Mary Parker Architectural Photography

18 today in beautiful Rhode Island. Golf courses are my definite happy place. Did fairly well too…low 90’s.

, just 18 putts on the front and 21 on the back. Getting better and working hard with your drills and great instruction. 💕💕

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CHECK INSTAGRAM FOR ARCHITECTURAL and in INTERIORS WORK!!!! See you there! 💕💕💕

POSTING ARCHITECTURAL WORK ON MY PERSONAL PAGE...MaryFordParker...

Please check me out there! Its just easier for me to keep it all in one place, as Instagram is my main "work" posting site. Instagram: also @ maryfordparker

HEY GUYS....CHECK OUT MORE OF MY WORK ITEMS ON INSTAGRAM.

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THAT'S WHERE I POST THOSE PICS!

This space used to be an apple processing house within Oak Spring Farm, part of the Paul and Bunny Mellon estate in Upperville Virginia. It is part of a small detached building whose interiors were dark and industrial, yet whose housing served its agricultural purpose well.

Now owned by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Bunny Mellon’s vision to create a venue to foster the continued scholarship and public dialogue of horticulture, this former stark space was brilliantly renovated by Gruver Cooley, Gruver Cooley Interiors, and ACG Architects. The detached building now called The Apple House, contains two floors of new meeting rooms for those participating in conferences and workshops hosted by the Foundation.

Gruver Cooley and Gruver Cooley Interiors recently won a Chrysalis Award under the category “2020 Regional Award for Detached Outbulding”. I offer them hearty congratulations!! So well deserved!! I am ever so flattered and proud to have been entrusted to represent their quality work for industry awards. Helping clients succeed is the most rewarding aspect of what I do. Truly! It “floats my boat”! It keeps me going!

All is calm on top of The Warner, one of my favorite rooftop in all of Washington DC. To see the bottom view of where these elegant lights rest upon, swipe right. And yes, my sky is a JMW Turner influence 💕💕

Update as of June, 2020: I am going to switch all business Facebook postings over to my personal page, (MaryFordParker) for the meantime because it is all just a lot easier. Too many social media outlets! (and I know you can tag them all at once, but anyway......)
See you on the personal FB page or on Instagram. That handle is

137:366. Full day shoot for a large office interior in DC yesterday. The most important item of my kit? Swipe right. 😱 And believe me, it was used heavily. A brave new world we are in! But it was safer to go in now while the buildings have been sealed off to the public. Such a dilemma.

Working with flat lays, color theory and negative space to fine tune new photography offerings for my interior design clients.
Flat lays are flat out (excuse the pun) fascinating. I am so anxious to get this niche nailed! I have InDesign repertoires in the works too.
This quote keeps me sane in the midst of rotator cuff rehab: "Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place."
It was so hard to shut the studio down after the October surgery, but diligence to continuing ed and to self improvement during this down time may prove to be time well spent after all.

Its always one person that wrecks it, yes?? I mean, I was trying NOT to be noticed while getting a candid “street shot”, but look at the guy in the hat in the corner. Mouth open, staring at me….totally blowing my desire to be inconspicuous. Perhaps it was my clumsy ratting of the ficus tree that did it.
I am going to find a way to channel Henri Cartier-Bresson, my hero for street photography, to get better at this. He was famous for being invisible to capture just the right moment, and he even painted his Leica black to make it discreet. Well..I may not go that far. Or maybe I should. If I had a shiny Leica that is.

Pancakes, coffee and front porch seating on Main Street. What could be better? Love you Hanalei 💕

Of all the places I was fortunate to see in Hawaii, it was Hanalei on the island of Kauai that stole my heart. No crowded streets, no jammed traffic, no 40+ story Honolulu towers, and no over the top glitz of Gucci, Hermes and Prada meant to impress the foreign tourists flooding into Waikiki. Hanalei was laid back, relaxed, and real. It offered a picture of a purer and more untouched version of the Hawaiian islands. Just the place for me! More posts coming soon...🌸🌺

Scenes from latest work with Monday Properties for their new 5,000 sq ft Elevation Fitness center in Rosslyn, designed by Gensler Architects. (Swipe right to see them)
Thank you to the lovely Taylor Knudsen for being our outside model, to Susan Grimes for composition inspiration, and I bow down once again to the best of the best....Pete Parker for his continued help and assist on these shoots. And THANK YOU to Monday for their continual support of my studio. Such great people to work for! 💕💕


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Check out my human light stands!! This is the start of new commissioned work for Brookfield at The Yards in SE DC. I will be shooting continually now through May for this FANTASTIC 3-4 city block project in one of the hottest and trendiest areas of DC. This is just a light test and by no means a final product, but i had to show off my able giraffe helpers. They came in handy for holding lights in tight corners i tell you!!

When I am not shooting architectural work, I am busy doing personal work like this... Most of my personal explorations are on Instagram, so check it out if you can. My Insta name is . If you follow me, I will follow you back!!

So what's an architectural photographer doing taking headshots anyway? All part of valued client service! Yes, I am a bit rusty at studio portraits at times, but the instincts and past experience always kick in. This gal is one of my building developer clients...and looking good!!! (Lighting is intentionally flat for website templates. ) She made it so much fun.

A peek inside Bunny Mellon’s famous horticultural library at her Upperville, Virginia estate. (click on each to see the full photo) Inside holds one of the largest private collections of botanical manuscripts and art...some dating to the 14th century. The books you see here on the table were so beautiful as to induce goosebumps on this photographer! Swipe right and you will see the other large reading room on a second floor mezzanine. (The large Mark Rothko print is a reproduction of the original 1953 “No.20 (Yellow Expanse)” once owned by the Mellons but sold on the private market after Mrs. Mellon’s death.)

The library is maintained by Oak Spring Garden Foundation, whose mission is to share the gifts of Mrs. Mellon’s greatest legacy by opening her collection to visiting scholars. OSGF has also opened portions of her gardens and estate, providing a destination for academic and botanical conferences to promote and encourage dialogue on the history and future of plants.

This was hands down my most memorable assignment of 2018. Such great people to work for and for such a great purpose. There will be more posting on this assignment for sure! Stay tuned.....

The Brewmaster’s Castle, Washington DC. Yes, its a bit dark, moody and Gothic, but the scene just seemed so fitting. This is my first tries at surrealism within Photoshop. I’ve been doing the same thing for so long I was getting worn out and stale!! Time to bust out and try new things!!

"Storm Subsiding" A normally calm and placid Gulf of Mexico churned up with yet another storm. Venice Florida, South Jetty.

Room with a view. A drop dead, gorgeous, slack-in-the-jaw, stop-in-your-tracks view I might add. I suspect this office terrace is going to have many a private party! Tenants will be jostling for 4th of July reservations for sure.

Living, breathing art in a Rosslyn VA office roof terrace. A magical vertical garden for the senses! It is almost as if a 3-star Michelin chef came in to meticulously "plate" the ingredients arranged so lovingly.

Dying garden flowers warped and mirrored....and look what shows up in the middle. I think its going to be a great day!! Love you too Mother Nature....

Most of my "business" photos have moved over to Instagram. But who knows...maybe I'll keep the multiple sites going again soon... Its always a continual evaluation of what's best, don't you agree??

The Gazebo at Centennial Park, Venice Florida. Timeless charm to a timeless Florida city.

Office tenants in the 2018 era get to enjoy these new communal spaces cropping up everywhere all over Washington DC. The investment is all part of ownership strategies to retain and attract tenants, yet companies within the building also have a stake. If a space is modern and has top tier amenities, enticing new talent and retaining valuable employees gets easier. I’d say it’s a win-win situation for all involved. Including me! Such a treat to photograph! Work for OTJ Architects and JBGSmith at The Foundry, Georgetown, Washington DC.

They say that “after a storm comes a calm...” The problem is, in Washington DC, there’s always a “storm”...no matter which side you stand on! View of Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC when the winds started coming in hard and fast. You gotta hold on tight when you live here!

One of the favorites from a shoot at the DC Bar Association. Most of my posts are going to Instagram now. A couple more of their sleek new interiors are posted there! Insta friends...sorry for the duplicates!

Black and white and mud all over. One of the more elegant mud rooms I have photographed lately....

Do you have a project to show off that just happens to be surrounded by glass? I feel your joy and pain all at once because these kind of images are sometimes the toughest to do...reflections bounce everywhere, especially when using studio lights to enhance the space within. This guy was a BEAR!!! But it has also become my favorite image so far of 2018. Work for Monday Properties and Gensler Architects for the large, multifaceted and very beautiful conference center within 1812 N. Moore in Rosslyn. A space with stellar DC views all around!!

Studies of the Dupont Circle fountain, Washington DC

Work in progress for Gensler Architects and Monday Properties. As a photographer, its always fun to photograph a space that is uber photogenic at the get go. Its kind of like having a good motor on your 10 speed bike going up a steep climb. Makes the job a whole lot easier....

A small piece of Presidential history right in our Loudoun back yard.... This is Jackie Onassis Kennedy’s favorite bedroom, The Poppy Room, when she came to visit Bunny Mellon at Oak Spring Farm in Upperville Virginia. This image is part of an ongoing project for Oak Spring Garden Foundation, a horticultural study and enrichment center bestowed by Mrs. Mellon when she passed away. I do not want this project to end!! It is too lovely for words!!!

Spring has seen more hats and mittens than we all care for, but she is giving us spectacular skies! View of lovely Washington DC from Potomac Tower in Rosslyn Virginia.

Bunny Mellon's "Basket House", part of the Paul Mellon estate in Upperville Virginia. On assignment for Gruver Cooley and Cathleen Gruver a few months ago.

I don't normally do head shot portraits in my architectural niche, but hmmm...maybe I'll do more. Kim Kendall and her crew at Kim Kendall Interiors sure made it great fun. Loved the day!!! Lots of laughs and happiness everywhere.