Going across the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northern England

I’m about to start writing my own personal ‘end of year review’, something that i always do for the last post of the year on my main photoblog. It’s a post where i reflect on how i’ve done creatively regarding work and photographic ouput over the year. Have i produced photographs that i like? Have i improved on last year’s work? So far, after a couple of strong creative years with 2007 and 2008, the jury is out for this year. I do expect a fair judgement when it comes though. 2009 wasn’t too bad, but i do intend to make 2010 a more outgoing and vibrant year photographically. More on that in the last post….

The month of November has been a month of waiting. Waiting for payments and waiting for refunds. As if making a living from photography isn’t hard enough, clients can have the tendency to forgot all about paying you. They scream for the photographs to be delivered, but when it comes to coughing up the money…. they slow to a crawl.  Ahh the fun you can have combining the arts of photography and trying to earn a living.

Nothing impresses me more that a great building. We tend to take them for granted, but over the years i’ve come to realise that great architecture can improve the way we live our lives. One of the most impressive buildings i can think of is Gateshead’s The Sage featured in the photograph above. The Sage is a large venue that hosts concerts, events and conferences that has really made an impact, in a good way, on the landscape of Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne and the North East of England. It is a beautiful piece of architecture that really takes your breath away when you see it.

I want to do more architecture photography. I really enjoy the challenge of photographing a building, capturing its character and producing a photograph that sums up a building. I’ve got a few architecture photo projects planned for 2010 which should be fun. I’d like to do a mixture of old and new buildings just to keep a good balance. I’m certainly not someone who looks down with disdain on new architecture. Like all creative projects, the design has got to be right for the role and sadly some buildings tend to end up being more about design than functionality. One thing is for certain though, The Sage certainly fulfills all of the criteria for being a great building.