Svartsengi Power Station, Orkustofnun, Grindavik, Iceland. Photo by Neal Johnson.

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series 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?

For this installment, Nathan Smith interviews Neal Johnson, a freelance photographer based out of Louisville, Kentucky. 

What is your relationship to architecture? What drew you to architecture, as a photographer?

As a child I found myself always sketching and doodling floor plans and skylines, although I can’t pinpoint an exact moment when I was initially drawn to architecture. Growing up in smaller midwestern U.S. cities, the lack of progressive architecture or downtown skyscrapers was evident, something I noted. Architecture seemed something from distant and more advanced places. I had never lived in a major metropolitan city where you would find contemporary design and forward-thinking architecture. I think not being immersed directly at an early age really piqued my interest and made me want to investigate this distant world. With only my interest and no formal training, traveling became my go-to activity for developing a relationship to architecture and design. Photographing a structure in its environs continues to develop my understanding of architecture and how the design impacts its surroundings and vice versa.

How do you describe your interest in architecture and how do you employ it in your work?

When photographing architecture, I usually equate it to something I would photograph in the natural world, a true extension of landscape. I try to see a building as something wholly organic, a natural occurrence in the world rather than an authored “project.” A structure in itself is composed of material from the earth that rises from the ground as a living thing. The similarities between so-called natural phenomena and architecture are of interest to me and I attempt conceptually to meld the two.

Could you describe your work process?

I take a lot of time with the particular building I’m going to photograph. I need to examine how light effects the exterior during a specific time of day or how the interior feels with light coming through at different angles. The light will tell the story whether it be overcast or sunny.

If I’m shooting landscapes or working on personal projects, there is plenty of research and travel involved. Most of what I’m currently working on is outside of Kentucky, so I need to be prepared when I go shoot in terms of gear and background information. Access to certain locations, weather, and what I’m going to shoot determines how I prepare and what gear I use. Google Maps is a very helpful!

Could you describe the difference in approach between your independent, non-commissioned work (such as your current Iceland series) versus shooting a specific building in a commercial situation?

There is certainly a contrast between commercial work and my personal work. Deadlines, client needs and specifications are much more in the forefront with commercial work. I appreciate the narrowly focused approach that this work requires. Personal work such as shooting landscapes gives me the creative freedom for exploration and I can let my thoughts wonder without being constrained by time or requirements, or by predetermined requirements for the results.

You recently returned from your second trip to Iceland. What was interesting for you to shoot there?

Iceland is a fantastic country and it was great to have a longer period of time to travel and wait out the best moments for specific shots. The Iceland landscape feels extraterrestrial. I was able to slow down and immerse in the landscape and culture with few time constraints. This slowness is beneficial to the process of photography for me. Apart from shooting landscapes I was also concentrating on Iceland’s geothermal infrastructure built throughout the country. Iceland’s architecture is often stark but many of the geothermal plants seem playful and vivid with futuristic, lunar designs. 

Neal Johnson is a freelance architectural and fine art photographer living and working in Louisville, Kentucky. He comes from a background in graphic design though this career path was short-lived as the amount of time spent behind a computer was unsustainable. Being outdoors, exploring, and chasing light interests Neal. Since turning from graphic design, Neal’s primary focus in photography has been the contemporary landscape and the new topographics. He is currently working on a multitude of landscape projects from the desert southwest to Scandinavia. Neal’s most recent work has been examining Iceland’s geothermal infrastructure and it’s relationship to the landscape. Neal’s photography has been exhibited locally over the past seven years and featured in many online publications.