Growing up in an adventurous family, Andrew was always outside. With a geologist father and an avid, girl scout mother, the great outdoors was as necessary to life as breathing. His parents encouraged Andrew and his brother to explore, discover, and experience nature for themselves. They began all of their adventures with Andrew’s mom putting a disposable Walgreens camera in his hand. The beauty of nature, Andrew’s love for adventure, and his creative mind melded together inside those cameras throughout his childhood to spawn an innate love and talent for natural landscape photography.
Fast forward into Andrew’s adulthood, he was working as the hotel manager for the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona when he decided to take a tour of Taliesin West – Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and desert laboratory. His excitement for the tour was slightly deflated when he found out photography was not allowed.
As luck would have it, he had a friend who worked at a doctors office with a Wright connection. She did Andrew a favor, pulling some strings. This connection eventually provided Andrew the opportunity to shoot Taliesin West for one evening, after public viewing hours.
He had one evening. Nature gifted him the perfect sunset. And that’s all Andrew needed to blend his love for natural landscapes with Frank Lloyd Wright’s brilliant architecture in a handful of stunning photographs. This one opportunity set the foundation for his career as a focused Frank Lloyd Wright photographer.
Blending Natural Beauty And Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture
Frank Lloyd Wright designed 1,114 architectural works during his lifetime. 532 were built while he was still alive. 430 still remain. Andrew has photographed 142 (and counting). His passion and dedication to Frank Lloyd Wright made him the obvious choice to tap him as the photographer for Airstream’s Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer at Taliesin West.
When Andrew began the project, he was a bit unsure of how it would go. “It was daunting at the start of the project, thinking about how to match a silver, rounded trailer with the very rough, square, geometric architecture of Wright’s desert masonry walls,” Andrew admits. “But it was easier than I thought because they are both iconic designs from two very accomplished designers.”
The Frank Lloyd Wright Limited Edition draws inspiration from Airstream founder Wally Byam’s dedication to innovation in the pursuit of travel freedom combined with Frank Lloyd Wright’s singular philosophy of organic architecture, where the landscape is an essential element of design.
“Great designs never clash,” Andrew says. “This Airstream is a testament to both Wally and Wright; two completely different shaped things, both iconically designed. It’s a tribute to both men’s thoughtfulness and design philosophies.”
Airstream’s Light Play Embodies Frank Lloyd Wright’s Work
“More and more, so it seems to me, light is the beautifier of the building.” - Frank Lloyd Wright
When Andrew first walked into this special Airstream, it was without his camera. He sat, stood, laid down, and observed the sunshine spilling into the space – just as he does at every Frank Llyod Wright site he photographs.
“I didn’t want the Airstream team to point out all of the features when I first stepped inside. I just wanted to experience and feel it for myself,” Andrew explained. “ I pulled out the desk, sat in the chairs, laid on the bed. And watched the light move.”
Andrew immediately saw light casting designs, textures, and shadows throughout the Frank Lloyd Wright Limited Edition Airstream. This experience is what Andrew calls “light play.”
“Some people say light play in Wright’s designs are happy accidents. I’ve seen it 140 times at his sites around the world,” Andrew says. “I think Wright knew and intentionally designed it. Seeing it in the Airstream was great validation for me that this was a well designed, Wright-inspired interior. The light never lies.”
Removing the Boundary Between Living Space and Nature
When Andrew first stepped foot into the travel trailer, he immediately noticed all the little odes Airstream added to make it special: the red tile logo, the font on the control boxes, the organic color palette, the Gordon leaf designs, the folding furniture, to name a few.
One of his favorite features is the unique rear hatch that fully opens to eliminate the boundary between living space and nature.
“I don’t know why you would want to be anywhere else in the world with a hatch that opens in the back to fully experience nature: a lake, mountain, or the Sonoran desert,” Andrew says with a smile. “It swings up completely out of the way – like a picture frame – and you get to pick what landscape you want inside your picture frame. There is no better way to view the landscape where you are.”
Airstream’s Lineage of Iconic Photographers
Andrew joins Airstream in a line of iconic photographers who have captured the brand’s essence and history:
- Ardean Miller began working with Wally Byam in the early 1950s, working summer contracts with Airstream to photograph for marketing purposes. He went on to photograph Airstream’s 1956 European Caravan for a 1957 article in National Geographic titled “Through Europe by Trailer Caravan”.
- Pete Turner chronicled Airstream’s 7-month journey through Africa in 1959, allowing us to see the iconic voyage through the eyes of a caravanner. His photographs continue to inspire us to embark on our next adventure.
- Fran Hall photographed the 1963-1964 Around the World Caravan from Singapore to Portugal, capturing the sense of adventure and camaraderie in this iconic Airstream caravan. His photos are unique for the juxtaposition of modern inventions rolling in front of archaic ruins and royal architecture.
Andrew is on a mission to photograph all existing Frank Lloyd Wright sites around the world. You can follow his #500FLLWproject progress and view his photos on his website.
Longing for more breathtaking images of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work? Journey through Andrew’s photography collection.
Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s timeless vision? Discover the Usonian Limited Edition Travel Trailer today.
