Shutter Mike Photography

Phoenix Sunset

Just a few clouds in the sky make for more dramatic sunsets.  This sunset was photographed from Taliesin West in Scottsdale.  The mountain in the distance is Camelback Mountain.

This is the final post of photographs from the AIA Phoenix 2010 Home Tour.  These last two homes are similar in that they both share very modern designs with clean lines and hard surfaces as the celebrate the materials used.  Concrete, steel, block and glass are not covered up with drywall and stucco but left exposed as significant structural and design elements.  Homes in the previous posts can be found here:  AIA 2010 Phoenix Home tour Part I, AIA 2010 Phoenix Home tour Part II, AIA 2010 Phoenix Home tour Part III.

This is the third of four posts featuring the homes on the 2010 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Home Tour in Phoenix.  Part I features photographs from a home that blended with its desert site almost seamlessly.  Part II had three homes of varying styles.  This post features two homes that were remodels of mid 20th century homes.  The resulting residences are a blending of the original structures and modern needs.  Each used diverse and rich materials to some very beautiful architecture.

This is part II of my architecture photography from the AIA 2010 Home Tour in Phoenix.  Images from part one and more details on the tour can be found here.

The three photographs below are from one of my favorite houses on the tour.  The attention to detail was amazing.  Everything from the materials used to the placement of windows to the entire layout of the home was obviously done with an incredible amount of thought and planning.  The end result was a truly spectacular home.

Museum number two on my list of the top 5 museums worth photographing in Phoenix is the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA).  Located in the Scottsdale Civic Plaza near the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts SMoCA is a bit of an eclectic building from an architectural standpoint.  It incorporates several materials into the buildings facade including glass, concrete, corrugated steel, and mirrored surfaces.

I shot this museum twice, once in mid-afternoon and once at the “magic hour.”  It shows much better in very late afternoon as the sun is beginning to set.  The various surfaces of the museum’s exterior reflect and play with the setting sun light very well.

One thing to note on this museum is that they forbid photography in the interior spaces.

The 1960’s were an age of architectural experimentation. Designers of both residences and public buildings were branching out from the traditional and embracing the modern and space-age. Materials such as concrete and glass were being stretched to previously unheard of limits allowing for designs that were anything but conventional. The style of architecture that emerged form this period of experimentation came to be known as mid-century modern. It can be seen in track homes of the day as well as banks, churches and civic buildings.

In the Phoenix area, mid-century modern architecture was embraced full force. The city was experiencing a surge in its population and designers of the day such as Ralph Haver, Wendell Rossman and the fellows of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin were designing multiple projects all over the valley.

These buildings stand as monuments to that era and today offer some fantastic photography opportunities.  I have focused on churches in the mid-century modern design here and have included a map of several of the churches in the Phoenix area.
View Mid-Century Modern Church Architecture in Phoenix in a larger map