Portrait of a House – Simon Devitt

I’ve been watching the work of New Zealand Architectural photographer, Simon Devitt, for some years. Being an architectural photographer myself in the UK it’s good to see what others are up to and because a move to NZ has been on the cards since meeting my Kiwi wife 10 years ago.

Simon’s new book, Portrait of a House, sums up all that is great about photography, architecture, New Zealand, the current craze for photobook publishing and the Wellington architect Ian Athfield.

To give some background….Ian Athfield (born 1940) is a Wellinton based architect. His first project (and what no doubt will also be his final project) is Athfield House, his family home and studio based in Khandallah in Wellington, overlooking the harbour.

The building started in 1965 and is on-going. Numerous battles with neighbours and planning officials hasn’t diminished the enthusiasm Athfield has shown with his organic, growing hulk of a structure which needs to be googled to gain any understanding of what it looks like (mix a bit of modernism with Star wars and the Greek Islands and you are part there).

The book itself is a loving portrait of  Athfield House. It combines recent images and images from the history of the building,  personal portraits, interiors and exteriors, shots of parties, shots of food, shots of long forgotten spaces. It does not seek to create architectural bling but an honest and valuable document of how a space looks and how a space has been used over many decades. With the addition of recipes from Clare Athfield and loving accounts of living and / or working in the house, this is a architectural record and a social document and the book itself is a beautifully crafted piece of art in it’s own right. When you first see and touch the book the design and tactcile nature of the chosen thick, hairy card, and muted tones is a joy.

When the house inevtiably ends up as a museum to one persons architectural vision, this book will serve as a balance to keep it’s true memory alive. Far too many photobooks are all design and no substance (like far too much architecture) but this is the real deal.

Go buy a copy

Publisher: Balasoglou Books

ISBN: 978-0-9876595-0-7

Author: Simon Devitt

 

A gym with a view

Up to the Peak District last Sunday in the glorious sunshine to shoot this  garden gym for ecospace studios

New logo and branding coming

The last few months I’ve been talking with a great art director who is coming up with a new logo and branding – it should all be finalised in the next couple of weeks – I’d like to show you some ideas but I want to do a launch when it happens….

A crash pad in Cornwall

A shoot for ecospace last week in the beautiful seaside village of St. Agnes right at the end of Cornwall. A long drive for a dusk shoot but very pleasing images to end up with.

A Car Park in Bromley, Somewhere over the rainbow

I was shooting for the design agency Wordsearch, last week. A photocall for Cathedral Developers and Mclaren Construction in an empty multi storey car park in Bromley. The space is soon to be a mixed use development of retail, residential and a new cinema for Bromley – hence the theme of the movies. All very surreal to hear film “Somewhere over the rainbow” in an empty car park with a few usherettes walking about on a freezing cold spring morning!

Alumni Centre at Imperial College & Library at St. Mary’s

Two shoots last week for Berman Guedes Stretton in London – an Alumni Centre and a Library.

A did a stitch of three images to get the full scope of the space at the library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great modelling by Simon and Clare, the architects on the project!!

Photographing interiors for an interior designer

A few shoots over the last couple weeks for an interior designer. It makes for an interesting change in approach when working with an interior designer as the product, textures and finishes are much more important so I have to stop myself from looking for the lines, angles and formal considerations  (as I do when shooting for an architect).

I also need to think in a more editorial style rather than an architectural style. Nice shots though and the two here are the best of the bunch, shots that combine product, something a bit quirky, colour and by keeping it simple the emphasis is as much on the formal consideration of the space and photograph as it is on the products.

Or you could go and shoot it on your iPhone!