Incredible Architecture Photography by Dave Wilson

twistedsifter

12 years ago

We’ve already featured the incredible work of Dave Wilson before (here and here) and we are honoured to showcase his amazing architecture photography in a standalone post.

Dave was also kind enough to do an interview for the Sifter, discussing his thoughts on travel and photography. Please enjoy this curated selection along with snippets from our interview scattered throughout. Be sure to visit Dave’s site as he keeps an active blog of his work and process: http://davewilsonphotography.com

1. Chevron Building, Houston, TX

2. Texas State Capitol, Austin

Can you give an overview of your gear and go-to setup?

“I have a full gear list on my Flickr profile page so it’s probably best to look there if you want the whole thing. My go-to setup is a Nikon D700 with either 24-70mm or 14-24mm lens, Manfrotto tripod and RRS ballhead. I also have a D90 as a second body and an infrared converted D5000 which I’m enjoying a lot these days (though I’m strictly a beginner at IR photography and still learning the ropes).

I am lucky enough to own Nikon professional lenses and they are absolutely fabulous but I would not consider myself a gear junkie. My 3 most popular pictures to date were shot on a point and shoot and a cheap DSLR with kit lens!”

3. St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City

“I shot this from a rather unstable Gorillapod teetering on the back of a pew after I had removed the battery pack from the camera and fitted as light a lens as I could get away with. Given the circumstances, I’m pretty happy with the way the shot turned out!”

4. Falkirk Wheel In Motion, Scotland

“This image is a a 5 shot composite using exposures taken while the wheel was turning.”

5. Erwin Center, UT Austin

What’s your favourite type of photography?

“I love a wide variety of photography though my favourite subjects tend to be architectural. I’ve been doing a lot more with off-camera flash recently and have been shooting more portraits over the last couple of years. HDR has been a mainstay for me for the last 5 years or so.”

6. Corner of Smith & Bell, Houston, Texas

7. “Partners”, Walt Disney World, Florida

If you could hop on a plane tomorrow, all expenses paid, where would you go?

“Straight back to India! I’ve visited the country a couple of times and found it absolutely fascinating. I would love an opportunity to spend a couple of weeks shooting historic buildings there. On my previous trip to the Taj Mahal, I fell and damaged my DSLR on the night before we arrived there so it would be great to reshoot it with something better than a $100 point-and-shoot :)”

8. Embarcadero Stairs, San Francisco

9. Rings – Texas State Capitol

Do you have a favourite city/country you’ve traveled?

“This is a tricky question since I love travel and love so many cities. If I have to pick one, I would probably have to go with Paris. It offers such an amazing diversity of architecture in such a relatively small area. I love spending whole days just wandering the streets of Paris and the fact that it’s full of great restaurants is a bonus too.”

10. Reflection Abstract of City Center, Las Vegas

11. Fort Davis National Historic Site, Texas

Fort Davis National Historic Site in west Texas offers a fascinating look inside a 19th century military outpost. The fort was founded in 1854 to protect travellers on the San Antonio to El Paso road. After being abandoned for a few years during the Civil War, it was reopened in 1867 and continued in operation until 1891.

12. Aqua Building by Night, Chicago

Do you have any favourite buildings/architects?

“I’m an enormous fan of Frank Gehry – his organic, fluid designs are fascinating. I would love an opportunity to shoot the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles but so far, I’ve not managed to get out there with a camera.”

13. Capitol Extension Rotunda

14. Wells Fargo Tower, Houston, Texas

Do you have any favourite photographers?

“I could fall back on Ansel Adams but everyone loves his work. Most of the photographers that inspire me (aside from Adams) are contemporary photobloggers. I think Joe McNally does an amazing job, both with his images and his writing – I encourage everyone to read “The Moment It Clicks” which is an enormously excellent book as far as I’m concerned. I also love the work of Arthur Meyerson – we share a love for somewhat minimalist, geometric images but he does it so much better than I ever could!”

15. Millennium Park, Chicago

16. New Mexico Space History Museum

Any advice for hobbyists and aspiring photographers getting more serious about their craft?

“One of the best lessons I’ve learned is that to get a great picture, you have to take a whole lot of bad ones. In the days when every click cost you a quarter, this was a problem but individual shots are essentially free in today’s digital world so people shouldn’t worry about taking many, many pictures and editing down to the best ones. Another way to look at this is practice, practice, practice – shoot a lot, learn a lot.

Another piece of advice I would give is to get involved in a group that contains some photographers who are a lot better than you are. The “great photo!” culture on Flickr and Facebook is wonderful but seek out genuine critique and learn from the negative comments you get. These are a lot more valuable than the positive ones, really!”