SYLVANUS URBAN Sylvanus Urban - The Space Issue | Page 30

Escape Artist
ARCHITECTURE
PHOTOGRAPHY IS ON
THE RISE
Photographer: Felix Mooneeram
never visited the Eiffel Tower, but you sure as hell know what it looks like.
That’s why we reached out to photographer Felix Mooneeram to
discuss the rise of architecture photography, finding symmetry and how
to make the distance between your subject and your audience completely
disappear.
UGH. THERE ARE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. ARE PEOPLE OKAY IN
ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY?
I love using people in my work. If there are loads of them and they
are causing too much distraction in the frame, then they should be
avoided. It might sound harsh but I’ll often skip a bunch of people and
wait for someone to come into my frame that will add something to the
photograph rather than take it away. Things I tend to let walk across the
viewfinder are: weird or garish clothes, plastic bags, plastic bottles, bad
hairdos and colours that don’t compliment the scene.
I’M LOOKING AT A BUILDING. AND IT’S HUUUUGE. HOW DO YOU GO
ABOUT CONVEYING THE SCALE OF A SPACE?
Architecture is everywhere.
A city’s skyline is often defined by
the iconic buildings and bridges
that call it home. However, despite
their close proximity to airports
and public transit, these complex
creations struggle to travel.
To relocate such a structure
without breaking a sweat sounds
more like made-for-TV illusion
performed by magician David
Blaine than an act that can be
swiftly and successfully carried
out by an aspiring shutterbug.
An
architectural
photograph
in itself is a kind of magic. It
translates a place, its detail and its
environment into two-dimensions
without losing depth, movement
or personality.
Maybe you’ve
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This is one of the most important elements I want to communicate
when I photograph a space. I like to feature people in my compositions
not just for scale, but also to help the viewer imagine what it would be like
to be that person in that space. I use a variety of lenses from wide (10-
24mm), to mid (my trusty 35mm) to long (50-140mm) for those details
and geometric crops. I find this helps me get a good coverage and tell the
full and honest story of a space.
IS THE HISTORY OR PURPOSE OF A BUILDING (SHOUTOUTS TO THE
PARKDALE LIBRARY!) IMPORTANT IN FRAMING AN ARCHITECTURAL
PICTURE?
I can’t say that I often use the history of a building when framing
a photograph, but the purpose of a building is something I think about
all the time. When I shoot, I like to think about the context of a building
or space and the ways in which people use it. Public spaces are often
my favourite to photograph because I like to observe, and capture, the
different ways people interact with them.
IN AN ERA-SPANNING SHOWDOWN FOR THE MOST INTERESTING
SUBJECT: MODERN ARCHITECTURE VS. HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURE?
The Space Issue
S y l v a n u s - Ur b a n . c o m