Andy McDonald Black and White Photos

  The Building The 12-storey Ribbon Building forms part of the W Hotel in St. James Quarter, Edinburgh. Designed by Jestico + Whiles and opened in 2024, this 'go big or go home' coiled structure is an ode to the celebratory spirit of Edinburgh. The top storey has a 360 degree outdoor terrace offering views across the city and beyond. The Photograph I was heading home from Glasgow by train, which necessitates a change at Edinburgh. I headed across first thing for a 4pm train, giving me a few hours to reacquaint myself with Auld Reekie. I decided to head towards Leith Walk, and glimpsed this building as I reached the St James Shopping Centre. The W Hotel (which is a premium Marriott hotel) is made up of three buildings with this one as the centrepiece. This means the building is quite enclosed, so I had to make a few images to create this view. The facade is striking and invokes a ribbon forming a spiral, with a mixture of metal cladding and glass - which I have tried to emphasis...

  The Building Formally a dilapidated fish market, Rose Lane Car Park is a state of the art, system built multistorey car park designed by Potter Church & Holmes Architects and opened in 2016. The silver perforated façade is designed in an abstract pattern to minimise light spillage but maximise natural ventilation and is fixed as a series of panels, covering the steel frame. The Photograph We were visiting Norwich for a short break and were staying near Rose Lane. The car park with its perforated façade really stands out against the other buildings in that area. I decided to concentrate on the slab like façade for this photograph to try to emphasise the impact that it has in real life. Two shot panoramic image taken with Sony A7RII and a Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Shift lens. See this and more of my work at my website .

  The Building The theatre was originally a music hall dating back to 1888 before being twice renovated before reopening in 1895 as the New Lyric Opera House. The theatre was saved from closure and demolition in 1966, instead the auditorium was dismantled and reinstalled piece by piece in its current location before reopening in 1979. This picture shows the redeveloped box office and entrance, designed by Rick Mather Architects and opened around 2007. Work has continued to redevelop and the theatre was nominated for RICS Awards in 2016. The Photograph This was taken back in February 2024 but was only processed this week. I like buildings with a good mix of contrasting shapes, and this is certainly one of those with multiple angles and the prominent curved wall. My main aim when processing this picture was to emphasise the bold, standout sign but also showing the entrance and box office plus the side windows. From a technical point of view, I used a shift lens to ensure that all of ...

  The Building Overlook Towers in Herndon VA is close to Washington Dulles Airport. It is a 9 storey office block with suites, including the US Headquarters of Airbus. The building was designed by Noritake Associates and was opened in 2007. The façade is composed of precast architectural panels and mirrored glass curtain walls.  The Photograph For the first time in over a year I needed to make a work trip. I always make a point of taking a camera and one or two lenses when I travel as you never know when you might see a photo opportunity.  This time I was visiting our US HQ. I had the Sony A7RII and Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Shift lens with me which I used to take this photograph. Clearly this photograph is all about the shape of the building and the many, many windows (464 individual panes, which all had their own selection). Once selected, I abstracted the windows using various gradients layered onto each other. Once I had decided how to handle the glass on this building I moved...