I’ve been looking on Flickr for some photos for my posts on London buildings - and almost every time I take a look, Steve Cadman’s photos are right at the top of the pile in terms of quality and visual appeal. So I had a little chat with Steve about his approach to photography.
London Traveler: Your architectural photos are really good at showing the spirit of a building - are you an architect by profession?
Steve Cadman: I’ve been considering a career change into buildings conservation work or even town planning, so I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible about architecture, and to see as much as I can while I’m in London. Part of the reason for using a compact camera is to try to keep photographing the building secondary to having a good look at it.
LT: Just a compact? You’re getting great results without an SLR.
SC: My compact camera was carefully chosen to have a really good lens, especially to have low barrel distortion. This doesn’t really matter for most photography, but the way it makes rectilinear buildings look “bendy” can be a disaster. It lacks a zoom however, which makes it very inflexible - there are some buildings you can’t even try to photograph, and you can’t zoom in on interesting features. The only other bit of kit I use is a Gorrilapod, which is a little bendy tripod you can clip to a chair (or anything really) for photographing interiors where there isn’t enough light.
LT: Do you have a particular approach - a ’style’, particular kinds of compositions that you like to use?
SC: I’m not sure I look for anything consistent in my pictures, but I’m trying to document the building, and in particular to do justice to the ones I love, rather than trying to be highly original, or to “use” the building to create particularly stiking images. I’ve been trying to stop
myself from constantly taking slightly boring and easy “square on” photos though. I find that as I take more photos, I get more and more fussy about converging verticals, so I often try to keep the camera level, and then to crop the image afterwards. Bothering about this
takes you in the direction of buying expensive full frame SLRs and specialist tilt-shift lenses etc., which is a bit worrying.
LT: Do you find particular kinds of weather, times of day, or seasons are best for taking photos? Do you go out specially to take photos, or just have a camera with you all the time in case something appeals?
SC: The right weather is pretty important - diffuse sunlight
beats harsh bright sun, or the “flat” light you get on grey
days any time. I alway try and get out with my camera when
it’s like that at the weekend, as frankly it does half the
work of getting a good image for you. Conversely, for
interiors, the brightest summer days are often the best, as
churches etc. seem to look best lit only by natural light
(probably as the architect intended), rather than with
electric lights switched on.
LT: And… I know a lot of people don’t like to answer this kind of question, but; what’s your favourite London building?
SC: Can I cheat? My favourite interior is St Stephen Wallbrook which, like quite a few people, I think is Christopher Wren’s best work, better than St Paul’s in fact. Surprisingly, it usually seems to be closed (at the weekend anyway), and off the tourist trail.
My favourite exterior would be either Christchurch Spitalfields, or St Anne Limehouse (probably the latter) by Hawksmoor. Not as beautiful as Wren’s stuff, but more original and exciting/fascinating to look at. Christchurch is better for visitors though, because of the beautifully restored interior.
I’m particularly interested in English baroque, as it’s thin on the ground outside London, and Hawksmoor’s stuff (my fave architect), is quite unlike anything else in Europe. Due to the fact he never left England, and also to the politics of the time, I believe. His churches are
his best work, and since he only built them in London, he’s a real London speciality.
LT: Perhaps it’s not that surprising I was instantly drawn to your photos, as Hawksmoor is one of my big favourites as well. (Which reminds me I ought to review Peter Ackroyd’s novel ‘Hawksmoor’ on the blog some time.) Thanks for taking the time to talk about your approach to photography.
