Photography is now complete for the State houses book.
Keep an eye out – it’s set for release Feb 2014.
Looking for some fresh images for your eyeballs?
Recently loaded onto the site are photographs from two publications I have worked on.
To get your through the final days of winter and inspire you for the warmer days ahead, there’s Summer Houses with writer Andrea Stevens. I have captured more than 20 of this country’s most stunning homes and holiday retreats, each designed to maximise the connection to their environment and provide for a relaxed style of living.
In 1946 a precocious bunch of second-year Auckland architecture students in 1946 established themselves as what would become Group Architects, a celebrated architectural practice which still influences architects, thrills lovers peace, light comfort and beauty today. This book, edited by Julia Gatley follows the group from their early mid-century beginnings through to the structures still used today.
Two new galleries are now up for your viewing pleasure.
In the domestic gallery is Stradwick House in Auckland, designed by Marc Lithgow of Space Division. Awarded 2011 New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture, this sensitively created family home sits on a tree filled section on the North Western slopes of Mount Albert.
Nestled in the heart of New Zealand’s iconic Bay of Islands is picture perfect Omarino, the subject of my latest addition to the Process Gallery.
The photographs were used in a campaign developed by Jill Brinsdon of branding studio Radiation to promote parcels of land in this stunning location.
Naming names may win you a rather lovely prize.
Head over to my new People in NZ Architecture gallery, list all the names of the faces and send them through to me.
All complete and correct entries will be in the draw to win a signed copy of my new book Portrait of a House made on 1 October 2013.
Send your lists to simon@simondevitt.com
Bribes considered. One entry per person. Other obscure conditions may also apply.
Big ups to the team at Inhouse Design for arriving in the finals of the New Zealand Best Design Awards, Editorial and Books section.
Although no doubt slightly biased, it’s looking like a gold from here for Arch MacDonnell, Toby Curnow and Sarah Gladwell.
Awards will be announced on Friday 11 October in Auckland.
The award-winning Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects ‘Hut on sleds’ bach photographed at Whangapoua in the Coromandel Peninsula is featured in the latest Australia Vogue Living Magazine July/August 2013. Catch a peek of the bedroom here, and head to your nearest and dearest magazine shop for a copy.
Samuel Wong is the winner of this years prize for his entry ‘Rider’.
My description of his winning entry:
“The winning photograph left me in no doubt. Its a picture I wish I had made myself. The sense of the uncanny, the surreal and a poetic nod to the theme are all captivating characteristics of the winning photograph. The winning entry reveals a deceptively ambiguous narrative that held my attention and begged re-visiting. Its success rests, uneasily in between the everyday and the otherworldly.”
Written by: Anna Goldwater Alexander
May 31, 2013
PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS:
PHOTOGRAPHY FOCUS:
SIMON DEVITT’S
PORTRAIT OF A HOUSE
New Zealand photographer Simon Devitt has been capturing homes and homeowners in for close to fifteen years. His new book, Portrait of a House, collaborates with graphic designer Arch MacDonnell of Inhouse Design. Portrait of a House is a photo album of the Athfield House or “The Village on the Hill” known by Wellington, New Zealand locals. The Athfield House is an architectural experiment started by Ian Athfield in 1965 on the Khandallah hillside in Wellington. It’s quite reminiscent of the Mos Eisley Cantina on the planet Tattooine, in Star Wars, Episode IV.
The idea for this photo book came from Devitt’s inspiration from other shelter photo books such as Robin Morrison’s 1978 book Images of a House. “A house is a pretty refined subject to make a book about,” explains Devitt. “It is not market driven, it is content driven and born out of passion. Life has happened there like in no other house, and the ‘living’ leaves its evidence, time has played out on its surface. There is a lot to be said about sitting still and how that looks. The Athfield house is a wonderful example of this. An accessible counterpoint to a largely asset based living that pervades New Zealand.”
The “living” Devitt refers to is the extensive colorful dinner parties with it’s well-known local bohemians (as seen in our slideshow) & the mass livestock that roam the property. Simon Devitt is the recent recipient of the New Zealand Architecture Awards’ Presidential citation for photography. He also has a lecture in Photography of Architecture at the University of Auckland.
Portrait of a House is a combination of beautiful architectural & lifestyle photography as well as bits of historical images, take a peek inside at some of the beautiful photography Simon Devitt has created for his debut publication.
Elam Projectspace Gallery • 19 June – 22 June
Opens 5.30pm on Tuesday 18 June
Hours 11am – 4pm Wed-Sat
Where 20 Whitaker Place, Auckland
Artists Architecture Students of Auckland University
Theme Fringe
This prize, established in the School of Architecture and Planning at The University of Auckland in 2008, is awarded annually in recognition of the best student photograph in Architecture. The 2013 theme is ‘Subterranean.’
 |
09 373 7559 ext 81682 |
 |
creative.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/elam-projectspace |
 |
Yes |
www.photographyfestival.org.nz
Photo: Zee Shake Lee, 2012 Winner
24 May 2013
At the New Zealand Architecture Awards Dinner at the Viaduct Events Centre I was humbled to receive the President’s award citation:
Energetic, committed and enterprising, architectural photographer Simon Devitt has proved himself to be a very able chronicler of the work of New Zealand’s architects.
By dint of his skill, application and determination, Simon has carved out a significant and still- developing career in a challenging field in a challenging market.
Courteous and properly assertive, he has pursued his career with ambition and imagination, and his drive to master his craft has bought significant benefits to many practitioners.
His instigation and execution of demanding publishing projects is testament to the impressive seriousness with which he approaches his craft.
Photo by my dad
© Copyright – Simon Devitt 2024 | Site by Tanker Creative