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he last decade or two has seen
a boom in the creation of amazing
architecture across the globe. Dubai
has smashed pretty much every
record in the book for tallest, wackiest,
most expensive, while a visit to Valencia’s
City of Arts and Sciences is like stepping on
to the set of a sci-fi movie. Closer to home,Sir Norman Foster’s amazing work can be
seen everywhere – London City Hall, the
Gherkin and Gateshead Sage are just three
of his many architectural masterpieces –
while the Selfridges Building in Birmingham,
Salford Quays and Glasgow’s Armadillo
never fail to impress.
You needn’t travel to a big city to findarchitectural inspiration though, because
pretty much every town in the country has
something eye-catching to offer that will get
your creative juices flowing. Office buildings,
retail parks, schools, cinemas, shopping
malls – everywhere you look there are great
examples of modern architecture, and
eye-catching images there for the taking.Instead of heading for the hills, why not ring the changes and explore the
urban landscape instead? There are some extraordinary buildings to be seen.
Lee Frost offers his top tips for shooting cutting-edge architecture.
All images
© Lee FrostMODERN ARCHITECTURETECHNIQUETOP TIPSFor once, bold light is an ally rather than
enemy. The stark design of modern buildings
is enhanced by strong sunlight, so shooting in
the middle of the day in full sun can produce
brilliant results. At the other extreme, I also
love shooting modern architecture for mono
images on flat grey days. Why? Because the
sky acts like an enormous soft light source so
the light is diffuse and even, and this allows
you to capture the symmetry in many modern
buildings. In sunny weather, reflections are
uneven so that symmetry is lost. Granted, you
end up with a white sky but in mono images it
works well, providing a plain and unobtrusive
background. The same effect can also be
achieved at twilight. Clouds are reflected
in the glass walls of modern buildings,
something you don’t get on overcast days,
and you can make a feature of them by
homing-in with a telezoom.1 MAKE THE MOST OF LIGHT
Valencia, Spain
Strong sunlight and a cloudless blue sky suited
this bold image perfectly. It features the Hemisféric
at the incredible City of Arts and Sciences.
Canon EOS 5D MKIII with 24-70mm zoom lens,
polariser, 1/125sec at f/16, ISO 100London, England
I love shooting skyscrapers through a wideangle
lens. The perspective is dizzying and never fails to
produce dramatic images – even on a dull day.
Canon EOS 5D MKIII with 17-40mm zoom lens,
1/200sec at f/8, ISO 200The broad angle of view and ability to stretch
perspective and distort shapes makes a
wideangle zoom in the 16-35mm/17-40mm
range (10-20/12-22mm for APS-C sensors)
a must. Use it to shoot entire buildings
from close range and impressive interiors
when your back’s against the wall – literally.
Exaggerate converging verticals by moving
close and looking skyward and stop down to
f/11 or f/16 for almost endless depth of field.2 TAKE A WIDE VIEW
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