Tumblr site, People in Their Place, alive by browsing through my ebooks or photo galleries of beautiful New York City black and white photography. There you can select a gorgeous high-resolution print file that you can download for only $20 and print it anywhere yourself. And I’ll donate 20% of the purchase price to one of the global humanitarian charities that you can select on checkout.
Until next time, happy shooting.
Bob