Lyndon Douglas

In ‘The Seven Lamps of Architecture’, the English art critic, social thinker, poet and artist, John Ruskin wrote ‘I do not believe that ever any building was truly great unless it had mighty masses, vigorous and deep, of shadow mingled with its surface’. Ever since the invention of the medium, photography has enjoyed a close and mutually stimulating relationship with architecture, which is underlined by the description of photography as ‘building with light’. However, it is more than simply choosing a subject and hitting the shutter release; it’s more than just documenting a project.

Lyndon Douglas studied photography at the Royal College of Art, focusing on Fashion, Portraiture and from there quickly moved into Architecture. Since founding his studio in 1999 he has built up a client base that includes many of the UK’s leading architects including Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (formally Richard Rogers Partnership), David Adjaye and Eldridge Smerin. If the photographic representation of an architectural form is to be successful it must be able to communicate to the viewer and it’s Lyndon’s ability to not only concretize moments of beauty, and to convey the experience of being in and around a built environment by his observation of the basics of composition: lighting, perspective, framing, balance and symmetry, but with his ‘unfettered’ eye the power behind his images lies in his ability to create an atmosphere that is palpable. With his use of vibrant colour, the angles from which he chooses to shoot that reveal structures in a way that goes unnoticed by most, and by his awareness of light, texture and shadow, his photographs are technically accomplished examples of their typology but, more importantly, the quality that makes them stand out from the competition is their ability to really capture the feel of a building.

Lyndon’s archive records both the macro and the micro. A good architect is a fanatic for detail and some of the most beautiful parts of an edifice are best captured in isolation. Lyndon’s images of architectural details, from his shots of surfaces and light effects to the patterns created by stairs, skylights, and columns, have a visceral quality that accentuates and preserves the beauty, refinement and artistic nature of the abstract and the unique perspective whilst still preserving the character and personality of a building.

Architecture is a broad subject, and one that surrounds us on a daily basis. It comes as no shock that it is a popular subject in photography and the capability to think laterally, to discover the shot that most would miss, is paramount. Lyndon’s pictures do just that. At their best they have the power to make the viewer look at architecture in another way.

Jennifer Hudson – Laurence King Publications