NZPhotographer Issue 25, November 2019

Building
Connections
by Ana Lyubich
When I was about 10 years old
my Mum gave me a book
about learning to draw for
my birthday - My favourite
image inside was of the
Sydney Opera House. At that time in my
life, growing up on the other side of the
world in Kazakhstan, I had no idea where
that building was or even where Australia
was but I fell in love with that building. I
drew a picture of the Opera House and it
took an almost permanent place on one
of the walls at home. 15 years later nothing
had changed – it was still my favourite
building and it became my dream to visit
that place one day.
That day came when I decided to come
to New Zealand and had a stopover in
Sydney. One of the worst things that can
happen on the day of your flight is falling
sick and I did. It was one of the worst fevers
I’ve ever had, I completely lost my voice
and had a temperature of +39c for several
days but cancelling flights was not an
option. Long story short, two days of travel
and I finally made it to Sydney. Despite my
condition, when I saw the Opera House
it was a magical moment. I can’t quite
describe the feeling I had but I reached
very closely so I could touch one of the
walls and it was like an electric shock.
Almost 8 years later and I still remember
that feeling vividly and will do so for many
years ahead...
How does this story relate to photography?
Well, photographing buildings and
architecture is quite a big challenge for
many of us. While there are a lot of keen
street photography enthusiasts, taking
photos of buildings is not one of the most
popular choices amongst photographers
and can make people anxious as to how to
approach this genre. So here a few tips.
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NZPhotographer