The Capital City Camera Club of Raleigh has partnered with PNC to document North Carolina architecture and the work of Preservation North Carolina.

In May 2008, members of the Capital City Camera Club of Raleigh approached PNC about collaborating on a new volunteer project: the Camera Club would put together teams of photographers interested in architectural photography, and PNC would supply interesting and challenging subject matter. Thus far, the collaboration has yielded impressive results.

The project was inspired by an educational session on architectural photography and a serendipitous meeting between a Club member and a PNC staffer. Lee Wald was looking to put together a community service project and had just attended a Club-sponsored lecture on architectural subject matter, when she happened to meet PNC’s financial officer Melanie Paul. As they talked, it occurred to Lee that a collaboration between the Club and PNC was a unique opportunity.

Lee and fellow Club member David Strevel set up a meeting with Myrick Howard and Urban Issues Director Elizabeth Sappenfield to discuss the project. Everyone immediately agreed that the idea had great possibility, and this unique collaboration was off-the-ground.

Working together, David and Elizabeth are identifying properties that PNC is involved with and scheduling teams of photographers to document the architecture. The Club donates the photographs to PNC, which uses them to market properties for sale, document existing conditions, and to tell the story of preservation in action.

You can check out this outstanding body of work at flickr.com/photos/capcityphotopnc. And look for more of their photographs in the Historic Properties For Sale and other sections of the website.

Elizabeth Sappenfield is the Urban Issues Director for Preservation North Carolina.