Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Industrial Photography has its own Challenges


The Capital Area Camera Club had the opportunity to tour and shoot the Otis Paper Mill in Jay, Maine. The owners allowed us to go anywhere we wanted and photograph whatever we fancied. The mill is quite large on several levels. We began in the bowels of the mill where the water from the river would turn the machinery and generate power. Lighting is always an issue, especially when natural light is at a minimum. Flash was almost a necessity, as was shooting with an ISO of 800. The shapes and angles of the old equipment, gears and rubble created some interesting images. It was fascinating to see how 11 people could create such different images of the same place. One thing I would like to mention is processing some of the images in Black and White. The photo above was taken in the lower levels of the mill. It was nice, and I love the atmosphere down in the depths, imagining the folks that used to spend much of their lives here. But, take a look at the same image, in Black and White.


What do you think? A little more atmosphere to it? Does it look more like an older, antique image? Sometimes, it is all about shapes and angles, and Black and White photography seems to bring that out and emphasize it.


Saturday, it seemed like a good day to take in the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. A great place for looking at the animals and birds that are, or were, indigenous to Maine. The park has had a lot of work done to it, since I was last here about 15 years ago. The exhibits have been developed to more like the natural habitat of the occupants. The resident animals were mostly rescued, and can not be returned to the wild, or were raised by humans, and could not survive in the wild. A couple of these stood out as their pens were more open for photography than others. One of these was the Brown Bear. It was in an area with a smaller Black Bear. They were occupied eating the food that children were purchasing to feed them. 



The other was this magnificent Mountain Lion. The shot of this cat turned out better than I had hoped. It was shot through a thick glass, that was less than clean.


I hope you enjoyed the photos. The best advice I can give is to get out and shoot. In this age of digital, shoot often, and shoot a lot, the price of film does not limit us. Only by using that camera will you become familiar with what it will do, and how to use it to your best advantage.

It's off the Georgia in a few days, and a chance to see my daughter, grandchildren, great grandson. Needless to say, there will be a lot of family photos in the next week. Have fun, keep shooting.
 

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