Brandon Burns is a photographer whose work accompanies him as a professional in the architecture field and the two heavily inspire each other. Based out of Fort Worth, he and his wife Kelly are surrounded by world renowned architecture that provides an abundance of subject matter. His photography documents a collection of memories of his surroundings and of the architectural treasures he has encountered abroad.

www.burningphotography.com

When and how did you become interested in Photography?

I have been involved with photography since I was a child. I still have boxes of pictures of buildings taken with my 110 film camera. My photography has been a natural progression through the years that has coincided with my architectural work and training.

What gear do you mainly shoot with?

For digital work, I use an antiquated Canon 300d that either has a Canon 50mm 1.4 or a 20mm 2.8 prime lens attached. For film, I use a Yashica-A, handed down to me by my grandfather, and a Holga. The organic process of loading film, snapping and developing negatives by hand is truly addicting.

What is your #1 source of inspiration?

The holy Architectural Trinity – Steel, Glass and Concrete and what happens when light moves across each.

Many times photographers find themselves with a full schedule of paying gigs, and end up with little time for doing the work they truly love. Do you struggle with finding time for your personal work?

My life revolves around architecture, design and art and there is not a point where one ends and the other begins. All of these art forms experiment with how light interacts with objects and each medium provides different lessons that I can incorporate in the other work. If anything, the assignments I get from my clients challenge me in ways that I may not challenge myself. Recently, I was given an assignment from a designer who had a great idea of photographing a clients two black and white standard poodle on contrasting backgrounds. I never would have dreamed I would one day be photographing two poodles but the series ended up being one of my favorite series that I have produced.

What is your all time favorite genre to shoot (portraiture, conceptual, commercial, etc..)?

Architecture – It doesn’t move, but it is no less finicky about having it’s picture taken.

Do you have any upcoming shows or events you want our readers to know about?

I’m showing at the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival for the first time April 8-11. It is such a great event and I’m thrilled to be a part of it this year rather than a spectator. As an added bonus, there is rumor one of my favorite bands Husker Du will be playing this year. Where else can someone find Husker Du, Kelly Willis and 400,000 people taking a stroll?

What is one thing that makes your work unique>?

I have been told several times that my images help people see a familiar building/object in a new way, which to me, is a huge compliment.

if you could photograph anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Wynton Marsalis. He is a genius in music, a great writer and philanthropist . The guy won a Pulitzer Prize for crying out loud! I spent a lot of time growing up in New Orleans and his family is legendary. I have tickets to his show in March at the Meyerson and I can’t wait. (wink, wink nudge nudge, Wynton if you are reading this, how about letting me backstage to snap some pictures?)

what’s your dream photo field trip?

Traveling around Turkey, Greece and Italy with my wife.

what’s your post production photo process?

Usually, it is very little. For digital work, I’ll adjust levels and sharpen a little. Most of my images are taken with a tripod in lower light with long exposures which results in a very nice saturation of colors. For film, I usually do the same as a little is lost in the scanning process with a little bump of warmth to the overall image. I use a V500 for scanning and my images seem a little blue when scanned. If you’ve noticed that I’ve performed some post production, I’m not doing my job of capturing an image.

if you had unlimited resources to purchase any type of camera, what would it be and why?

I would really like to get the equipment and knowledge to start making ambrotypes. The end product of the image on glass gives such a sense of depth and originality to the piece that is unlike any paper print that is easily reproducible. If anyone hasn’t seen one in person the Amon Carter Museum has a great collection.

who are your favorite shooters and why

In reference to the ambrotypes, above there are some great artists on flickr such as Heyoka and Cynan Jones. Polly Chandler produces images on Polaroid 665 that are so incredibly simple and beautiful that they constantly remind me to stop making everything so complicated. Atget and Shulman. I would like to have seen these two critique one another.

what has been the shining moment of your career thus far?

Being invited by the great Photopolusians to be the Art Star this week! Also, I’m new to selling my work and I was honored to have a long time photographer enamored with a few of my images. He ended up buying one of my prints which was his first print to buy from another photographer. It also happened to be my first print to be sold.

samples of Brandon’s work: