Architectural photography has always interested me and is partly why I have pursued photography. Last week Porter Paints of PPG commissioned me to photograph the spectacular lobby of 1910 The Hermitage Hotel and the lobby and exterior of Frist Center for the Visual Arts. And what fun I had too!
Photographing architecture is a complicated process and requires precision in composition, exact exposures and perfectly straight lines in buildings. In setting up the camera and tripod, one must be square with building and perfectly level as well as the lens. This is why for decades the View Camera has been the choice of cameras and of late, PC Lenses (perspective control). Enough techical, lets get to the buildings.
The Hermitage Hotel and Frist Center are two of my favorite places in town. I just love the architecture of each and I if I let myself go just admire these works of art for hours as I take in all the wonderful details each have to offer. The Hermitage Hotel was built between 1908 and 1910 in the Beaux-Arts style and is Nashville's only Five Star Hotel Forbes Five Star Hotel and AAA Five Diamond Award. The Frist Center was designed and built between 1933-4 in the Art Deco style style during the Great Depression as a Post Office and converted into a world-class art museum in 2001.
The first photograph below is the exterior of the Hermitage Hotel and is the cover photograph I was commissioned to create for their 100th anniversary book The Hermitage at 100 by Ridley Wills. Enjoy the photographs of these remarkable and stately buildings.
Ciao,
David Wright
