AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARCH 2016 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 63
Huge exposure ranges in industrial situations can make it
difficult to capture well-exposed images, says Cross.
“If possible, I always take a series of exposures of the same shot,
usually covering about three stops in half stop increments, to ensure
I have a range of exposures from shadows to highlights which I can
combine in the final image. Having said that, usually I only use
two exposures in the final image. I guess, I’m being cautious out of
habit, and I prefer to use one frame for the shadows and one frame
for the highlights in post-production. I almost always shoot at f/16,
an architectural habit, but I will go down to f8 to capture motion or
to isolate a particular feature from the background.”
Preparation
As most of her assignments are out of town, and Schuringa does
not have the luxury of visiting the site prior to a shoot, she will
study the client’s website or images. Once she has received the
brief and talked with the client about the site and expectations,
she will research the broader industry to create a ‘mood board’ of
what she thinks the client envisages, and from which the client
in turn can choose image styles they prefer.
Cross always asks the client for a f loor plan with a north point
for the site to work out where the light will be at different times
of the day.
Evans says it would be foolhardy not to have a solid plan in
place before starting a job. For example, he recently documented
the installation of the maintenance cradles on the cooling
tower at Loy Yang Power Station in Traralgon in Victoria.
“I have worked down here before, but a thorough plan was still
necessary since I would be working partly from a helicopter,
and because closing down a cooling tower takes five days at a
cost of $2.5 million, and happens only once every six to seven
years. Consequently, there would be no opportunity to reshoot if
something went wrong,” he says.
Highlighting the importance of health and safety measures,
Evans says he never visits a site without going through an induction.
Cross notes that where there is machinery moving around,
she catches the eye of the operator so they know she is there.
“I do not behave like everyone else on site and I’m likely to stand
in odd places. The induction process also lets you know which
areas are accessible and which are not. Usually I’m accompanied“I do not behave like everyone else on site and I’m
likely to stand in odd places...you cannot have a fear
of heights in this job, or dislike getting dirty.”