Spotlight: Architecture Photography Andy Marshall

My name is Andy Marshall and my medium is architectural photography at andymarshall.co.

My love of architecture has driven me into a career which involves engaging people with the beauty of our built heritage using the medium of photography. I treat the camera like the Proton Pack in Ghostbusters. Drawing the spirit and atmosphere of a place into a photograph has fascinated me since I was a young boy. It’s a common thread that runs throughout my work.

There isn’t an average day: you might find me filming in the Whispering Gallery at Saint Paul’s Cathedral London or donning wading boots in a tunnel to photograph a long-lost medieval bridge beneath a concrete overpass.

I use Flipboard as a form of inspiration, as a resource, and also as a way of establishing a connection with other like-minded people. Ideally for a photographer, Flipboard imparts information in a highly visual way that draws people through the image into the information at hand. Thus, I curate several magazines which have a visual emphasis on our built environment.

Spirit of place, the domestic interior and urban typography all feature in the magazines that I curate. I’ve also set up Flipboard magazines based upon projects that I’ve been involved with: #hexhamlight magazine was updated live during a time-lapse and photography shoot in an abbey in England, culminating in the final film itself. I’ve also recently set up a magazine called Archigram which I use to share my Instagram pics with a wider audience.

The first article I flipped was probably one of my pics of Lincoln Cathedral Chapter House to kickstart my Genius Loci magazine.

My favorite topic on Flipboard is technology—I’m always looking for cutting edge ways to capture, enhance and express my work.

A magazine I’ve found on Flipboard that’s made my life better is Paris My Way by Gr8ful Ted. Travel, food, cafe culture…gives me a bit of headspace during the day.

Alternatively, Skyscraper City by Skyscraper City keeps me up to date with the latest in urban architecture.

My biggest influence photographically is Edwin Smith, an architectural photographer who photographed England’s post-war built heritage in the ’50s and ’60s. Also, Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott are key influencers who captured the spirit of their home cities of Paris and New York in such an enigmatic way. It was via Flipboard that I found out about an exhibition in London of Abbott’s work with images from her project “Changing New York.” The article, “Constructing Worlds: Photography and Architecture in the Modern Age” was from Lens Culture.

My media diet includes The Guardian, Huffington Post UK, Archdaily and Flipboard’s The Daily Edition.

I spend (several hours) online/reading/watching TV. I’m always connected to a media resource whether it be on my desktop when I’m working or mobile device whilst out on a shoot. My other sources are the BBC (mostly via the BBC app, Radio 4 or the BBC World Service). Whilst I’m processing photographs, I often have a film or documentary on from BBC iPlayer or Netflix or you might find me listening to the “Your Favorite Coffee House” playlist on Spotify.

A unique productivity tip of mine is if you are a creative and you use several platforms for expressing your work, try setting up a magazine that captures your work from all the platforms in one convenient magazine. My catch-all magazine is called Oeuvre.