By
Lauri Novak
Piece description from the artist
Standing beneath the vaulted skeleton of Whitby Abbey, Novak turns her lens skyward and finds something close to revelation. The sun, caught precisely at the keystone of a soaring Gothic arch, erupts into a fierce starburst — blazing light contained within centuries-old stone, as if the ruin itself were still consecrated.
The composition is audaciously close. Rather than the respectful distance of a traditional architectural study, Novak positions herself within the structure, letting the stonework surge upward and outward in every direction. Layered arches stack and recede across the frame — round above pointed, ornate arcade above open sky — creating a geometry that feels less documented than felt. The intricacy of the carved moldings, still intact after nearly a millennium of exposure, speaks to both the ambition of the original builders and the stubborn persistence of beauty.
Monochrome is the only possible choice here. Color would distract from what this image is truly about: the tension between mass and void, between human craft and celestial light, between ruin and radiance. The grey tonal range is handled with extraordinary control — no detail is lost in the shadows of the deeply carved stonework, while the blown-out sky reads not as a failure of exposure but as pure, intentional luminosity.
This is not a photograph of a place. It is a meditation on permanence.
Lauri Novak is an award-winning fine art photographer, mentor and author based outside of Chicago. She has an eye for photographing architecture, traveling as much as possible and just wandering in nature with her camera.
Having grown up within an hour of one of the most architecturally rich cities sparked an interest in architecture early in her life that has been a recurring theme in her work over the years. The camera was ever-present in her life growing up in one form or another, including the many family vacation photos that were taken by her mother. Lauri received her first camera when she was ten. Since then the world has opened up to her through her view-finder and has brought into focus many of the details in life that are often overlooked.
Traveling was also a big part of her life. Her family went somewhere new every year which allowed Lauri to see different parts of the country, different cities and landscapes across the United States. This opened up so many opportunities for photographs and the wandering spirit which is part of who she is to this day. On her own, she traveled overseas and discovered different cultures, amazing historical architecture and the incredible beauty that is everywhere in this world. All the while capturing what she saw with her camera.
One of the questions Lauri is asked most often both by viewers of her work and other photographers is, “How did you see that?”. She works hard to show different perspectives, unique angles and the everyday details of a wide variety of subjects.
Lauri also has a passion for helping others, offers mentorships and runs an online SEE! Photography community for other photographers. She also shares her inspiration and motivational tips for photographers as an author at Photofocus.com.
Her work has been featured in Our USA Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Kane County Chronicle and on WGN-TV. She has had images in several galleries in Chicago, Minneapolis and as part of an international exhibition in Barcelona. Lauri’s work is displayed in hospitals, businesses and hotels around the world.
You can find more of her work at laurinovak.com
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