All images by Florian Mueller. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Without a doubt, there’s something hypnotic about the dizzying mix of buildings and skyscrapers in many of the architectural photography and street snaps we find. Still, for Germany-based Florian Mueller, one of the best ways to embody the beauty of buildings around the world is to capture them on their own, much like minimalist portraits. Hence, his Singularity project was born.
Florian, who specializes in creating landscape and abstract images apart from architectural photography, most likely realized that there is more than one way to appreciate the beauty of architecture around the world. He has explored different angles, scenes, and even created abstractions of different architectural elements for his impressive sets. For Singularity, however, we can see that his goal was to simply capture the essence of each building that commanded his attention, and highlight what makes them eye-catching or outstanding.
“Just the building, no distractions, reduced to the max,” Florian simply said about this ongoing project, which has taken him around the world. What began as an idea he played around with a couple of photos he took in New York has now become four installments that show his mastery of the art of minimalist architectural photography.
By painstakingly working at a strategic angle or vantage point, he has succeeded in creating an uncluttered and charming portrait of each building. The softness of the sky in the background also provides some sort of balance or complement the often strong shapes, colors, and other elements of the buildings he chose for his subjects.
“I think there are many buildings which are challenging me. Mostly for getting the right angle,” he said in an interview for Hong Kong Photonews Magazine. “And there are always trees in front of the buildings. Oh these trees! Donât get me wrong, I am a nature lover, but sometimes I wish I had a chainsaw with meâĤ Just kidding. But it is a challenge. I want to take mostly clean shots, I do not want to spend hours in Photoshop to erase trees, other buildings or people.”
I find that the charm of the Singularity project lies not only in capturing the details and unique qualities of each building despite the minimalist approach. It’s also as much a celebration of outstanding design and creative photography as recognizing impressive architecture.
Visit Florian Mueller’s website and Behance portfolio to see all the Singularity installments and explore his other impressive projects.
