CARLETON CHRISTY

I’m Carleton Christy, a photographer based in Los Angeles, California. I specialize in capturing architecture and the built environment.

My interest in this work began with an amazing drafting and architecture teacher in high school who taught me how to design homes and render them as three-dimensional drawings so that a person could see what it would really be like to be inside the space I had imagined. (This was in the 90s before CAD software took over, much less AI applications.) I learned how to make practical designs and, as an artist, I took pains to make sure my work looked beautiful. I still think of those classes as I attempt to make the most beautiful photographs I can of the spaces and objects I encounter, while capturing the intent of the designers who created the plans.

I continued in fine arts with undergraduate and graduate studies in painting, drawing and printmaking. As I refined my fine art practice, I found myself ...guess where—at a tilted drafting table making drawings with the same kinds of drafting pencils I used in high school. I also made mixed media work that showcase cities with myriad buildings from different eras of architectural history.

Then, in about 2018, I started photographing buildings for a documentation project in southern Utah. I needed the proper lens for that project. That led to the purchase of a better camera, which led to the need for a few lights, which led to a diffuser panel. And ...here I am today.

Every object, space, and building has context and its own story. Collaborating with the people who design and tell those stories is a passion for me. My goal is to make photographs I’m proud of—but making something that satisfies a team of creative people is even better.