by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 14^th of November 2022

The admiration of Ash Camas for minimalistic aesthetics and contemporary design had a great influence on her work.  Photography became a part of her life.  Ash likes to travel and to discover new cities, always in search of architectural highlights. To her, it is also a kind of meditation to avoid the tensions and cruelty of the world. Let's forget about everything and plunge in Ash's wonderful world through this interview.

'The Iceberg' (Aarhus, Denmark)

I am an architectural photographer based in Toronto. I am the mother of two grown children and a very cute bunny. I live with my family.

'The Two Towers'  (Absolute World aka Marilyn Monroe Towers – Mississauga, Canada)

Apart from photography, I enjoy listening to music and very long walks in the urban areas to find hidden visual gems. I am also an enthusiastic book reader.

'Repetition' – Calgary, Canada

My life as a photographer began with Instagram around 10 years ago. I used to take photos of street art as a hobby and later my interest shifted to architectural photography. My admiration for minimalistic aesthetics and contemporary design was a great influence on this shift.

'The Touch' (La Mère Créatrice Mural by El Mac in Montreal)

Eventually, photography became an important part of my life. I heard somebody say that once photography gets into the bloodstream, it's like an addiction. Same for me as well. It’s no longer a hobby. I carry my camera bag everywhere and don’t want to miss an opportunity. Sometimes while walking, I suddenly discover an interesting architecture or sometimes I find them by doing research. I like to travel and before visiting a new city, I always research the local architectural highlights.

'The Waves' (Vejle, Denmark)

I find photography very rewarding and exhilarating. Strolling the streets casually and just looking for structures while listening to my music is like a meditation for me. My camera helps me to see beautiful things around me from different perspectives and in more details, which makes me appreciate my surroundings even more. This is how I avoid the tensions and cruelty of the world.

'Windows of Solitude' (Mexico City, Mexico)

When I find something interesting to photograph, I first look at it as a whole and work my way around it to find unique angles, patterns and perspectives.

'Strike a Pose' (Rochester, USA)

If I can’t create an artistic image with the whole architecture, I look for a fragment of the entire building that has some interesting artistic appeal. The fragment must have some bright colours, shadows, lines, geometric patterns, etc. Once I find it, I try to create a two-dimensional minimal abstract art out of that whole building. I make it so that my composition is very simple without clutter and framed without having to crop too much. The artistic elegance of the subject plays a major role in my research. To present my work in the best possible way, I do my post processing with Photoshop.

'Connect the Squares' (The Simmons Hall at MIT, Cambridge, USA – Steven Holl Architects)

'Composition  with Red, Blue and Yellow'

'The Big Red and the Small Red'

I don't want my camera bag to be heavy. I keep my gears to a minimum. Same goes for travelling as well. So I always carry three different kinds of lenses: Standard, Wide Angle and Telephoto Lens. I think I use my standard one the most. 

'The Man With A Yellow Backpack' (Copenhagen, Denmark)

'The Thinker'

Much of my inspiration comes from travelling and exploring new surroundings. I'm also inspired by abstract art and get inspiration by following various photographers on social media. They each teach me to look at things differently.

'The Three Doors

'Circles and Rectangles'

My suggestion for a beginner architectural photographer is to get to know your subject, take your time, walk around the structure and always shoot raw, learn how to use the photo editing tool and join social media groups of professional photographers like 1x to get feedback to improve yourself. 

'The Silence of Sorrow' (Ottawa, Canada)

I'm not only hooked on photography, I'm hooked on 1x as well. Being part of the largest online curated gallery in the world is amazing. I visit the page a few times a day to look at the photos published by talented photographers. 1x gives me the motivation to become better. 

'Hypnotizer' (Duisburg, Germany)

Thanks so much dear Yvette for giving me this opportunity!
We're glad to read more about you, Ash.  It is good to have you in our fine community.