STRONG IMAGES RENDERED WITH CLARITY
By BETH DUNLOP
ART REVIEW
Herald Architecture Critic
The Miami Herald
Tuesday, August 13, 1991; Page 5C
For eight years, Raul Pedroso was a construction reporter; he wrote about buildings for a living and photographed them in his free time. Then, in 1987, he set out on his own as a professional photographer. It was not, he says, a daring leap “I’d been planning it for a long time.”
A selection of Pedroso’s architectural photographs are on view at the gallery of the American Institute of Architects in Coral Gables. Pedroso finds strong imagery in even the gentlest of buildings. There’s a powerful clarity to his work, and a strong sense of color and light.
The works on view includes a number of classically inspired buildings by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and one classicist house by an early student, Carlos Figueroa. Another fine photograph is of a Palm Beach house designed by the young New York architect Alex Gorlin.
Pedroso came of age along with Miami’s new wave of talented young architects, and he has wisely chosen to chronicle some of their work; one of the most intriguing photographs on view is of a model by the architect Eddy Castineira. “I try to get the image the architect is looking for, to use his vision of the building… and at the same time compose the photograph in an artistic way” said Pedroso.
Part of the exhibition is devoted to a fascinating group of eight photographs Pedroso did while on assignment in Australia for the Illinois-based National Institute of Exploration.
Photographs by Raul Pedroso are on view through Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at the AIA, 800 Douglas Entrance; Coral Gables; call 448-7488 during those hours.
ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHER TRIES TO SEE THINGS THEIR WAY
By GINA CARROLL
Herald Staff Writer
PEOPLE
The Miami Herald
Sunday, Nov. 24, 1991
Raul Pedroso likes to do business by word of mouth. That’s why you wont find a listing for his business, Solo Photography, in the Miami telephone book.
Pedroso and his architectural photography are known in the South Florida design community; now he has attracted the attention of a wider audience. Pedroso has been named 1991 Architectural Photographer of the Year by the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects.
Pedroso said it helps to have assignments offering “something exciting to work with. A picture is a hit if it is maximizing the subject matter. That’s what good architectural photography is all about. You have to keep in mind the intention of the architect.”
While Pedroso depends on his knowledge of lights and lenses to capture an image, he relies on questions to choose the right image. “I question the features of the building,” he said. “What is the reason a design element was placed at that site? From which vantage point would you be most comfortable looking at the building?”
A self-taught photographer, Pedroso said he is most comfortable looking at a building as a “comfortable, ambient place” rather than as a massive structure.
From 1979 to 1987, Pedroso spent weekdays working for Dodge Reports, a construction news service, and weekends taking pictures. By the time he was ready to go solo, he had built a network of contacts and a portfolio that included work published in trade magazines.
Until this year, he had not entered a competition. His decision to do so was prompted as much by Don Sackman, of the Miami firm of Baldwin Sackman Carrington, as it was by the slumping economy.
“Photography is a luxury in the architectural business. Like everyone else, I am not exempt,” he said. Still, he’s not planning to list Solo Photography in the telephone directory. “You cannot put a price on the amount of freedom a self-employed person has,” he said “Rule No. 1 is to please the client. Rule No. 2 is to please yourself.”