“The Grand Atrium” Singapore, 2016. Image © Peter Stewart

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help capture architecture and who make the work of architects look that much better. In this series, we ask: What is their relationship to architecture? How do they work? What kind of equipment do they use? What are their goals when capturing buildings?

For this installment, Archinect chats with Australian architectural photographer Peter Stewart. Through extensive travel, Stewart has spent much time exploring South East Asia and experiencing its dense urban environments. After immersing himself within each culture and learning about the environments around him, Stewart has used his creative eye as a tool to capture photographs that follow themes of mass scale and repetition. Using a technical approach to photographing buildings, Stewart aims to blend the visual perspective with geometry and color to see the world through "the spaces between." An exploration into the "unreal" Stewart provides a mesmerizing narrative to Asia's towering megastructures.

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

My first introduction was really back in my first visits to Hong Kong and Tokyo. I had never been to cities so dense before, and witnessed how the commercial and residential areas of the cities simply merged together. This makes for an interesting fusion of the old and the new co-existing in terms of architecture. 

On subsequent visits to Hong Kong, this was when I started to branch out more beyond the typical tourist zones and discovered a wealth of subjects to photograph in the form of the residential high rises co-existing among the modern skyscrapers. From there, I slowly found my niche in using wide-angle lenses to photograph skywards by placing myself at ground level between buildings or within the residential courtyards. It was all about showcasing the scale of these structures, and to do so in a way that would be visually appealing though perspective, geometry, repetition and color. I also took inspiration from other artists like Andreas Gursky and Michael Wolf in terms of refining my technical approach towards photographing architecture. 

Do you remember the first photograph you took?

I went through my archives and checked my hard drives. Sure enough my old mid-2000’s images are still there, where they will forever stay. Never to be allowed to see the light of day! Think close-ups of flowers, blurry and/or wonky angled snapshots of random objects. Colors so extreme they will make your eyes bleed!

In all seriousness, I can remember the first image that provided my big break so to speak. Back in 2012, I photographed the now infamous “Monster Mansions” in Hong Kong. I remember that image going viral, leading to interest from galleries and many licensing inquiries. I look back on that image now fondly as I recall the locals being very curious why a foreigner found their living environment so worthy of photographing.

Today, the power of social media has pushed this location into one of the top 10 must-visit spots for tourists in Hong Kong. 

Who are your clients?

I very seldom do commissioned work for clients, which has given me the opportunity to pursue my own interests and projects. My main clientele is private art buyers and businesses selling large fine art prints, along with licensing much of my back catalogue, which is used mainly in the travel industry. 

A common motif among my work follows the themes of mass scale and repetition, often by use of leading lines, geometry, and color. I like to present this in such a way that is still realistic, yet just on the verge of crossing over into the unreal.

One of the great aspects of photographing architecture is that you have greater control over the situation. You can slow down and take your time

How would you describe your photographic work?

A simple phrase I like to often use is “on the cusp of reality”. A common motif among my work follows the themes of mass scale and repetition, often by use of leading lines, geometry, and color. I like to present this in such a way that is still realistic, yet just on the verge of crossing over into the unreal. I’ll sometimes use methods such as time blending (Day to Night) to merge two images into one, or in more extreme cases use up-to 100 images to create a scene that might never unfold in real life, such as with the examples below involving motorcycle traffic in Vietnam, or the endless road of red taxis in the centre of Hong Kong. 

What's the main difference you find capturing buildings versus capturing people in your photographs?

One of the great aspects of photographing architecture is that you have greater control over the situation. You can slow down and take your time. You can always return at different times and see how the changes in lighting affect the details and mood you want to capture. Some structures may even provide a stronger image when shot in the harsh midday sun compared to say a photographers favorite time of day; the blue hour. 

With people, especially in terms of Street Photography, there is far less control over the situation. This can, however, make for very rewarding images. I still like to practice my street photography regularly, opting to move to a smaller camera or my 35mm film camera to blend in and get closer to people. More recently, however, I’ve been taking a more relaxed approach to using people as subjects in my images. I now prefer to shoot wider and show the relationship between the subject and their environment, rather than opting for the more traditional portrait style. 

What are your goals when capturing buildings in photographs?

I try to ask myself first, what elements are there that are visually appealing to me. Is it the shape, the colors, the repetition in patterns, the lighting, etc. There has to be some kind of visual hook in the absence of a single traditional focal point or narrative in order to make an image of a structure compelling. 

Your photographs create mesmerizing narratives of cities and large buildings, is this something you come up with before you start shooting or do you let the buildings help create the narrative?

I usually try to scout all my locations beforehand, which helps greatly in determining how I want to shoot a particular scene, i.e. time of day, framing, what to include/exclude. Google Maps street view and 3D flyovers are also great tools that help with this type of planning, as you may discover new vantage points or angles beforehand that maybe you would miss by simply walking around. The difficult part is usually just access, as many of the most ideal shooting locations in cities can involve illegally accessing spots like stairwells or rooftops in commercial buildings. 

What are your thoughts about including people in your photos of buildings? Is it important to photograph a building in use, or by itself?

Typically speaking, I try to exclude people from most of my architecture images. There is an advantage in some cases to try to include people to provide a sense of scale, or to build a storyline. Yet my preference has always been to focus solely on the architecture, and to disconnect it from other distractions of reality. 

Do you mostly work in a specific region? What is your travel schedule like?

I’ve been almost exclusively traveling and photographing in Asia for the past ten years. When I first arrived in Hong Kong back in 2009, I instantly fell in love with the culture, while opportunities to explore the larger region surrounding it slowly shaped my interests in photography, leading me more towards the loose topic of urbanization in Asian cities.

I now try to spend as much time in a location as possible, sometimes months at a time to better understand the local way of life, rather than be a fleeting tourist. 

I still live out of a suitcase and one backpack, yet have slowed down over the past year in terms of continual fast-paced travel. I now try to spend as much time in a location as possible, sometimes months at a time to better understand the local way of life, rather than be a fleeting tourist. 

Your use of color is so vivid in your photographs, especially in your series featuring close up images of skyscrapers. Is color something you're automatically drawn to or do you let the site create opportunities for the color to speak within the photo?

The use of color is typically an aspect that comes together in the edit. I often like to amplify certain colors in an image just to provide that extra little visual hook, or in some instances will completely alter a color’s tone purely for aesthetic reasons, or to better compliment other colors in the image. This is one of my favorite things about capturing cityscapes at night, where you have a wider spectrum of colors to play with, from the street lights to the building illuminations, lights in windows, etc. I enjoy tinkering around with this to design my own color palette for separate elements in the image. 

Your work creates really amazing examples of hyperrealism. Do you think this is how photography and architecture will continue to grow and progress?

I don’t know if this is necessarily an influence for future architecture projects, but there certainly are numerous examples of structures that simply lend themselves to be flawlessly photographed with ease, and even without editing, pass over into the realm of fantasy. I’ve seen this with projects such as Singapore’s “Gardens by the Bay” and even the new “Jewel” installation at Changi Airport. With these examples, there really is minimal effort required for a photographer to create compelling images! 

On your site, you have this amazing "Before and After" section. It's rare that photographers include this behind the scenes view of work. What helped you decide to make this option viewable for people? Do you think it's important to share how editing is done to a photograph after it's shot?

There has been an almost endless debate among photography circles regarding authenticity, and the argument around how much Photoshop is too much. When does a photograph cease to be a photograph? I’ve never been too interested in presenting my work as truthful (i.e. photojournalistic), therefore I shape and transform many of my images in the edit. The camera for me is merely a tool, and Photoshop is simply another tool that allows you to further refine your intended vision. For that reason, I thought it interesting to show others the power of these editing tools and how I use them to create the final result. 

Now to get technical, what's your favorite pieces of equipment to use?

I currently shoot with a Nikon D810 DSLR and a range of lenses to cover all focal lengths from super wide to tele-focal. A lot of my detailed architecture works are shot either with a 14mm wide-angle on location, or from a distance using a telephoto to compress the density of the scene I’m shooting. 

What's the best piece of advice you've been given and what would you say to young photographers who are interested in pursuing photography as a career?

The hardest part of being a photographer today is finding a way to stand out among the crowd. In just the past few years Instagram has changed everything and given rise to a sizable number of highly talented new photographers. We are inherently influenced by the work we see from others, and as such has given rise to a lot of popular trends and styles of photography which has brought about a bit of a copycat culture. The point is, I think it’s important to find your own themes and ideas in order to progress, and not to simply emulate.

Instagram has changed everything and given rise to a sizable number of highly talented new photographers

Crafting your own photo project is one of the best things you can do, and helps provide a sense of direction for your work. It’s not easy to come up with ideas, but when you do, it arguably makes for a much more rewarding and unique body of work. This was essentially the best piece of advice given to me through conversations with other artists who have crafted their own unique body of work. There's nothing wrong with wanting to photograph what's popular or taking influence from others, but I think to truly stand out you have to attempt to be more unique in your creations. 

Peter Stewart is a self-taught Australian photographer with ten years of nomadic traveling under his belt roaming around Asia. He is best known for the fine art series “Stacked” which documents the high rise architecture of Asia’s megacities. His work has been exhibited around the world and seen in publications including National Geographic, GEO, Wired, and Travel + Leisure.