Financial International Center Mall Wuhan, China  Design Architect: Jerde  Interiors: Woods Bagot  Photo © Paul Dingman 2019

Before each assignment, I always study the architect’s briefs and renderings, and I try to speak with the design team to understand their inspiration and its implementation.  But once onsite, I always spend some time walking the project as if I was an alien from outer space.  I want to experience it from an uninitiated point of view – discovering it for the first time with everything new and unfamiliar.

On a recent shoot at the Financial International City Mall in Wuhan, China, I discovered an alcove that allowed me to simplify the design elements of the project into a powerful composition.  The overall architectural design was done by Jerde Architects and the interiors by Woods Bagot. This view was not in the renderings or in my own previsualized shot list.  It revealed itself through my own process of discovery. The glass safety partitions reflect their surroundings rather than allow you to see through them clearly.  Their billiant colors contrast dramatically with the surrounding monochromatic elements.

It would have been easy to bypass this area if I had not taken time to explore and discover the project.  This oft-used quote comes to mind,

  “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”   Marcel Proust. 

Paul Dingman designs photographs for architects.  He is based in Asia in China.

Learn more at www.dingmanphoto.com