Al Ensley, Architectural & Interior Photographer

In 1996, Al Ensley picked up a Nikon N6006 and fell in love with the way the world looked through the lens. Then, sports photography captivated his attention. The challenge of anticipating the shot and waiting for it to come into the frame was fascinating.  And then, it was made even more intense by the pressures of shooting with film.  You had one shot to get the photo right.

It’s 20 years later, and you won’t find Al with a zoom lens on the sidelines of a basketball court any more.  His subjects are slower now.  Much slower. In fact, they don’t move at all. But those years spent honing the craft of anticipating the perfect shot – setting it up with painstaking attention to detail – and then waiting for the moment it materializes in the frame are evident in every one of his architectural photographs.

Al is now an Indiana-based photographer who specializes in architecture, interiors, and commercial spaces throughout the Midwest. He uses natural and artificial light to capture the character of indoor and outdoor spaces with the utmost attention to detail. For Al, it’s about visual storytelling. Every space has a story that goes far beyond function.

The developer who sees an empty tract of land and imagines something new; the architect who refines the idea and contributes creative vision; the tradespeople and craftspeople who bring the vision to life with artistry and precision; and the designers who pull the features into a comfortable, livable space are all part of the story. A strong architectural photograph captures all of these layers of elements in one compelling image, and in a subtle way, it pays tribute to everyone who contributed to the space.

In an era of truly incredible smart phone cameras and filter apps to boot, people are demanding increasingly higher image quality.  And that’s a good thing.  That old Nikon N6006 doesn’t come out of its case anymore.  The equipment that replaced it allows for better images and more control over the camera from pre-production to post-production.  But the composition discipline that developed while using that old film camera to capture fast-moving, unpredictable subjects, means the difference between good and great architectural photographs today.