History
In 1972, I was an architect working in Indianapolis, Indiana. I built a darkroom table over the bath in my apartment. Since there was no shower, I had to crawl under the table to take a bath. That was inconvenient, to say the least. After several months, my darkroom experience ended, and I went back to taking showers and photographing with slide film.
In 1973, I was introduced to a computer at my workplace. I was immediately captivated by the magical power of software. Years later, with the arrival of digital photography, I saw a synergy between computing and photography and instinctively knew that with a ‘digital darkroom,’ I could recover from my wet darkroom misadventure.
Upon my return to Australia, the serious business of family, mortgage, and work became my priorities. Photography went into hiatus for two decades.
When retirement loomed, I decided to pursue photography. In 2003, I bought my first digital camera. Around 2006, I downloaded a Beta version of Adobe Lightroom—my digital darkroom had arrived! I have owned every version of Lightroom in its various iterations, and post-processing images is now a fundamental part of my image-making.
Approach
My photography evolved as I followed the vicissitudes of fashion and explored the styles of photographers whose work I admired, but in time, I sought the stability of a signature style.
Architectural Modernism, which reached its peak around the time I studied architecture, informs my style. Modernism's essence includes minimalism as a design ethic, the idea that form should follow function, and the idea that ornament is anathema. I have applied these ideas to photography.
Modernism influenced all art forms, including photography. Many photographers, such as Paul Strand and Ansel Adams, can be described as modernists. Adams (and all the f/64 photographers and those who followed them) reacted against Pictorialism by striving “to define photography as an art form by a simple and direct representation through purely photographic methods”. In the early 20th century, this uncompromising approach was revolutionary, but in the digital age, where we have a great variety of powerful RAW editing tools, Adams’ photographs appear constrained.
In architectural photography, I enjoy portraying interesting buildings in a simple, clean, direct way—the much-derided ‘record image’. Over time, however, I have found it more satisfying to transform an image into a stylised, symbolic semi-abstraction of reality, following the Modernist approach. This approach provides something more by raising questions of form, tonality, and the genesis of the subject.
Find and buy
You can find me on Locationscout.
You can buy my stuff by contacting me at robert.dettman@me.com.
Biography
Robert Dettman B Arch AFIAP AAPS SAPS
In 2005, Robert joined the Eastern Suburbs Camera Club and the Australian Photographic Society (APS). This led to him becoming chair of the APS Digital Group and then a member of the APS Management Committee. During that time, he was also treasurer and president of his local club.
Robert’s photography is influenced by his architectural training. His images are marked by clarity, simplicity, and minimalism. He is an accredited judge, talks to camera clubs on various subjects, leads Architectural Photography workshops in various Australian cities, and gives seminars for Lightroom users.
Exhibitions
2023: Finalist in the Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize Exhibition
2022: Burnside Council Atrium, Tusmore, “Faded Dreams” Exhibition.
2020: AIARTS, Gallery, South Australia. “Aerial Views of Kati Thanda – Lake Eyre”.
2020: SA Living Arts “Land and the Built Environment”, Arkaba Hotel, Fullarton.
2019: Australian Conceptual Photography Prize - Acceptance, Magnet Galleries, Melbourne, Victoria.
2019: SAPF Group Print Exhibition, Hamra Centre and Myer Atrium, Adelaide.
Published
2017 Australian Photography: Architectural portfolio.
2016 Pictures Das Foto-Magazin: “Adelaide Entertainment Centre”.