Photography offers countless ways to explore creativity, and Nick Carver embodies this diversity. Known for his large format photography, Carver captures striking images of both natural landscapes and abandoned office buildings. His work highlights how settings, whether pristine nature or gritty urban spaces, can tell stories about their past and purpose.
Coming to you from Alex Kilbee with The Photographic Eye, this engaging video explores Carver’s evolution from landscape photography to architectural and abandoned spaces. Carver began his career capturing untouched wilderness, inspired by renowned wildlife photographers like Thomas Mangelsen and Art Wolfe. However, the patience required for wildlife photography didn't suit him. Shifting his focus to landscapes, he avoided human-made elements entirely, seeking backcountry views. Over time, though, his perspective shifted. He began to see the appeal of incorporating human elements, particularly through his commissioned work photographing architectural spaces. This transition not only broadened his creative perspective but also introduced him to the richness of photographing the built environment.
Carver discusses how photographing buildings—especially abandoned ones—offers more variety and creativity compared to traditional landscape work. Iconic landscapes like Mesa Arch or Horseshoe Bend are stunning but limited in compositional options. By contrast, buildings, even unattractive ones, provide endless angles, planes, and textures to explore. This variety allows Carver to engage with his surroundings in new ways, often finding beauty in places others overlook. His ability to reveal a building’s “personality,” shaped by its architecture and history, makes his work especially captivating.
Carver’s equipment choices also play a key role in his creative process. For personal projects, he prefers large format and medium format film cameras over digital. The deliberate pace required by these tools enhances his focus on composition and minimizes reliance on post-production. He explains how using film, with its slower workflow and lack of instant review, helps him stay immersed in the moment. This tactile process not only keeps him engaged but also adds an element of unpredictability, which he finds creatively rewarding.
His project on abandoned office buildings, aptly titled "Dead Inside," exemplifies his unique perspective. When scouting locations, Carver uses his phone to frame shots and imagine the final composition. He’s drawn to spaces that show evidence of repair, decay, or adaptation, which he believes tells the story of the building’s life. For Carver, it’s not just about photographing walls and windows; it’s about capturing the human impact that gives the space its character. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Kilbee.
