The Art of Architectural Photography 3-3-2014

Black and white architectural photography relies on light, form, line and composition.  Because the "distractions" of color are removed, monochromatic images use texture and pattern as accents to enhance the photograph.  I was initially struck by the power and majesty of the architecture in this entry to a building in Munich, Germany.  The beauty and substance of the soaring pillars that support the elaborately detailed ceiling and propel the eye to the doors create an impressively grand composition. But, this type of image is given intimacy by the textures of marble, stone tiles and decorative details.  The checkerboard flooring and repeating floral ornamentation offer exquisite embroidery to the architecture.  The hanging lights and ceiling design provide punctuation the gives pause to the eye's being channeled directly to the end of the passageway.  The patterns and textures of the architecture work marvelously well together to create diversion in a composition that might otherwise be overwhelming in its grandeur.  

Black and White architectural photograph