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(Editor's note: One of the strangest requests I have
ever received was from this company. After being in this journal for nearly
5 years, they have asked to have their name removed from our site. Go
figure?)
March 31, 1998
Part two of two
One unexpected plus of my job has been in learning 3-D animation. The
program we use is by Kinetix and is called "3-D Studio Max".
The program is the same one that created the now famous "Dancing
Baby" on the Fox network show "Ally McBeal"
and is set up similar to that of a photographic studio by using "cameras",
with which you have the option of changing focal length and angle. The
program also uses lighting that can be very precise- giving a flawless,
finished look to any animation- when done in the right hands. I
am by no means an expert at Studio Max, which has a very steep learning
curve, but I make progress daily.
| Another part of my job is purely graphic. I shoot pictures
of whatever needs photographing, create the overall graphic design
for our printed materials and complete the layouts for these materials.
It's a diverse job to say the least. One day I can be working on the
company book that we give to customers and the next day I can be lifted
up 80 feet in the air by a crane to shoot pictures of a structure
we've built. Still on other days I can photograph welders, examples
of technically difficult pipe jobs and even images of projects for
insurance reasons (pre shipment- in case there is damage to the item
in route to the job site.) |
(Image deleted by company request)
Most of the shots that I take of welders and fairly static, so
I try to liven them up by including lots of color. This image used
geld lighting for the effect. |
| (Image deleted by company request)
Sometimes, the mood is what you really want to convey. In this
image, the lighting is so dramatic that using a flash would have
destroyed the effect. |
I have found that all of these items have their own little idiosyncrasies
and at times, can even be dangerous. When photographing a welder,
one thing that you never want to do is look at the "fire"
or bright arc light emitted from the weld. This type of light is so
intense that to look at it with unprotected eyes can literally burn
the insides of your eyes. I have seen welders crawl into a piece of
pipe and come out with a sunburn after 30-40 seconds of welding. So,
how do you photograph a welder? It's directly opposed to what you
should be doing. I wear protective glasses with very
dark lenses- normally called "welder's glasses". I also
use neutral density in front of the lens- often in the form of colored
gels, which while adding an extra amount of protection to my eyes
while giving the image a more aesthetically pleasing feel. I've
also come to rely on autofocus cameras to assist in the focusing.
When you have dark glasses on and you're in a dark building. It gets
pretty difficult at times to see what you're shooting. The autofocus
will not compensate for a poor composition or incorrect exposure,
but it does help insure an overall sharpness to the image- the rest
is up to me... |
Since it can get so dark while shooting, I've also invested in a newer
camera that lights up all of the needed information in the viewfinder.
It helps me simply because I don't have to keep looking down over my welding
glasses to check my exposure. I am currently using a Nikon N90 for this
and purchased it last year specifically because it has a bright viewfinder,
lighted controls and good autofocus features. I'm a firm believer in using
the right tool for the job- you don't use a wrench when you need a screwdriver
and a camera should be no different.
The actual shooting of a welder can be "hit and miss". The
amount of light can very greatly in the span of a few seconds- giving
you either just what you want or gross over/under exposures. This of course,
depends on the kind of weld- be it an ARC, MIG or TIG weld. Each
has their own distinct characteristics and you have to know what to expect
to shoot the right image for the task at hand. Other considerations-
mostly aesthetic, come into play too. How the spark "trail"
looks, evenness of the light and so on all play a role in shooting a good
welding photo.
I've also found it invaluable to ask questions when I'm working. To me,
I think I shoot better photos for someone if I have a basic understanding
of what they're doing and why they're doing it. Most welders and construction
folks are good, hard working people who make their living going from job
to job. Steady employment is not typical in construction work and in addition,
you're at the mercy of Mother Nature. It is, to say the least, a difficult
way to make a living. I respect anyone who can go through all of that
and still love their work.
| It also amazes me to see something evolve from nothing- and the
people who work in the (Name deleted by company request) fabrication department are experts at
this. To see plates of steel go from being flat, lifeless metal into
being molded and shaped into something useful is totally
amazing to me. I'm not great with my hands anyway, so to see this
on a daily basis is incredible. |
(Image deleted by company request)
Detail sometimes speaks volumes. This particular shot shows the
complex piping detail of a silicon manufacturing machine. |
(Name deleted by company request) also builds Process Modules. These are entire factories
that are built here at our facilities then checked, proven and broken
apart into "chunks" and shipped to the job site where they are
reassembled. The advantage of this is that you can actually build the
plant while the "civil" part of the job is being done. This
saves many man hours on-site and ensures a highly consistent quality level
and is cheaper to build. This can be crucial when the plant is going to
a country where they may not have the craftsmen to build such a plant
in the traditional sense. Some modules are as small as 8-10 feet
while others are mammoth in comparison- reaching over 100 feet in height
and as long as200 feet. Infact, some are so big that even after dismantling
they must be shipped by river.
| Although I miss the newspaper business, I don't
think that I'll ever seriously get back into photojournalism full
time. There's a great freedom in knowing that I can pick and choose
what I shoot now. I'm not tied down to the daily grind of shooting
auto accidents, "Pet of the Week", and "home for
sale" photos. I write and shoot what interests me and make
no apologies for it. I had a college student from Colorado
write me and say that she had been inspired by my journal entries
and asked about being a journalist. I wrote her back and told her
that being a journalist is a thankless profession. You have long
hours, comparatively low pay, often ungrateful (or even worse- uncaring)
management. I've been around that block enough times to know that
you have to be a special breed for newspaper journalism- A breed
that I was at one time, but am not anymore.
Mark Lent |
On the sidewalk. . .
I was picking up my son, Grayson from daycare last week and I
was stopped by a young woman who asked me "Do you remember
me?" I sheepishly told her that I was sorry, I did not.
She then went on to explain that when she was in the 4th grade,
I had talked to her class about working as a journalist. She went
on to explain that I was the reason that she was now a journalism
major at the University of Alabama. I thought "How flattering"
and then began to think about what she had said and suddenly, I
felt really old... |
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