Professional Photography Australia
UV examination for metal fatique
17/06/14 12:35 Filed in: Creative Lighting | Industrial Photography | Corporate Photography | Annual Report Photography | Professional Photography Australia
Photography of high performance manufacturing facility
Photographing for high performance companies brings fascinating success stories and challenging photographic situations. Many highly technical processes create real challenges for photographers.
This location scouting image show what a normal smart camera would manage. Loosing
all the effect of the UV examination and dramatic possibilities it offer in our shot at top.
UV light is used in many areas including chemical analysis and examination of structural weaknesses. Our client is one that needs to find and repair high performance metals used in the aerospace industry. U.V. light causes phosphorescent materials to glow when used in a darken booth.
Photography in a small blacked out viewing booth with a light basically invisible to the human eye is pushing the limit far beyond most camera’s capabilities. Exposure times would be far to long for our examiner to be able to stay steady. Therefore we had to introduce coloured flash lights to replicate the effect the UV light produces but in amounts capable register in the camera.
At the same time we needed to set the camera on a steady tripod to record the glow of the UV tubes in the booth with a time exposure the operator could manage to hold. The green area is the phosphorescent material that highlights the stressed and damage areas. Leaving our colour geld flashes to light our operator and other parts of the cradle used to hold the piece to be examined.
Industrial photography lighting on the run, at 2 a.m.
04/05/14 18:44 Filed in: Industrial Photography | Corporate Photography | Annual Report Photography | Professional Photography Australia
Our project was to photograph a high tech, high capability, rail track welding unit. Capable of automated welding of rail track joints at far quicker rates than previously obtained.
Working while the track is not in service ( meaning late at night ). This large truck based unit can weld extensive lengths of track with stops of around 90 seconds to 2 minutes per weld. Before moving on around 250 meters to the next location.
The cost and time commitments our client was under meant we had to shoot within their work schedule. No time to stop just to make pretty pictures.
The light output from the welding head compared to the available light to shoot at around 2.00 in the morning would mean a whole lot of sparks and glare in one spot in and otherwise totally black frame. No detail in the truck, location and very little on the workers.
Even smart digital cameras find these conditions beyond their capabilities. And our clients certainly require a far more sophisticated result.
We obviously needed high powered, remote triggered flash units. Set up to light the rest of the equipment and workers.
No additional lighting
Additional strobe lighting lifts the unit out of the darkness
No additional lighting
Additional strobe lighting lifts the unit out of the darkness
We arrived on site early to give ourselves time to checkout the possible location and workout our options. Only to find it starting to rain. The unit could not be used until that stopped. Nor could we set up and leave our high capacity flash units in the rain.
Eventually at around 2.00a.m. the rain stopped. The track was free of trains and our client’s work team was scrambling to make up for the lost time.
James having planned with the client what needed to be shot managed the camera side of the shooting. Chris worked on setting up the lighting units and making adjustment to positioning, direction and light levels as directed by James via sign language of our own particular sort, from behind the camera.
2 minutes later the unit was off to it’s next location 250 meters down the track. We where gathering camera, tripod, lens, light stands and lights. To make our way in the dark to its next stop and our only other opportunity to nail some additional shots.
It was a rush in more ways than one. So as we finally packed away the gear at around 4.00 a.m. Coffee at any outlet we could find at that time of the morning before going on to a new days work seemed very appealing. It was a good nights work and an exciting challenge with satisfying results for everyone.
Got a challenging photographic requirement ? Challenges accepted !
Industrial photography outside the normal 9 - 5
19/03/14 13:03 Filed in: Industrial Photography | Corporate Photography | Annual Report Photography | High speed Snyc flash Photography | Professional Photography Australia
Photographing with early morning and late afternoon light was part of our plan for a series of images for our client, who offers maintenance support in the aviation, aerospace and military sectors. It means longer shooting days for us but allows for far more interesting results visually. Any business looking for photography with impact should allow for their photographer to have this option. Any photographer of professional standing should revel in the opportunity. The extra organising and time to have someone on hand will prove extremely worthwhile.
Industrial and architectural photographers use these “ Magic times of day “ when ever possible to add colour, sculptural lighting and richness to their shots. These times of day can also help separate the prime subject matter from less desirable background items. It also can make the bland exciting.
But it does often add complication to the actual shooting of the shot. With main foreground subject matter silhouetted against bright skies or even the setting Sun, shadows become a major problem. Light levels change fast, dropping rapidly as the Sun goes lower in the sky. Any clouds can further drop light levels to a quarter and less. Or raise them by the same amounts in moments.
However when treated properly with additional lighting, capable of matching if not over powering the daylight, the results can be truly arresting. Just what any business needs to standout from the competition.
Where the art comes in is in not overdoing the additional lighting so much that the final image looks totally unbelievable. Constant adjusting of both daylight and additional lighting is required as the light quickly changes. Careful placement of lights to create believable effects is critical.
While most higher end amateur cameras can add some light to compensate for shadow areas. They do so from the camera’s angle of view, which often clashes with the angle of the natural light. They can light only over very short distances. And they take much of the exposure controls for the background light conditions out of your control. Creating a fill light which is total inconsistent in colour and direction with the rest of the image.
Above is an early shot to get rough positioning prior to adding our additional lighting.
And a direct comparison with and without our specially balanced and Geld additional lighting.
Working quickly as a team Chris & James where able to set up and shoot additional well lit options in the fast fading light.