I’ve always enjoyed looking at architecture, and Building 20 is just as interesting as a lot of contemporary design in Melbourne. When approaching it in a photographic sense I considered how I want to capture the images. For the exterior I first considered the weather.

I am a big fan of high contrasts, and sunlight, so I didn’t want to take photographs of the building during a cloudy day. I tried my best to photograph all of the exterior while the sun was high and bright because the dying leaves on the trees surrounding the building create this gorgeous dappled effect over the already dappled sandstone. What you get is this heavily textured, very strong looking exterior dominated by yellows, blacks, browns, oranges, and the greens and blues that pop out of the window panes and glass.

For the most part I used an 18mm focal length to illustrate the imposing stature of the building, but I also used a 50mm prime lens to capture close up details – scratches, chips, windows, ornate sections of stone – which does well as a crisp and clear lens for detail photography. Internally I took a similar approach, and the windows that are all high up in the high ceiling rooms are bursting with light during midday. The Antechamber and Courtroom 3 in particular showed sublime lighting as the sunlight flows along the walls, over, and around all of the details on the walls.

I’ve noted a prominence of yellows (which could possibly be from the sunlight, but pretty nonetheless) and deep reds and browns in the gorgeous woodwork found all around the interior. There are lots of sharp and soft angles to work with, and I look forward to processing them.