Photograph by Julius Shulman

End Page: Immortalize Your House: Architectural Photographer Julius Shulman

Adele Cygelman

November 4, 2003

Julius Shulman believes that everything in his life was preordained, starting with his birth date, 10-10-1910. On March 5, 1936, he happened by a Richard Neutra house in Los Angeles, took six pictures with his Kodak Brownie, and his life path was set. He became the interpreter for Neutra and other modern masters, turning their concrete and steel visions into iconic imagery.

Shulman, who recently turned 93, is still an active participant in the architectural process. He writes his own books and opens his studio to anyone—architects, editors, students—who asks. He can locate any image from his voluminous archive within minutes and, with the help of his daughter, Judy, is gradually transferring 70 years of photography onto discs. He returned to photograph the Kaufmann house in Palm Springs and has shot the new Los Angeles Cathedral and a chain of hotels in Hawaii. Next he will document Frank Gehry’s Disney Hall.

His advice is simple: "Get to the essence of what you are trying to photograph. A camera is the least important element of a photographer’s life."

Julius Shulman, c/o Judy McKee, 805.965.4113

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