Christopher Payne

11/05/2024

The second part of my assignment for in 2020 capturing the printing of voter ballots. These pictures were taken at Michigan Election Services in Kalamazoo, MI. Seems like yesterday but also a lifetime ago.

11/05/2024

In 2020 I was commissioned by the to photograph the printing of voting ballots just weeks before the election. It was one of the most thrilling assignments I’ve ever had, and even though I don’t like to repost pictures, today seems like an especially appropriate occasion. The following pictures were made in Phoenix, AZ, at Runbeck Election Services. Many thanks to for this wonderful opportunity!

06/11/2024

Plaster model of a Corinthian capital at the factory in Lincoln, CA. Parts of the factory look unchanged since the 19th century, and are perfectly preserved thanks to the arid climate. Wandering through these spaces was like a lesson in architectural history and how buildings used to be made. Read more about and my time there in the latest .

10/17/2023

I am super excited to be on stage tomorrow with to discuss my new book Made In America at . I'm sure we'll revisit some of my favorite projects that made it into the book, like these three commissions for . I love these projects because I got to dive deep into each process, and had to condense those processes into a predetermined number of essential steps that would fit onto the broadsheet. I also had to shoot either vertical or horizontal, a constraint I found liberating. Hope to see you tomorrow at The Strand!

10/16/2023

Two days to go...This Wednesday 10/18 at The Strand, I’ll be in conversation with Kathy Ryan to discuss my new book, Made In America. I’m excited to revisit past projects we’ve worked on together at The NYT Mag and share new unreleased work made specifically for the book. I also look forward to reconnecting with friends and colleagues who have supported my work over the years. I hope you can make it!
https://www.strandbooks.com/events/event777?title=christopher_payne__kathy_ryan_made_in_america

10/13/2023

As part of Open House New York weekend, please join me next Friday 10/20 at the The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen for a conversation about my experience creating my book Made in America. This talk will spotlight stories and photographs of New York-based projects, including Steinway & Sons pianos, the New York Times printing plant, the MTA subway overhaul shops, the making of the Oscar statuettes, and more...

Ten years ago, photographer Christopher Payne embarked on a photographic journey to learn more about American manufacturing and the industries that built this country. He has gained access to a world that continues to thrive but is often hidden from view. In Made in America, Chris shows readers an a...

10/12/2023

Next Wednesday 10/18 I’ll be in conversation with Kathy Ryan at The Strand to discuss my new book Made In America. As Director of Photography for the New York Times Magazine, Kathy has been instrumental in nurturing and shaping my career, from publishing long term personal projects like the pencils to commissioning me to photograph factories that I never would have gained access to on my own. Along the way we have become good friends and she wrote a wonderful foreword for my book. I’m sure we’ll have some interesting stories to tell, and it will be fun to revisit these collaborations and how they came to be. I can’t thank her enough. Please join us if you can make it. Thank you!!
https://www.strandbooks.com/events/event777?title=christopher_payne__kathy_ryan_made_in_america

10/12/2023

Over ten years ago, I embarked on a photographic journey to learn more about American manufacturing and the industries that built this country. I've gained access to a world that continues to thrive but is often hidden from view. In my new book Made in America, I show readers an astonishing range of how things are made, from yarn in a traditional New England textile mill to a rocket made with the world’s largest 3-D metal printer—and every sort of manufacturing in between. The book is now out and I’ll be doing a couple of artist talks next week in New York City. Details to follow. I hope you can make it and please see link to book below. THANK YOU!!!
https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/made-in-america_9781419747397/

04/29/2022

I love photographing beautiful architecture as much as any factory or manufacturing process, and I was privileged to work with recently on their incredible top to bottom renovation of the landmark church in lower Manhattan. Thank you MBB!!

04/14/2022

Every photographer who visits a semiconductor chip factory, better known as a “fab”, feels compelled to make a picture of a silicon wafer. Last month I spent several days at in Malta, NY, and this picture was made at the end of our visit as we were packing up. I neglected to devote the proper time to this, but no matter how they’re photographed they always look beautiful. Global Foundries makes many kinds of wafers, each radiating a unique color rainbow depending on its design and purpose, and one could spend hours, if not days, getting lost in these.

04/08/2022

The main lobby at Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ. This is the stunning view when one first enters the building, and the view every photographer feels compelled to document. It transports you right back to the 1960s. I was looking through my snapshots from my visits in 2014 and 2015, when I spent hours wandering through the complex. As always, I’m dismayed that I didn’t make more pictures of the ordinary spaces and things that shed light on daily life at Bell Labs. At the time I didn’t consider them to be photogenic enough, or maybe I thought I’d return. Lesson learned too late again...

04/07/2022

If you’ve been watching Severance on AppleTV you’ve seen this building: the former Bell Labs R&D facility in Holmdel, NJ. Designed by Eero Saarinen in 1958 and opened in 1962, it is a 2 million sq. ft. masterpiece of modernist architecture with a mirror glass facade and soaring atriums. After the last tenant moved out in 2007, the building could have been demolished and the site turned into another subdivision, but thankfully it was saved and repurposed as , a mixed use office and retail hub. I gained access in 2014, when it was still abandoned and in mothballed state. Exploring an empty building of this size was like being in a post apocalyptic movie.