Interior and Architectural Photographer of Darlington College in County Durham.

It was a pleasure to photograph Darlington College’s extension and refurbishment on behalf of Harrow Consulting, a leading North East chartered building surveyor and architectural designer.

The six-month programme at the college, which sits on Haughton Road, saw the creation of a new Construction Innovation Centre, internal refurbishment and expansion of the existing Learning Resource Centre, all aimed at offering an exceptional student learning experience within the construction
and engineering sectors.

The Construction and Innovation Centre was opened by Prince Andrew, on a recent visit to the North East to see various initiatives aimed at tacking youth unemployment. The work has added another 2,300 sq metres of light and airy space to the college, including a new student entrance with lockers and changing facilities, where students must put on high-vis vests, overalls, protective glasses and safety boots. 

The brief was to take predominantly architectural photography of the Darlington College in County Durham, plus a few staff shots (not included in blog).  When I’m doing architectural photography over the North East I make great use of perspective and colour to give viewers a sense of how the architects have used all the tools of their trade to create spaces that people will enjoy occupying, whether that’s for work or pleasure. The new extension and refurbishment certainly gave me a lot of options, with a bold set of colours and different textures wherever I looked.

The Construction Innovation Centre gives students access to plumbing, brickwork, electrical and painting and decoration workshops, plus gas assessment and a green energy training area.  I was impressed by the fully equipped training rooms housing all the equipment that students could require, and rows of steel tools against brick walls and wood panels provided some great depth to the photos.  

The courses are supported by new IT seminar and conferencing suites and a Learning Resource Centre, with glass walls so beloved of photographers promoting a real sense of space and giving me opportunities to use the reflections they threw off.

Although classes were in session I was able to discreetly get a few interiors photographs without disturbing the Darlington students. An large element of being a successful commercial photographer is being able to work around people, so the photos are fresh and look unstaged.

Even the corridors have been carefully planned out, with white walls and large format graphics breaking up the long stretches.  The cheery café area features red and grey tables and chairs, with the colours echoed in the nearby comfy seating areas, which look very inviting. 

Moving outside the Darlington College to shoot some exterior architectural photographs the curved overhang with its steel and glass frontage sat nicely with walls in blocked shades of grey and white. Highlighted against a brilliantly blue sky, I had everything a photographer needs to createcrisp, clear exterior photos and back at my Stockton photographic studio I was very pleased with the results of this half-day shoot

North East Architectural Photography: Hospice in Sunderland, Newcastle Police Station to the Redcar Beacon.

My job as a North East commercial and PR photographer takes me all over the region, and every day brings new challenges, whether it’s photographing celebrities and community champions, or buildings and businessmen.

A lot of my time this month has been spent photographing Teesside landmark buildings and construction projects, and one of the first jobs was a commission from the construction company that built the £1.6m Beacon at Redcar, a structure that has sparked a love-hate relationship with locals. I like the building, it adds a splash of colour and forms a focal point for the town. Dubbed the ‘vertical pier’, the Beacon is part of a multi-million pound redevelopment of Redcar seafront, which is now unrecognisable from a few years ago.

At 80ft tall, the cafe area and open roof terrace at the top of its seven floors offers fantastic view over the coastline and surrounding area and a clear day presented me with some amazing photo opportunities. As well as the exterior, which is wrapped in coloured steel and mesh strips, I spent some time photographing the business space and meeting and conference areas that all reflect the Beacon’s clean, modern principles.

One of the biggest challenges of architectural photography is to keep the vertical lines as true as possible. Wide angle lenses give great results but can twist a perfectly straight vertical into convex or concave lines. I use a combination of special lenses and image manipulation software to correct this, which means lots of work back at my Stockton studio.

Another architectural job saw me photographing the opening of the new garden at St Benedict’s Hospice in Ryhope, Sunderland. This is the city’s first purpose-built hospice, and the construction firm has used lots of wood and textured materials, adding a roof garden and lake area which all combine to create a calm and welcoming environment for staff and patients. 

I was pleased to be asked to photograph the ‘old meets new’ architecture of Newcastle’s newest police station at Forth Banks, which is part of the regeneration of the Stephenson Quarter. A sensitive new structure links Kings House with an historic railway warehouse, creating a state of the art 24/7 police station, and is a fine example of how to integrate old and new buildings successfully.

I’m lucky that my job allows me to be out and about with my camera photographing North East architecture; whether it’s an iconic structure or an undiscovered gem, each has its own story.

A commission to photograph the demolition of the Spotted Cow pub in Stockton, the first stage of the re-building of the Victoria Estate behind Stockton High Street and the splash pool, threw up an interesting tale.

As I worked I got chatting to the man operating the wrecker, who told me his dad had planted the surrounding trees when the estate was built 50 years ago, so we were both pleased to find they would be staying in place when 210 homes are built and the old site is transformed. 

Successful architectural photography often depends on sun and weather conditions, and I’m a big fan of an app that tells me where the sun will be at any given time, so I can plan the shoot knowing that I’ll be photographing the building at the best time for the right light conditions. 

Sometimes the weather is against me though, and if the deadline allows I might decide to revisit the site - I want every single picture I take to be original and pleasing to the client, and I won’t rest until all the right circumstances are lined up to create the best possible image, whether it’s for use in print, outdoor or online media.

Architectural and Interiors Photography: Stockton, Middlesbrough, Durham & Redcar.

My work as a North East Commercial Photographer often involves photographing some of the region’s beautiful architecture, which can be anything from Eaglescliffe’s Preston Park to modern structures such as Stockton’s Infinity Bridge.

For me to take pictures without people in them is rare, but I love the challenge of using a building’s clean lines and surface textures to bring it to life. 

There can be a lot of waiting around though. For instance when I photographed four of Teesside’s  bridges for some boardroom art I had to make several trips to the sites, patiently waiting for the golden hours of dawn and dusk to get just the right light.

If a building is fully lit for the shoot it’s ideal, but sometimes the client’s needs dictate what time I can do the job and I have to work with what I’ve got, and put more time in back at the studio to apply a different finish or adjust colours.

I use a series of lenses, including concave to give an illusion of curves where none exist, depending on what the client wants the pictures for.  Most architects like to see the lines of their buildings clearly though, and I can spend hours in my Stockton studio making sure parallel and other lines are straight and true. 

When I use my cameras to tell a story of interiors, for instance for housing associations or new builds, it’s amazing what can be achieved with the judicious use of props and lighting, such as when I’m trying to make a well-used kitchen look brand new. 

I loved my recent commission to photograph the environmentally-friendly buildings that form part of Durham University’s Gateway project. I’ve admired the new buildings since construction started, and the Western red cedar clad exteriors gave me some strong colours and contrasts to work with.

Many of my recent commissions have been refurbishments rather than new builds.  For instance on Newcastle’s Northumberland Street the contemporary style of the new Primark building, with its curtain walling and an aluminium extruded veil all added up to some truly 21st century photos.  

Another interesting job was a new health centre in Prudhoe, which is a gem of a village set in the Tyne Valley.  Natural stone cladding and the clever use of glass come together in a light and airy building, and presented some great photo opportunities.

As well as individual buildings I’m also regularly asked to photograph the exterior and interior of shopping malls, for example recent commissions to photograph the launch of a new B&Q store in Middlesbrough, and the interior of the popular TK Maxx store in Middlesbrough’s Captain Cook Square.

In commercial property photography around the north east, particularly for speculative developments, the client wants to portray the building as a blank canvas so it’s logical to leave the building empty, but for shopping malls and stores the more potential footfall we can show by including people in shot, the better for the client.

It can be tricky if the client wants pictures without any people, and often involves a lot of waiting around for just the right moment.

But my clients trust me to spend as long as it takes to get the right result, and if they are happy, I’m happy.  

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography

Middlesbrough Architectural, Interior & Commercial Photographer

Photographing homes, offices, shops or public buildings might not involve people, but it takes the same level of creativity as I use in my portrait, wedding and corporate photography bookings. Because most of my work comes via recommendation or from clients I’ve worked with before in the north east, they often trust me with a very simple brief such as ‘I need some shots of a building’.

I never know what to expect and it can be a challenge to arrive at a building to find it only part complete. It’s understandable because developers need to get a fast return on their investment and market their properties as soon as the paint is dry and it means I often have to work around builders and decorators and their equipment to get the shots I want.   

The trick with property, particularly industrial buildings and office exteriors, is to look for lines and shapes while steering away from the wackiness of steep angles and overly-slanted buildings, which are not appropriate for commercial property photography. I like to keep images clean and crisp, and use a mix of wide angle and also use short telephoto lenses, combined with post-production skills on Photoshop to keep the parallels lined up and the pictures pleasing to the eye.

The best light conditions are often in the early morning or late at night, when the tonal range of colours is most vibrant.  And those are perfect times for taking pictures without people too, which can date a photograph. Sometimes I’m helped by the exterior of a building being lit, so I can use shadows to create depth.

I was pleased to be asked by Middlesbrough Erimus Housing to photograph its innovative Bohouse development, which is part of the Boho Zone, the commercial quarter for Middlesbrough’s digital media, digital technology and creative sectors. Bohouse provides flexible living and working space, encouraging people to work from home and set up new creative and digital media businesses. My brief was to produce lively, contemporary pictures that would help to fill the last few apartments in central Middlesbrough. 
   

The bathroom and kitchen showroom job presented an interesting challenge. To create a luxury feel I wanted to use the purple light set into the spa bath, which meant some clever – and quick - work with three flashguns to get just the right look for the glossy magazine for which the pictures were destined.

Good quality architectural and interior photography encourages interest in a property for sale or rent, and the kitchen and living room interiors shots were taken to showcase a Fabrick Housing development on Teesside. Happily, because the homes had been ‘dressed’ by interior designers, I had a range of colourful accessories to use as props to create a fresh, aspirational feel to the photography.

Sometimes it’s a case of looking for that one great picture that sums up the building.  A long shot of a B&Q lighting centre reflected in a steel lightshade perfectly captured the enormous range of products available. At the other end of the scale a job to photograph a very practical sports centre interior forced me to look for an unusual angle, and I opted for a remote fish eye lens, set inside a locker, to bring a different perspective.

Redcar seafront’s £8.3m Hub is a new 35,000 sq ft business centre for the creative industries sector, and part of the town’s seafront improvement scheme that includes a 80ft high ‘vertical pier’. I was asked to photograph the architects’ model of how the finished development will look, and worked with natural lighting to reproduce the remarkable light conditions only found at the coast.

Whether it’s industrial, commercial or residential photography, my job is to let the pictures speak for the buildings, and encourage people to live, work and relax there.  

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Direct Website Link to Dave Charnley Photography