Building With Light: An International History of Architectural Photography

This book offers an exploration of the development of architectural photography and some of its key themes. From the earliest examples of the genre in the nineteenth century to today's digital revolution, Robert Elwall focuses on the changing aesthetic of the medium worldwide. Included are such topics as the early influence of architectural drawing; the growth of specialist photographic firms documenting the nineteenth-century building boom; the influence of photography on both architectural practice and history; the invention of half-tone reproduction; the role of photography in the spread of Modernism; the impact of colour photography during the 1970s and 1980s; and the increasing use of computers to shape a new direction.Authoritatively written by a world-renowned expert and illustrated with images from collections throughout the world, this study is essential reading for anyone interested in architecture, photography and the history of their special relationship.