62 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARCH 2016
When working down a mine, I am essentially working with a
blank canvas, since there are absolutely no light sources other
than the vehicle headlights and your head and hand torch. The
key here is to work out the exposure based on the combination of
f lash and ambient torch light, and then combine it with some
light painting using another f lash or torch.”Perfect exposures
Emma Cross tries to schedule her photo shoots when the
weather is good, explaining that even if a shoot is inside,
skylights let in light that helps with activating a space. If an area
is relatively dark but there is no motion to capture, she takes a
series of long exposures and then combines two or three long,
medium and short exposures into the final image.
“Flare from industrial lights is a problem and that is where
a finger held over that part of the image during exposure is
a handy trick. I take the shot at a range of exposures which
all include my finger covering the light. Then I remove my
finger from the front of the lens and take a range of exposures,
usually shorter, especially for that lit part of the photo. In post
production, I use one of the frames which includes my finger
as the base exposure and overall composition for the shot,
and then combine this with one of the frames which does not
include my finger, and just use that part of shot which was
obscured by my finger, so the final image includes the light
but not the f lare that it would normally cause. A finger is a
good tool for this purpose because it is relatively thin, and
you can quickly position it just so. If a shot contained a whole
ceiling of lights and I was worried about f lare, I would hold a
piece of black card over that part of the image, follow the same
procedure, and effectively take the shot in two halves. This
trick also works if you are including the sun in the image.”
To capture motion, Cross increases ISO to shorten exposure
time and also takes one long exposure for the shadows.
If vibration is an issue, she increases ISO and shortens the
exposure, and she also uses a cable release on the camera.
Sparks create excitement in an image and to capture them she
will get as close as she is allowed.EXPERT ADVICE Industrial Photography
ABOVE
“With the correct
lens and working
with various angles,
you can photograph
any space,” says
Trudy Schuringa.
“Here I used a
wide 24mm focal
length and adjusted
white balance
in Photoshop to
remove the green
tone from the
florescent lighting.”
Canon EOS 5D Mk
II, EF 24-70mm
f2.8L USM lens
@ 24mm, 1/80s
@ f/2.8, ISO 500.
OPPOSITE
Mulwala Propellant
Plant. Photo by
Emma Cross. “In
order to make this
scene interesting I
chose to include the
only available colour
and showed a
clear visible path to
another area of the
plant,” says Cross.
Nikon D3X, Sigma
12-24mm lens @
12mm, 1/30s @ f16,
ISO 100.
In the Bag: Emma Cross
Each item in my on-site kit has to be useful because often I am
carrying it on my back for extended periods of time, as well as up
and down stairs and ladders. I use a Lowepro backpack roller bag
which I can pull behind me, and then pull out the straps and carry
on my back. I’m on my second pair of wheels on this bag, probably
due to too much cross-country use. I use a Manfrotto 055CX3
carbon fibre tripod with an Arca Swiss Monoball head. The carbon
fibre tripod saves about 1kg of weight and the Arca Swiss ball
head is easy and quick to use and very good for panoramic work.
I have recently upgraded to a Nikon D810 body, with a Sigma
12-24mm and Nikon 14-24mm, 17-35mm, 24-70mm and 24mm PC
lenses. I also carry a Canon EOS 5D Mark III specifically to use with
the Canon 17mm TS-E lens. I wish Nikon would bring out a wider PC
lens. The PC/TS lenses are fantastic for architectural and industrial
photography when you are trying to capture a whole building or
object and you can only move so far back from the object. I trained,
under John Gollings, using a Technikardan architectural camera
so the lack of up and down movements on 35mm lenses is very
frustrating for me, even now.
The lenses I carry cover me from 12mm to 70mm and that works
for most of my jobs. The 12-24mm lens is great for working in tight
spaces or for capturing large objects but my newer version of the
Sigma lens is not as sharp as the Nikon 14-24mm so I mostly now
use it when I just need that extra bit of wide angle.
I also use a Nikon 77mm circular polarising lens and a Tiffen
77mm 0.6 graduated ND filter. I always carry a spare battery for each
camera, along with my blower brush and a Flex lens shade, which I
hand-hold because it is too fiddly to attach to the lens, and bits and
bobs such as cable ties, door chocks, pegs, string, and a piece of
chalk, which is useful for marking your location if you are returning to
the same spot at a different time. In the boot of my car, I will also carry
my old Nikon D3X body, Nikon 80-200mm lens and Canon 24-70mm
lens, along with an old Manfrotto 55B tripod. If I need them, in case of
equipment malfunction or necessity, they are nearby. – Emma Cross.