Working Instruments

"Working instruments" is a project in progress I have just started.

I am making visits to several shops/offices in Setúbal where people is allowing me to photograph their working instruments, mainly old ones or those who are not in use anymore.

Unfortunately some - like a shoemaker I am remembering at this very moment - are closing because of the crisis and/or because people just get old and retire or... die.

The project will be in my site only after 15 or 20 images are done. Hope you like.
Feel free to critique ! Thank you !

Antonio Correia said:

"Working instruments" is a project in progress I have just started.

I am making visits to several shops/offices in Setúbal where people is allowing me to photograph their working instruments, mainly old ones or those who are not in use anymore.

Unfortunately some - like a shoemaker I am remembering at this very moment - are closing because of the crisis and/or because people just get old and retire or... die.

The project will be in my site only after 15 or 20 images are done. Hope you like.
Feel free to critique ! Thank you !

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Antonio,

This is an important undertaking. I do prefer the first image with it's more obvious limited DOF reflecting in a way how things achieve, peak and then gradually lose significance in our lives, apt for documenting trades which to some extent or being made irrelevant by cheap mass processes overseas.

The argument that free trade helps civilization is false to the extent that it really provides more profits to a tiny segment of society, rendering millions of workers to be no longer competitive.

I hope you'll also document workers in each of the trades and inquire of their thoughts on the past, present and future. Are they grateful for what they had or mainly resentful for what they fear losing? In the end, what is their balance sheet of hope for their families?

Asher

Antonio Correia said:

"Working instruments" is a project in progress I have just started.

I am making visits to several shops/offices in Setúbal where people is allowing me to photograph their working instruments, mainly old ones or those who are not in use anymore.

Unfortunately some - like a shoemaker I am remembering at this very moment - are closing because of the crisis and/or because people just get old and retire or... die.

The project will be in my site only after 15 or 20 images are done. Hope you like.
Feel free to critique ! Thank you !

​

Click to expand...

Antonio,
I love these. We can see they are worn and show a lifetime of use. A lifetime of stories. I like both and I smiled to see the word Setúbal being prepared for printing. I also like the warm blacks, not so orange as many make their sepia... just very classical looking. I can't wait to see more as they are fabulous!
Maggie

Hi, Antonio,

Lovely images.

The first one reminds me that my first pair of "Vise-Grip" pliers was so old that it they did not yet have the trip lever to open them. (I think that was added in 1957 - not that long ago, really.) Here is an example (not mine):


My father brought it home from work where it had been discarded by the welding shop because of wear and tear - including a lot of welding "spatter" on it.

I still use it (it is the only one I have of that size).

The composing stick is also nice. When I learned to compose type that way (in junior high school, when I was about 13 years old), gasoline was used to clean the ink off the type, and when I see a stick, the scent of gasoline (unleaded) comes to mind. Nice "display face" in the case.

Thanks again for the great pictures.

Best regards,

Doug

Thank you all for the stimulating comments.
I practically do not speak to the workers. Well... it is not exactly true as I take advantage of the situation and take one or two photographs of themselves working on their crafts. I try to establish some kind of relation with people so they get at ease and free themselves. If in one they they are too busy I come back the next day.

I come over the same place several times and I ask for old instruments not used anymore or rarely used.
And curiously - I can remember now - I come to discover objects I have not seen for ages like for example a trimmer which makes SS. I can't explain but I will have it photographed for you to see later on.

The printing office is not working with those instruments any more and they even have a large printing machine to remove as out of use. But as it is more expensive to remove it than to keep it and of course, the machine is there until... I hope I will take a photograph to it later on.

The mechanical shop is where they repair radiators. Yes, radiators from cars. But the work is less and less every day because it is cheaper to but a new radiator than to repair it. The office is some 60 years old and struggles to keep opened. There is a similar one 30 kms away from Setúbal.

As a side note: 30 kms in Portugal or in Europe is not the same distance as in the US. The sense of scale is completely different. If here, we travel 30 kms and we say it is rather far you go for a coffee at this distance. We are not so dependent on cars. The society is less anonymous. But this is another kind of comments.

One from the morning session.

Hi, Antonio,

Antonio Correia said:

One from the morning session.

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Lovely.

I think this is an "Original Heidelberg" "T Platen" press (spoken of as a "tiegel" press) (built 1950-1985).

This is a picture from the "encyclopedia" of printing presses maintained by the German firm Drupana, a prominent dealer in used printing machinery:


Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

Doug Kerr said:

Hi, Antonio,
Lovely. I think this is an "Original Heidelberg" "T Platen" press (spoken of as a "tiegel" press) (built 1950-1985). This is a picture from the "encyclopedia" of printing presses maintained by the German firm Drupana, a prominent dealer in used printing machinery: ... Thanks. Best regards, Doug

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Thank you Doug. Glad you like it !
I have printed the image in an A5 with my usual canvas and text. It is lovely indeed. The tone is a Palladium I have downloaded from LensWork and applied through LR after a black and white conversion which I keep in a separate layer in CS.
I do so because later on when I will have some 30 images, I hope to be able to fine tune all them with the same look and finish. The Palladium tone has different results depending on the adjustment of the black and white.


On location there are two machines like this one which are not in service any more.
I think they would like to dispense them but that would be too expensive. We have not talked about that matter very much.

Here a thrown away photograph

Antonio Correia said:

Thank you Doug. Glad you like it !
I have printed the image in an A5 with my usual canvas and text. It is lovely indeed. The tone is a Palladium I have downloaded from LensWork and applied through LR after a black and white conversion which I keep in a separate layer in CS.
I do so because later on when I will have some 30 images, I hope to be able to fine tune all them with the same look and finish. The Palladium tone has different results depending on the adjustment of the black and white.

Click to expand...

I have no idea where on lenswork one can download Palladium toning. But if you need consistent results, Photoshop has a "match colours" function that may do what you want. It is worth a try.

It also has wonderful duo/tri/quadtones. Just saying.

Thank you Jerome.
I will have a look. However, I tend to stick to a solution as it results from various experiments in paper and I try as much as I can, to same money.

This is one among some 20 of this morning work !
I have to go back and fine tune some other pieces

This is just work in progress. Some more fine tunes must be done before final images are printed. There is always some little things I do not like like the bokeh at the far end for example.

Hi, Antonio,

Antonio Correia said:

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Lovely shot.

The Miquel Pijoan numbering blocks are very nice.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Doug

Thank you Doug. But here is teh final version with all the adjustments refined and fine tunned if I may say so

Side by side, before and after

Today's work.
I am not sure if I go this way... but I keep studying and fighting for the solution I am most pleased with.
I think here a paper with staples is missing.

Am I boring you ?

Antonio, I do like the projects you keep posting here. First there was the wonderful little series of you town folks and now this. These series together build up an important historical database in visual form. When these people and their professions are gone your pictures will continue to tell their story.

Thank you Jarmo !
I am still struggling about the way I will treat the photographes...

Some temporary distance from the project will help me to establish the guidelines.

Another two essais ... needing some refinement.

Antonio Correia said:

I am still struggling about the way I will treat the photographes...

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I prefer the last sample.

Generally speaking, the toning / treatment should be related to the message we want to convey. But I am sure you realised that.

It would thus seem that some kind of sepia toning would convey an idea related to the fact that these instruments are old. But sepia has been overused and the instruments are of technical nature. Cool tones are easily related to technical artefacts (even more so when they are made of cast iron or steel, which are slightly blue themselves) and selenium toning, which gives cool tones similar to the ones shown here, is an equally old process but less overused than sepia.

Jerome Marot said:

I prefer the last sample. Generally speaking, the toning / treatment should be related to the message we want to convey. But I am sure you realised that. It would thus seem that some kind of sepia toning would convey an idea related to the fact that these instruments are old. But sepia has been overused and the instruments are of technical nature...

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Thank you Jerome for your works.
My style - if I can call it so - is already tendentiously old but sepia - even more the strong tone I have used before - confers to the final image an even older feeling.
I have printed one of the images with that sepia, the Palladium Printing or at least what it is supposed to be. I have obtained a image I do like but strongly "brown".

Jerome Marot said:

...Cool tones are easily related to technical artefacts (even more so when they are made of cast iron or steel, which are slightly blue themselves) and selenium toning, which gives cool tones similar to the ones shown here, is an equally old process but less overused than sepia.

Click to expand...

Here above I have made a "normal" black and white and I have on the image of the right, introduced a selenium tone.
As we know an infinite number or tone can be achieved...

I would like also to point that the square format is very interesting but some photographs already done, just don't fit or are not passibles of such a crop.

Thank you again Jerome. Much appreciated !

This is not the right direction inspite of having something I like...

What an horrible filter !

Improvements ! Better, better ...

Those tools look like they could still operate for years. Love the detail and texture!

James Lemon said:

Those tools look like they could still operate for years. Love the detail and texture!

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Thank you James Lemon !

Most of the tools do operate with rare exceptions like the older printing equipment shown below but still operational if ever necessary.

I wonder if they don't use this at all... I'll ask them next week

The large printing machines - "Original Heidelberg" "T Platen" press (spoken of as a "tiegel" press) (built 1950-1985) as referred by Doug Kerr - do work as another one more modern standing nearby.