Apertures: Framing the Past

By photographer Jill Tate

Jill Tate is an architecture & interiors photographer and has worked with Landmark for several years. Here Jill shares some of her favourite images of Landmarks.

I’ve been very fortunate to work with the Landmark Trust for the past three years as an architecture and interiors photographer, photographing around 40 Landmarks for marketing communications such as the website and the coffee table classic - the Landmark Handbook.

When I visit each new building, I’m just as excited as I was when I arrived at my first: Brinkburn Mill in Northumberland, which is not far from my home in Newcastle. I remember the feeling of wonder and excitement as I drove down the bumpy roads to get there, opening gate after gate. It was as if a secret door had opened and I was transported into another world. My job as an architectural photographer is remarkably varied, but there’s nothing quite like photographing a Landmark.

Compared to holidaymakers, my visit to each Landmark is relatively short, and I aim to harness my first impressions to convey the essence and charm of the building and its location. This wonder and curiosity is a big part of what I hope to express in my images; the anticipation and excitement of uncovering the secrets that each building has to reveal.

As a photographer and artist, I’m interested in the apertures of a building. Windows, doors and other framed perspectives are a threshold between two worlds, both architecturally and symbolically. In selecting which of my images to use for this blog post I’ve used the aperture as a theme, to give a hint of the unique character of Landmark Trust buildings.

Landmarks offer a glimpse of the past and a window to another way of life. When visiting a Landmark I enjoy looking out of the windows, contemplating the many people who have looked out from the same spot and imagining how the view might have changed over time.