Architecture photography of Helsinki Dreispitz building in Basel – vertical concrete structure by Herzog & de Meuron - Alan Philip Muller - Architecture Photographer

17 Dynamic Years of Growth as an Architecture Photographer

by with No Comment PhotographyVideography

17 Dynamic Years of Growth as an Architecture Photographer

My visual journey began long before I ever considered holding a camera. I have always been naturally drawn to shapes, light, shadows, curves, and materials. This instinctive attention to visual elements has shaped the way I perceive the world and still influences how I compose each frame as an architecture photographer.

Years later, a former partner of mine was completing her thesis in architecture. Through that experience, I came into contact with contemporary architecture in a more structured and deliberate way. I began exploring the work of architects such as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Richard Meier, Daniel Libeskind, Herzog & de Meuron, Tadao Ando, and Santiago Calatrava. Each of them offered something unique that helped me see the built environment with new eyes. This perspective would later become essential in my work as an architecture photographer.

Frank Gehry’s bold deconstructivist forms often break free from traditional geometry. Zaha Hadid’s flowing, futuristic structures emphasize movement and transformation. Richard Meier’s clean lines and controlled use of white express clarity and order. Daniel Libeskind introduces tension, fragmentation, and historical depth into his projects. Herzog & de Meuron reinterpret materials and surfaces with remarkable sensitivity to context. Tadao Ando’s minimalist architecture creates meditative atmospheres through the interplay of natural light and concrete. Santiago Calatrava blends engineering and sculpture, creating dynamic structures inspired by organic movement and anatomical forms.

Photography eventually became the way I chose to respond to what I saw in these works. It allowed me to explore not only the surface of architecture, but also its rhythm, weight, proportions, and the mood it can create. As an architecture photographer, I focus on how space feels, how materials behave under different light conditions, and how buildings interact with their environment.

Over time, architecture became a recurring and meaningful subject in my photographic work. I began paying closer attention to how curves could soften a structure, how angles might suggest direction or tension, and how natural light could transform surfaces throughout the day. I began looking beyond the outline of a building, focusing instead on atmosphere, material presence, and spatial composition. This way of seeing has remained central to how I operate as an architecture photographer.

You can see this influence in some of the images I have captured:

  1. Architecture Photography Gallery
  2. Seville – Metropol Parasol
  3. Universität Basel Juristische Fakultät
  4. Herzog + De Meuron – St. Jakob Park (Stadium Complex)

While photography remains my primary focus, I have recently started to explore videography as a natural extension of my visual work. Working with motion enables me to incorporate time and movement in the way I approach a subject, offering a different layer of interpretation. I can demonstrate how people interact with space, how light travels across surfaces, and how architecture integrates with its surroundings in a seamless flow. This adds depth to my work as an architecture photographer, expanding into video.

In parallel, I have integrated the use of drones into my workflow, utilizing them for both aerial photography and video. Drones enable me to present otherwise inaccessible perspectives, especially when it comes to showing the relationship between a building and its site. Carefully planned interior movements can also be captured with stabilised flight, offering smooth transitions that maintain the architectural intent without unnecessary distortion.

What I aim to produce is not driven by trends or spectacle. My goal as an architecture photographer is to create visuals that are clear, coherent, and respectful of the subject. I rely on visual precision, consistency, and an honest reading of space. Every building deserves to be seen with care and understood in its context.

Looking ahead, I would genuinely like to collaborate with architecture studios, especially here in the Basel area. Working alongside professionals who design and shape the spaces we live in would allow me to continue learning and refining my perspective. At the same time, I believe that thoughtful visual content, both photographic and video, can help studios present their work more clearly and effectively, whether for publications, competitions, or client communication.

It is something I hope to explore further in the near future. And who knows, maybe something meaningful could come out of it.

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Landscape photography showing a blooming tree-lined avenue in Basel, viewed from a drone at sunset, blending spring colors with urban design.

3 Completed Works from a Remarkable Week of Full Commitment

by with No Comment DJingPersonal ReflectionsPhotographyVideography

3 Completed Works
from a Remarkable Week of Full Commitment

Some weeks don’t just pass; they shape you. This one was defined by effort, rhythm, and the quiet discipline required to complete meaningful creative work. The video, the photographs, and the DJ set each took time, care, and a precise kind of engagement. What emerged were three completed works that now stand on their own.

They weren’t rushed, and they weren’t decorative. These completed works are the result of focus, patience, and a need to close the circle. It was a week when things came together, where intentions became visible outcomes.

The Fasnacht Video: A City in Ritual

Three days of shooting. Dozens of hours of editing, color correction, and color grading. The Fasnacht video wasn’t built around spectacle. It was built around presence.

Every frame is grounded in observation. There is no commentary, no overlayed meaning, just light, sound, movement, and the city as it is. The edit became a meditative process. Color correction was about bringing out not just detail but also emotional resonance. As a completed work, this video holds a kind of stillness I couldn’t have predicted at the beginning.

Watch the Fasnacht video on my website

Stepping Back for Clarity: Three Photographs in Dialogue

On Saatchi Art, I’ve gathered three recent images into a collection titled “Stepping Back for Clarity”. All of them were made from above, where the distance of a drone shot allowed me to reframe familiar places with a different awareness.

  • The Line of Passion
  • A Brushstroke of Spring in Gold and Crimson
  • The Blooming Turn

Each image is a way of pausing, of breathing, of reconnecting with what’s underneath the surface. There’s motion and structure, but also the space to feel something. The process of composing and editing these photos was deliberate. These completed works weren’t spontaneous. They were built through attention and choice.

View the full collection on Saatchi Art

Inner Signal: A Sonic Reflection

The DJ set “Inner Signal” was born out of a desire to make space for thought, stillness, and tension held gently. There’s no rush to fill the air. Instead, the mix develops slowly, inviting the listener into a kind of shared tranquillity.

There’s ambient. There’s space. There’s silence. The work wasn’t difficult in a technical sense, but it required time and intention to shape. Of the completed works I finished this week, this was perhaps the one that asked for the quietest kind of attention.

Listen to Inner Signal on my DJing page

Looking Back: What This Week Taught Me

It’s easy to underestimate the energy required to bring something to completion. Not just to start a creative idea, but to carry it throughacross moments of doubt, distraction, or physical fatigue. Each of these completed works didn’t just happen. They were built over days of presence, choice, and attention to rhythm.

The Fasnacht video required a kind of quiet commitment to watching without interfering. The photographs in “Stepping Back for Clarity” pushed me to work with precision, even in moments when intuition led the way. And “Inner Signal” reminded me that slowing down can be its own form of resistance. In very different ways, these projects were about holding a direction without rushing to the end.

There were moments when it would have been easier to pause or leave things unfinished, but I knew the only way forward was to complete them with the deserved care.

I’m not saying these are perfect works. What I’m saying is that they are complete. And in the act of completing them, I also sharpened something in myself.

Completion isn’t just about finishing. It’s about staying with something long enough to let it become what it needs to be. This week was shaped by the effort to do precisely that.

These completed works are more than outcomes. They’re records of a process: staying focused, being present, and letting the work mature without interruption. And in a week like this one, that kind of completion felt more essential than ever.

Thanks for reading.

Alan

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A clear side-by-side comparison of Photography vs Videography, showcasing a high-end mirrorless camera on one side and a professional video camera on the other

Photography vs Videography: Key Differences and Insights

by with No Comment PhotographyVideography

Photography vs Videography: 5 Key Differences You Must Know

Photography and videography share common principles, yet they are distinct disciplines requiring different skills, equipment, and creative approaches. Understanding their fundamental differences is crucial for anyone deciding between the two or transitioning from one to the other. This article provides an in-depth comparison based on industry-standard knowledge while integrating insights from my personal journey as a photographer exploring videography.

1. Photography vs Videography: Core Definitions

Photography

Photography is the process of capturing still images that preserve a single moment in time. It relies on composition, lighting, and framing to convey emotions, tell stories, or document reality in a visually compelling way.

Videography

Videography, on the other hand, involves capturing motion over time, often accompanied by sound. It requires not only mastery of composition and lighting but also an understanding of movement, sequencing, and pacing to create engaging visual narratives.

Photography vs Videography has always been a topic of debate, especially for those starting in the creative field. Each has its strengths, and choosing between the two depends on the type of storytelling one aims to achieve.

2. Key Technical Differences in Photography vs Videography

A. Camera Settings & Exposure Control

  • Photography: Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are adjusted for a single exposure, allowing for precise control over motion blur and depth of field.
  • Videography: These settings must remain consistent across frames to maintain uniformity. Shutter speed follows the 180-degree rule, meaning it is typically set to double the frame rate to achieve natural motion blur.

Personal Experience: Coming from photography, I initially struggled with shutter speed adjustments in videography. In still photography, I instinctively controlled exposure settings, but in video mode, settings behave differently, often requiring me to work within constraints I wasn’t used to.

B. Motion and Composition

  • Photography: The composition is static, capturing a single decisive moment.
  • Videography: Composition must account for camera movement, subject motion, and scene transitions, requiring tools like gimbals or stabilizers for smooth shots.

Personal Experience: One of my biggest challenges was adapting to camera movements. In photography, I framed my shot and clicked. In videography, I needed to consider how movement would flow across multiple shots, which often made me second-guess my decisions and hesitate during shoots.

C. Lighting Techniques

  • Photography: Lighting can be adjusted per shot, and flash or strobes are commonly used for controlled exposure.
  • Videography: Requires continuous lighting, with adjustments needed mid-shot as scenes change. Night videography, in particular, demands higher ISO settings or artificial lighting to maintain visibility.

Personal Experience: While shooting at night, I faced real-time exposure challenges. I had to rapidly adjust my aperture and ISO while moving between well-lit areas and darker streets, something I had never encountered in photography.

D. Equipment and Gear

  • Photography: A DSLR or mirrorless camera, lenses, and sometimes a tripod.
  • Videography: To achieve professional-quality footage, additional tools like gimbals, external microphones, ND filters, and drones are necessary.

Personal Experience: My transition required significant investment. I purchased a drone, an action camera, and a gimbal for both my phone and camera. Each tool introduced new learning curves, making the process both exciting and overwhelming.

E. Post-Production Workflow

  • Photography: Editing involves color correction, retouching, and exposure adjustments, often using Lightroom or Photoshop.
  • Videography: Requires a structured editing workflow—including clip selection, sequencing, color grading, sound design, and transitions—using software like Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro.

Personal Experience: In photography, my edits are quick and minimal. In videography, the complexity increases dramatically. Seeing professional editing timelines with hundreds of clips was intimidating, making me question whether I was approaching editing the right way.

Photography vs Videography also differs significantly in post-processing time, with videography requiring more effort and planning to achieve a cohesive final product.

3. Storytelling Differences: The Art of Narrative in Photography vs Videography

Photography: A single frame must tell an entire story, relying heavily on composition and timing.

Videography: Uses multiple shots to build a narrative, requiring skills in sequencing, pacing, and audio synchronization.

Personal Experience: This is where I struggle the most. In photography, I instinctively capture moments that tell a story in one image. In videography, I need to piece together multiple shots to create meaning, and I often find myself stuck on how to structure a sequence effectively.

4. Pros and Cons of Photography vs Videography

Photography Pros:

✅ Easier to learn and requires fewer tools.

✅ Faster editing and post-processing.

✅ Allows for capturing moments in a single frame.

✅ More flexibility in challenging lighting conditions.

Photography Cons:

❌ Limited storytelling capacity compared to video.

❌ Less immersive than motion visuals.

Videography Pros:

✅ Greater storytelling power through motion and sound.

✅ More engaging for viewers.

✅ Can be used effectively for marketing, events, and documentaries.

Videography Cons:

❌ Requires more time for planning, shooting, and editing.

❌ Managing lighting and motion is more complex.

5. Which One Should You Choose?

If you love capturing still moments and enjoy simplicity in editing, photography may be the right path for you. However, if you’re drawn to storytelling through movement and sound, videography is a powerful medium worth exploring. Some creatives, like myself, choose to master both, as they complement each other in many ways.

Final Thoughts on Photography vs Videography

Transitioning from photography to videography requires patience, practice, and a shift in mindset. While my photography background helped me grasp some fundamentals quickly, videography introduced a new level of complexity in movement, lighting, and post-production.

My advice for those making the transition is to embrace the learning curve—the challenges are real, but the creative possibilities make the effort worthwhile. Whether you choose one discipline or decide to pursue both, the key is to experiment and refine your storytelling approach over time.

By understanding these differences and learning from real-world experiences, you can make an informed decision on which path aligns best with your creative goals.

💬 What about you? Do you prefer capturing single moments or crafting visual stories through motion?

Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Shaping My Voice: Music, Photography, and Videography Team Up

by with No Comment DJingPhotographyVideography

Shaping My Voice

Music, Photography, and Videography Team Up

Creativity has always been about expression, but more than that, it’s about connection. Music, photography, and videography are the primary mediums through which I communicate my emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Each feeds into the other, creating a unique synergy that shapes my artistic voice.

The Soundtrack of Creation: Music as a Foundation

Music has always been at the heart of my creative journey. When I’m behind the decks, I’m not just mixing tracks—I’m weaving a narrative. Every beat, every transition, creates a rhythm that mirrors the emotional highs and lows of life itself. This rhythmic exploration is reflected in my photography and videography as well, where I use movement and composition to capture the same flow of energy and emotion.

Photography: Freezing Moments, Shaping Stories

In photography, I find myself capturing more than just an image. Each shot is an interpretation of the world around me, a pause in time that holds a specific emotion or feeling. Similar to the way I build a DJ set, photography is about choosing the right elements—lighting, composition, subject—each one working together to form a complete story. Like music, the scene I capture must resonate with me first before I can share it with others.

Videography: Bringing Sound and Vision Together

Videography adds another layer to this creative process. While photography captures still moments, videography introduces time and movement into the equation. It’s about combining imagery with sound to tell a complete story. Just like a DJ set, each frame, each sound, is carefully placed to evoke the feeling I experienced when creating it. The interplay between these elements creates an immersive experience, allowing the viewer to feel the emotion in a way that still images or sounds alone cannot.

The Interconnection of Creative Disciplines

What binds music, photography, and videography together is the desire to communicate—to connect. Whether I’m curating a DJ set, capturing a photograph, or shooting a video, each act is a means of expression, a way to share my internal world with others. My experience in one discipline influences the others, allowing me to create more cohesive and meaningful work. They are not separate entities but rather interconnected elements that work in harmony.

I’m continuously shaping my voice as an artist through all of these mediums. I look forward to sharing more of these creative explorations and the stories behind them, using the tools of music, photography, and videography to communicate in the most authentic way possible.

#CreativeJourney #MusicPhotographyVideography #ArtisticExpression #VisualStorytelling #DJingAndPhotography #VideoArt #CreativeFusion #ArtInMotion #PhotographyAndMusic #VideographyInspiration

Curious about my creative process? Explore more in my portfolio, and let’s connect through my art. 🌟🎥📸

Interested in collaborating or learning more? Reach out through my “Creative Projects” page! ✨🤝🎶,

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Grafiti on building facade - Dreispitz- Basel

My Journey Creating “Dreispitz: Not What You Might Think”

by with No Comment Videography

My Journey Creating

"Dreispitz: Not What You Might Think"

What if a place you thought you knew turned out to be completely different? That’s precisely what happened when I took my camera to Dreispitz. I expected an industrial zone—what I found was a place full of contrasts, history, and an unexpected creative pulse.

The Unexpected Discovery

When I walked into Dreispitz, I was ready to document an industrial landscape—factories, warehouses, and remnants of a functional past. But as I explored, I realized it was more than that. The mix of repurposed spaces, vibrant creative hubs, and untouched industrial relics gave the area a character I hadn’t anticipated.

Spending time there wasn’t just about capturing footage; it was about observing, absorbing, and letting the environment shape my perspective. This place challenged my assumptions, making me want to return—not just as a videographer but as someone eager to understand its transformation.  

The Setback That Changed Everything

After what I thought was a successful day of filming, I got home and began reviewing the footage—only to discover that, for some inexplicable reason, everything had been recorded in Full HD instead of 4K. The realization was frustrating.

I had two choices:

  1. Settle for lower-quality footage and try to make it work.
  2. Go back and reshoot everything—this time in 4K, the way I had envisioned it.

The decision was obvious. I had to go back. But rather than seeing it as a setback, I took it as an opportunity to approach Dreispitz with fresh eyes, refining my compositions and shots. In the end, that mistake forced me to rethink my visual storytelling, and I believe the final result was stronger because of it.  

The Challenges of Editing My First Full Video

Shooting was the easy part. The real challenge began when I sat down to edit.

This was my first fully edited video project, and I quickly learned that having good footage means nothing if you don’t know how to structure a narrative.

I spent hours experimenting—cutting scenes, adjusting pacing, fine-tuning color grading, and trying to make sense of the countless clips I had captured. At times, it felt overwhelming. Nothing seemed to flow the way I envisioned. But then came breakthroughs—small victories in refining the rhythm, balancing industrial grit with creative warmth, and making each transition feel intentional.

One of the biggest lessons I took from this project was patience. Editing isn’t just about technique; it’s about storytelling. Every decision—whether it was a cut, a color adjustment, or a change in pacing—had to serve the overall narrative.

What This Experience Taught Me

Beyond the technical skills, this project taught me to trust the process.

Dreispitz wasn’t just a location—it became a playground for my creativity. The setbacks, the challenges in post-production, and the satisfaction of seeing everything come together reminded me why I started exploring videography in the first place.

Would I do things differently next time? Absolutely. But that’s the beauty of learning—every project shapes the next.

🎥 Watch the Final Video!

If you haven’t seen the final video yet, you can watch it here:
📍 On my website
📍 On YouTube

Have you ever been surprised by a place you thought you knew? 

Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your experiences!

🔔Want to follow my creative journey? 

Subscribe for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and more → Join here!

#Dreispitz #BehindTheScenes #Videography #CreativeJourney #UrbanExploration

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Chichen Itza - Pyramid of Kukulkán - Travel Photography

My First Steps in Videography: A Journey Through Mexico

by with No Comment Videography

My First Steps in Videography

A Journey Through Mexico

It all started when I booked a two-week trip to Mexico in late 2023. I’d always been fascinated by the country, its landscapes, and its rich history—especially the Mayan and Aztec cultures. In fact, one of my earliest school projects as a child was about the Aztecs, though I can’t recall how I first became aware of these ancient civilizations.

As the trip drew closer, I felt a sense of excitement I hadn’t experienced in years, almost like a child before a big adventure. I wanted to capture every possible moment of this journey, from the stunning landscapes to the vibrant culture. To do that, I decided to fully equip myself: I brought my action camera, trusty camera and lenses, and smartphone. With this combination, I felt ready to document everything the trip had to offer.

During those two weeks, I recorded countless moments, both big and small. While I’ve only shared short clips on Instagram and TikTok so far, this journey marked the beginning of my fascination with videography. It’s a medium that feels different from photography—it allows me to explore motion, sound, and atmosphere in ways I never could before.

What intrigues me most about videography is the power of editing. Unlike photography, which often captures a singular moment, videography gives you the flexibility to tell multiple stories from the same experience. The footage you collect can be shaped, reshaped, and reimagined, creating entirely different narratives depending on your approach. It reminds me of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style, where the same story is told in countless variations. Videography offers that same creative freedom—the ability to focus on different details, shift perspectives, and alter the mood, all within the same set of clips.

Although I’m still at the very beginning of this creative journey, I’m excited by the possibilities that videography offers. It’s about capturing not just what I see but the feeling of being there—the essence of the place and the experience. For now, I’m focused on learning as much as I can, from shooting techniques to editing, and I’m looking forward to growing in this new field.

During a recent trip to Lanzarote, I came across the skeletal remains of a massive building in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps it was meant to be another resort, but it was left unfinished, abandoned to time and nature. Writers had left their marks on the concrete walls, turning decay into art. One piece stood out to me, and I found myself wondering: how would the artist want their work to be seen? After spending a few minutes reflecting on the angles, the light, and the mood, I took the shot. I like to think I captured it in the way the artist might have intended.

That’s how I approach photography—guided entirely by instinct. I observe everything around me, letting the details and the atmosphere reveal themselves. I adjust my aperture to decide how much depth of field or detail I want, set the exposure, and then capture the moment. It’s nothing complicated, but for me, it’s everything.

Every photo is unique because it marks the moment I truly see and feel a place when I am definitely part of it. It’s when I’ve observed, taken in the surroundings, and found the one thing that grabs me. Sometimes, nothing grabs me. I’ve walked away from subjects others would call extraordinary or iconic simply because they didn’t spark that connection for me.

What I hope to share through my photos is the beauty I see, the sensation of being present in that place, of being a part of it. I want viewers to notice the details, the forms, the colors—perhaps even to think what I thought or felt when I pressed the shutter.

Photography, for me, isn’t about impressing others or chasing what’s trendy. It’s about being present, seeing deeply, and inviting others into that same experience. Maybe it’s a bit unconventional, but it’s honest.

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