Geisel Library - Architectural Icon

I have taught at the PPC West Coast School of Photography in San Diego for the past several years. One of the locations I take my students to photograph is the iconic library on the University of California San Diego campus. This remarkable building is a landmark of modern architecture and is named after Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.

Over the years, I have photographed the library many times, capturing its unique angles and architectural details. However, I had always wanted to photograph it at twilight. Before West Coast School began, I connected with one of the students who would be attending my class, and we decided to visit the library the evening before the program started. We arrived early to scout the location and ultimately chose the classic viewpoint that many photographers favor because it offers the strongest composition.

Since I was teaching an architectural photography workshop, I brought my Canon 24mm tilt-shift lens mounted on my Sony a7r III. In fact, I photograph nearly 85% of my architectural work with a tilt-shift lens. One of the biggest advantages of this lens is its ability to keep vertical lines straight and parallel, eliminating the distortion that often occurs when photographing tall buildings.

For architectural photographers, twilight is often considered the "money shot." The balance between the fading natural light and the building's interior illumination creates a dramatic and inviting image. It's also the reason many of my personal fine art architectural photographs are captured during this brief window of time.

I was extremely pleased with how this image turned out. The combination of the dramatic twilight sky and the striking design of the library created exactly the look I had envisioned. It's an image I'll likely enter in print competitions over the coming year.