Bridge Work

[OwenR]

My work is an excellent place to learn photography. I had more interesting shots, but they were not clear. It was a rainy morning, and no one was happy to be working in it. So, where can I improve?

[shootitup]

I like the first pic, it draws your eye to a specific spot, and shows something interesting. The second picture, doesn't really draw my eye to anything, but it's nice. I like the first one much better. It shows creativity and a different aspect to a construction site, than one would normally get. Nice shots.

[OwenR]

I agree about the second shot. But...to show what is going on, I don't know how to compose something like this. I realize that I may not be able to do the best photography here, but hope to show a glimpse of the construction world that so many do not see. This is a bridge rehabilitation project near Jackson, Michigan. I need your suggestions for this type of photography. Do I try to compose people? or the work they are doing? the landscape around? Just not sure what to do here?

[guitarman3]

OwenR, what I'd like to know is why do you get to take pictures while those other guys are slaving away in the rain? :)
First shot is the best.

[OwenR]

Because I am an inspector of construction, not a construction worker. It's a great job, with lots of photo opportunities.
Thanks, I like the first one too. :-)

[O/confusion]

I agree about the second shot. But...to show what is going on, I don't know how to compose something like this. I realize that I may not be able to do the best photography here, but hope to show a glimpse of the construction world that so many do not see. This is a bridge rehabilitation project near Jackson, Michigan. I need your suggestions for this type of photography. Do I try to compose people? or the work they are doing? the landscape around? Just not sure what to do here?


Well, the first thing you have to ask yourself in any circumstance where an act of photography might be on the verge of being committed is probably something like: "Why do I feel I want/need to photograph this particular place/thing/person/process/situation at this particular time?" And once you've answered that one (assuming you want to show the result to others), the second is something along the lines of: "How do I best convey this personal interest to someone else through my photograph using the knowledge, experience, tools and techniques I have at my disposal?"

Once you've identified exactly what it is that captures your attention or piques your interest enough to want to pluck it out of the flow of time and set it off to one side to be subjected to long-term scrutiny, then your choice of focus, composition, exposure settings and other aesthetic and technical factors should be easier to home in on.

For example, if two guys are standing close together pouring concrete it's probably not going to engender much interest in and of itself; you could just take a full-length shot of the workers with the concrete pouring into a form: everything sharp, and well-exposed, but nothing to help create a psychological focus--an implied point of view on the scene--for the viewer. And that would be O.K., if all you want is a matter-of-fact record of the activity. But if you're more interested in the look of concentration on the men's faces, say, or in their laughter if they're sharing a joke at the time, then clearly your compositional focus is going to be more geared to calling attention to the nature of the human interaction while engaged in the work--which will then strongly inform your choice of focal length, point of focus, and aperture (which affect the depth of field).

If it's something about the flow of the concrete in the light, or the shape of cast shadows on the formwork, or the colours in the scene--or something to do with the way the activity is altering the existing site conditions--that turns your creative crank, then you're looking at a totally different range of aesthetic and technical options for generating your shots. But in my estimation, no application of technique is going to result in the kind of image that will give you or anyone else any real satisfaction unless you can answer that first all-important question for yourself, each and every time you lift the camera to your eye: "What is it about this fragment of reality that makes me feel the need to capture it right at this moment?"

I don't know if this philosophical approach is of any use to you at all (it's truly terrible to witness what a degree in Visual Arts can do to an otherwise sound adult mind, isn't it? :) ); however, I'm pretty sure that no amount of technical advice anyone here or elsewhere can offer you is going to help you generate "interesting" images--the interest has to derive initially from your personal perspective on the subject matter you select to photograph. That's the really difficult bit. The good news is that it does seem to come a bit more easily with time and practice.

Just keep looking, keep shooting, and most important of all--remember to keep asking question #1.

Best of luck,
Terry

[OwenR]

Thank you. That is a great help. I think some of my photography will have to be strictly for documentation purposes. But I'll have to watch for those special moments that are just for photography purposes. Which means, ask myself question #1. :-)