Photographer Kip Harris is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Built Environment’. To see Kip’s body of work, click on any photograph.

As a practicing architect for over 30 years, I have seen and purchased a good deal of architectural photography. Most of it is done by very competent commercial photographers attempting to capture what the architect had in mind. Most of these photographers are paid by the architects and as a result they look for the collection of images that will boost the architects’ egos. Many important buildings are basically designed with the photos of that building in mind.

The superb rendering software now available makes it less important to actually build the building. The stock figures, which reappear in rendering after rendering, are added for scale. They do not have reactions or opinions about where they are placed. You can buy them online and reuse them over and over.

I am primarily a street photographer, but I will make a detour to see buildings which have interested me. My photography of built spaces attempts to capture what it is like for the user of an architectural space not to venerate it. The user response may be awe, bewilderment, complete indifference, or a mixture of all of three. Buildings gain their patina from use and never remain as the pristine objects of a rendering. It is still important to visit buildings in person to understand the context, the character of the space, the light, the smell, and how the building is used and regarded. Nothing takes the place of being there.

Bio:

Harris grew up in a small farming community in Idaho. He holds degrees in English literature from Dartmouth College, in humanities from the University of Chicago, and architecture from the University of Utah. He was a principal of FFKR Architects in Salt Lake City for nearly 30 years.

A serious photographer since the late 80s, Harris has exhibited in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe. He has been published in Shots Magazine, All About Photo, Tagree, The Photo Review, Your Daily Photograph, Street Photography Magazine, Dodho Magazine, Black & White Magazine (cover) and a number of other on-line photographic sites. He has been a resident at the Rural Residence in Contemporary Art in the Val Camonica Valley of Italy; Gracia in Antigua, Guatemala; and Ping-Pong in Berlin. Place M Gallery in Tokyo presented a solo exhibition of 40 of his works from the “At Work” series in May 2025.

All images and text © Kip Harris