In Focus is Archinect's new series of features dedicated to profiling the photographers who help make the work of architects look that much better. What has attracted them to architecture? How do they work? What type of equipment do they use? What do they think about seeing their work in blogs?
In this feature, we talk to Kim Høltermand, a photographer (& fingerprints expert in The Crime Scene Unit of The Danish National Police!) based in Copenhagen.
Archinect: What is your relationship with architecture? What drew you to architecture, as a photographer?
Kim Høltermand: I have always been a huge admirer of great architecture and with a history as a graphic designer I have always been thinking in astechics and clean lines. When my wife in I moved into our house the former owners had forgotten to terminate their subscription of several architectural magazines. I started reading them and one thing let to another. I now crave architecture and feel that architectural photography is my calling.
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"Hyllie Water Tower" - The water tower of Hyllie, in Hyllie, Sweden. / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Metropolis" - Metropolis in Copenhagen, Denmark by Future Systems and Danielsen Architecture / Photography by Kim Høltermand
Describe how you work... who are your clients?
KH: Most of my series start out with an idea - a building I would like to interpret. I listen to a lot of ambient and electronic music in order to get in the right mood for the shoot. Artists such as Sigur Rós, Hammock, M83, Max Richter, etc. are a huge inspiration when making my series. I then wait for the right weather conditions in order to get the right mood for my images - fog is king. I then go over my series and upload it if im satisfied with it. Most of my series make it to blogs, books, magazines - even in galleries around the world. Late 2009 I began getting bigger and bigger clients and if all goes well my newest assignment will be for one of Denmarks most famous designers Erik Magnussen.
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"Seawater Lido" - Seawater Lido in kastrup, Denmark by White Architects A/S and White Design AB / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Nightlines" - Metro in Copenhagen, Denmark by KHR Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
Do you mostly work in a specific region? What is your travel schedule like?
KH: Most of my work is and has been concentrated in Denmark (where I live) and Sweden but as Im getting more and more succes in the field of architectural photography it is not inconcievable that I will broaden my travelling to other parts of the world.
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"VM Buildings" - VM Buildings in Ørestaden, Denmark by PLOT / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"VM Buildings" - VM Buildings in Ørestaden, Denmark by PLOT / Photography by Kim Høltermand
What is your goal when capturing buildings in photographs?
KH: want to interpret how I see and feel the building. I try to make the viewer "feel" the building that I have photographed. I like the kind of solitude that is when all people have left a building and it stands all by itself. Makes you feel that your alone with the building - intimate and moody.
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"Horten" - Horten office building in Hellerup, Denmark by 3XN A/S / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Silo" - Valby Gassilo in Valby, Denmark (abandoned but JJW Architects want's to recreate it with a new vision) / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Torres 01" - Torre Agbar in Barcelona, Spain by Jean Nouvel Ateliers / Photography by Kim Høltermand
What are your thoughts about including people in your photos? Is it important to photograph a building in use, or by itself?
KH: I try not to have people in my images - I like the feeling of loneliness haunting through my work as if the viewer is walking through a desolate city of otherworldly deserted architecture. A kind of apocalyptic architecture noir.
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"Grundtvigs Church" - Grundtvigs Church in Bispebjerg, Denmark by P.V. Jensen-Klint / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Bridge House" - Bridge House in Ørestaden, Denmark by 3XN A/S / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Gemini Residence" - Gemini Residence (Seed Silo) in Copenhagen, Denmark by MVRDV Architects and JJW Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
What are your favorite pieces of equipment?
KH: My Canon EOS 50D with different lenses and my Manfrotto tripod is currently all I need to awe my audience.
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"K3nc2r1Hus4t" - Koncerthuset (Koncertsalen) in Ørestaden, Denmark by Jean Nouvel Ateliers / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Black Diamond" - The Royal Library (The Black Diamond) in Copenhagen Denmark by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Arken" : Arken - Museum of Modern Art in Ishøj, Denmark by Søren Robert Lund Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Beach Stations" - Beach Stations in Amager, Denmark by Hærsløv & Kjærsgaard Arkitektfirma I/S / Photography by Kim Høltermand
Do you work alone?
KH: Yes. I work best being alone with my architecture.
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"CPH" - Copenhagen Airport (Conveyorstrecht A-finger a.k.a. "The Cathedral") in Kastrup, Denmark by Danielsen Architecture / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Torres 02" - Montjuic Communications Tower in Barcelona, Spain by Santiago Calatrava / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Copenhagen Architecture" - The Royal Danish Playhouse in Copenhagen, Denmark by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
How do you feel about seeing your photographs on blogs and websites?
KH: Like the happiest guy on earth - seeing how many people appreciate my work really warms my heart and makes all my hard work worth it.
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"Prism" - Tåstrup Theater in Høje Tåstrup, Denmark by COBE Architects / Photography by Kim Høltermand
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"Church of The Holy Cross" - Church of The Holy Cross in Jyllinge, Denmark by KHR Architects v. Jan Søndergaard / Photography by Kim Høltermand
Kim Høltermand (born 1977) is a Danish architectural photographer who also works as a fingerprints expert in The Crime Scene Unit of The Danish National Police when he's not out taking moody epic photos of modern architecture. The 32-year-old has become well known in the field of architectural photography, being featured in endless amounts of blogs and international magazines such as Baumeister, DWELL, D-Mode, GRAFIK, Euroman, Politiken, C-Heads Magazine, etc.
Kim won 1st price in the 2009 International Photography Awards, in the pro category "Architecture - Buildings".
11 Comments
absolutely fantastic photography!
I've been to so many of these buildings! <3
great mood! i love the shade of blue in the sky he captures in some of the shots.
incredible photos.
i have a manfrotte and listen solely to ambient minimal techno... but my photos don't look anything like this.
i could definitely see listening to some loscil or trentemøller while shooting this. christ, i might need to listen to it to look at it.
This new series is fantastic!
Kim's Copenhagen is something else.
faded 30 year old book, newspaper, and magazine clippings...
An incredible eye, beautiful photographs.
love the colors. fantastic!
beautiful photos but it's 'Barcelona, Catalonia' not 'Barcelona, Spa*n'... i've seen better pics of the Agbar Tower though.
Kim's subtle and almost monochromatic palette, reminiscent of old Polaroids, is a refreshing departure from the over-saturation of much recent digital work.
the work is ok. texture studies for the most part.
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