05 Nov New Sainsburys Store, Ottery St Mary
As a Commercial Architectural Photographer I am usually able to dictate when we are able to do the photography on site, that decision primarily based around the weather and the time of day. This is one of those commissions that we couldn’t do that, our slot was a couple of hours before opening of the first day. There were quite a few things didn’t go well. We are working for the architects Stride Treglown and the main contractor Kier.
The two main problems were the rain and second we couldn’t get the main foyer lights on. They are all computer controlled and could not be overridden. I am sure they could be, but this is the first day, all the staff are under pressure to open the store which looks absolutely amazing. Every single product item on display is inch perfectly positioned with all the product labels facing the aisle.
Thankfully the weather did brighten up a bit later in the day but too late for the time when they had kept the car park clear and the early morning light. Generally I much prefer shots that look ‘lived in’, photographs with people using these buildings designed to be used.
