Is it worth?

Michael Fontana · Jul 26, 2009

A bit coincidently (the other parth is that I wanted alwith do try it out) I took some night shots in our harbour - harbours are special places, and I think that specialness comes through in these night shots. Do you see and feel it?

Do you think its worth working more with that subject - and that aestehtic?
Or its just walking on beaten tracks? What potential might it have?

nicolas claris · Jul 28, 2009

Bonjour Michael
yes, I agree, harbours (like other industrial places) are worth being photographed, specialy at night!
It obviously shows human traces on Earth and activities as well...

Almost everything on Earht have seen a lens, so don't be shy and continue to show your vision thru your skills… that may end by a book and/or an exhibition!

Why not a collective work?

Bart_van_der_Wolf · Jul 28, 2009

Michael Fontana said:
A bit coincidently (the other parth is that I wanted alwith do try it out) I took some night shots in our harbour - harbours are special places, and I think that specialness comes through in these night shots. Do you see and feel it?

Hi Michael,

What I like about these nightly industrial settings is the contradiction between presumed activity and the inactivity at night (combined with interesting lighting of the structures). There are of course also sites that are bustling with activity 24 hours a day, but this site seems to be quiet.

Be prepared to be hassled by security folks though.

Bart

Asher Kelman · Jul 28, 2009

Michael Fontana said:
A bit coincidently (the other parth is that I wanted alwith do try it out) I took some night shots in our harbour - harbours are special places, and I think that specialness comes through in these night shots. Do you see and feel it?

Do you think its worth working more with that subject - and that aestehtic?
Or its just walking on beaten tracks? What potential might it have?

Michael Fontana Migrol at the Train Station at Night

Then I'd ask the same of this by Carleton Watkins

Carleton Watkins Cypress Tree at Point Lobos, Monterey County

It's the simple composition with it's massive unbalance and depth that is so striking and paradoxically effective. It speaks for itself.

Asher

Ken Tanaka · Jul 28, 2009

Hi Michael,
I've no feeling about the harbor image. I think you need a better point of view after analyzing just what you want to capture and depict in that scene.

The second image, perhaps inadvertently, depicts the global financial slump to me. Overgrown rail tracks in front of an apparently empty industrial plant.

I am am very much interested in night photography of industrial scenes. Although I've little opportunity for such work I think they can be absolutely fascinating when done very carefully. Little details that go overlooked in a daytime image can become major statements at night. The grass on those railroad tracks, for example, would not have the statement power in a daylight shot, even being in the foreground as it is.

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Nicolas Claris said:
Bonjour Michael
yes, I agree, harbours (like other industrial places) are worth being photographed, specialy at night!
It obviously shows human traces on Earth and activities as well...

Almost everything on Earht have seen a lens, so don't be shy and continue to show your vision thru your skills… that may end by a book and/or an exhibition!

Why not a collective work?

Good idea - 'm sure you have some very nice harbour shots at home as well!

There' s a sidenote to that harbour-idea: I know from some developers, that in some years, 10... maybe 20 that harbour will be gone, so these shots will have a documentary aspect as well.
I'm not sure that shooting at night is in the documentary-style, though...

nicolas claris · Jul 28, 2009

Michael Fontana said:
Good idea - 'm sure you have some very nice harbour shots at home as well!

There' s a sidenote to that harbour-idea: I know from some developers, that in some years, 10... maybe 20 that harbour will be gone, so these shots will have a documentary aspect as well.
I'm not sure that shooting at night is in the documentary-style, though...

Curiously not!
In fact I do more frequently to marinas than harbors… but I do like them !
We should find a common "angle/concept/main idea" before shooting.
I can easily shoot Bordeaux, Marseille, La Rochelle, Lyon ship harbors… let's elaborate…

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:
Hi Michael,

What I like about these nightly industrial settings is the contradiction between presumed activity and the inactivity at night (combined with interesting lighting of the structures). There are of course also sites that are bustling with activity 24 hours a day, but this site seems to be quiet.
Be prepared to be hassled by security folks though.
Bart

The site is in use during the day, you can see the trucks at the left side of the tanks, quite a lot of the oil used in Switzerland is stocked here, coming up from the Netherlands (Rotterdam) the Rhine is just a few meters away from the big tanks... the first shot shows the pipeline for getting the oil from the boats into the tanks.

The Basel harbour is special, beeing the only swiss harbour connected to the sea (via the Rhine) - somehow a gate from Switzerland to the world.

I like that atmosphere, a bit no man's land, a bit a gate to the world, a bit dirt, and certainly a bit more unreal at night than at day... here's just a screenshot during day, sampe place - for comparison.

Security folks - not to bad, I know how to speak with' em.

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Asher

great, I like very much your reply with a picture instead of words.
The cypress tree shows (and has) a drama, while the tanks aren't - despite the fact that the light at the tanks are more dramatic.

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Ken Tanaka said:
Hi Michael,
I've no feeling about the harbor image. I think you need a better point of view after analyzing just what you want to capture and depict in that scene.

Ken, I agree - the shots were taken pretty spontaneously.

The second image, perhaps inadvertently, depicts the global financial slump to me. Overgrown rail tracks in front of an apparently empty industrial plant.

I never though about that, as the trucks are visisble at the lef side.
Maybe that special night light tends to lead to your estimation. You might notice, that with these tanks, there aren't many visual things going on - just oil is pumped...
a few trucks leave in the morning, are filled at noon and return in the evening - the rest is kinda nonvisible.

I am am very much interested in night photography of industrial scenes. Although I've little opportunity for such work I think they can be absolutely fascinating when done very carefully. Little details that go overlooked in a daytime image can become major statements at night. The grass on those railroad tracks, for example, would not have the statement power in a daylight shot, even being in the foreground as it is.

Yep, that difference of visible things between night and day can add somethingto these night shots - a few things beeing important at day are just not existant anymore - and other things are counting now.

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Nicolas Claris said:
Curiously not!
In fact I do more frequently to marinas than harbors… but I do like them !
We should find a common "angle/concept/main idea" before shooting.
I can easily shoot Bordeaux, Marseille, La Rochelle, Lyon ship harbors… let's elaborate…

We might invite our friends from lower than 0 m as well ;-)

nicolas claris · Jul 28, 2009

Michael Fontana said:
We might invite our friends from lower than 0 m as well ;-)

I'm not sure I get it… do you mean from down under?

Michael Fontana · Jul 28, 2009

Nicolas Claris said:
I'm not sure I get it… do you mean from down under?

Well, the Ossies have nice harbours as well, just think about Sydney, or the Kiwi's with Auckland; I have been sailing at the later. BTW: any Kiwi here?

You' re right, I had our friends from the Netherlands in mind with the lower than 0 M. There must be some impressive harbours in Rotterdam.

nicolas claris · Jul 28, 2009

Michael Fontana said:
Well, the Ossies have nice harbours as well, just think about Sydney, or the Kiwi's with Auckland; I have been sailing at the later. BTW: any Kiwi here?

You' re right, I had our friends from the Netherlands in mind with the lower than 0 M. There must be some impressive harbours in Rotterdam.

Well, a world wide harbors seen at night by OPF members? good idea! but we should need a curator to objectively select the good photographs…
Then what should we do with these photographs? exhibition? book? who would be interested by such a project?

Asher Kelman · Jul 28, 2009

What a great idea! I'm in!

Cem_Usakligil · Jul 28, 2009

Nicolas Claris said:
Well, a world wide harbors seen at night by OPF members? good idea! but we should need a curator to objectively select the good photographs…
Then what should we do with these photographs? exhibition? book? who would be interested by such a project?

I have tons of night pictures of harbours in Western Europe. But I am not willing to be a part of any group activity which includes judging and/or selection. That is also the reason why I did not submit any pictures although I took part in the Worldwide Photo Walk a week ago. As a matter of fact, I have never ever submitted any pictures to any competition, salon, exhibition, what have you. So go ahead and call it rejection anxiety, I don't mind ;-)

Cheers,

Rachel Foster · Jul 28, 2009

Sort of related to that (but not really), other photo sites have "editor's picks" fora. I would love to see a monthly or quarterly collection of OPF editor's picks. Unfortunately, that would require a great deal of time and it already seems that a smallish group of devoted people on this site do the lion's share of work.

Michael Fontana · Jul 29, 2009

well, usually, a jury or jury member comes from outside and has quite a amount of insights in the subject.

That helps a lot to keep things on carpet and avoid to much yellow and pink Marshmellows.

As a example, I' ve been invited to Strasbourg, France to be in a jury of a competition of architecture photography. The competition is in the context of "Les Journées de l’Architecture 2009" therefore a wider frame than just that competition.

A jury isn't bad by principles, as long as you know that a jury is subjective by definition - as any author - and the participant understand, that not everbody can win the first prize....

On the other side, a jury has to take a decision, which is ok as long as the jury members have integrity plus enough experience on that subject.

nicolas claris · Jul 29, 2009

My suggestion for a curator is to get an external view, completely independant from OPF and it's members.
The question is not to have a competition (I don't like competition) but to get an unity and to avoid bad pictures (as well to tell do to its author).

Anyway, I think we firts should make the definition of what we want to achieve…
For example if it's an exhibition, where?

Michael Fontana · Jul 29, 2009

I agree with Nicolas
and din't looket at it as beeing a competition.

More fuel for the thread:
Last night' I went to the harbour again, and yes Bart ;-) some security guys came, but I talked with em... so at the end everything was fine. This harbour too seems o be a tougher aerea.

There's one very interesting aspect in these night shots:
as the light sources are bad, several RAWconversions of the same shot are required - that's the bad news, but in the same time, it's the good news:
one can play better with the colors than usual, as anyway there isn't a wrong or a correct colorbalance:

I mixed these to the final image:

Asher Kelman · Jul 29, 2009

So, Michael,

Shall we make this thread an invitation for harbor scenes world wide, taken at night as Nicolas suggested? Or that could equally be another thread for everyone else?

Asher

Michael Fontana · Jul 29, 2009

Asher
the question new thread/that one is not a problem at all, I like Nicola's idea..

- before we create expectations arround the world, I think we should sit together and get thinks sorted out, IMO:
just a example: someone has to organise the whole thing, that's a hell of work!
I know already that autumn and winter will be busy - bigger projects in the pipeline - therefore I have really no time to care about that exhibition at all.

That said, you might understand, that I don't push that event to much - while talking a bit with Nicolas about it.

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