Comments on: The Industrial Photography of David Clark

By: 10 Most Interesting Photos of the SP@Flickr Pool (2009) | Shutter Photo - photography education, inspiration and wisdom

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:15:24 +0000

[...] featured David in the Photographer Spotlight back in October, and for good reason. David’s work is inspiring. Through his photography, [...]

By: Follow These Year Long Photography Projects | Shutter Photo - photography education, inspiration and wisdom

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:51:37 +0000

[...] Clark, a long time follower and contributor to Shutter Photo (we featured his work here in October) is also doing a photo 365 project. He will be integrating his photos into his [...]

By: First Shutter Photo Ribbon Photo Competition | Shutter Photo - photography education, inspiration and wisdom

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:36:02 +0000

[...] Clark is an experienced nature and industrial photographer. His photography has been featured here at Shutter Photo. A mathematician by trade, Clark is skilled at making minute calculations in the [...]

By: D. Travis North

D. Travis North — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:02:07 +0000

Great insight – I can’t believe you didn’t use a tripod for that shot. Even with all my photography experience, I tend to get shaky much below 1/80 for my longest lens (132mm).

Good advice for exploring industrial sites. You hear it all the time, but it cannot be said enough.
.-= D. Travis North´s last blog ..Survey Follow-up =-.

By: dc

dc — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:46:13 +0000

Thanks very much for the feature! I’m very pleased to see my industrial photography featured. Believe it or not, despite living in a place where ruins are as common as normal structures, relatively few photographers focus on them.

I also thought I’d share a couple of interesting details about the photos. First, the Quincy Mine covers a very large area (the mine buildings and shafts stretch over several miles, and there are other structures such as a mill and the smelter at different locations). Some of these are open to the public (especially the mine site, where civilians such as myself are welcome to walk around at will) while others are normally closed (the smelter).

The smelter photo, despite being taken at 1/30s (the room was lit with natural light only, filtered through a ruined roof), I didn’t use a tripod (or any kind of support). I think I’ve developed iron hands from so much practice in available-light conditions. I *NEVER* take a tripod with me when exploring mine sites — it’s a pain to carry and gets in the way. I only bring a tripod for places I’ve previously scouted, when I have a specific need for it (such as my nighttime star trails at Quincy). In fact, I never bring anything except for my camera and maybe a few filters — no bags, no backpacks, etc.

In the Doorways photo… yeah, the post-processed frame sucks, doesn’t it? I wish I hadn’t done that!

Finally, the Teeth photo: this was a machine in the Quincy Mine’s Roundhouse, which is currently a set of walls with no ceiling, and trees growing out of the floor. The light was available light in the later afternoon. I wish I knew what the machine was for — probably something to help with machining parts for steam engines.

Finally finally, for your readers… when exploring industrial sites, BE CAREFUL! These places can be dangerous. There are lots of sharp, rusty metal objects, unexpected holes in floors, etc. They’re dim and dusty and definitely not OSHA approved. This is another reason that I don’t carry a tripod — I need my hands free for safety. And always RESPECT ruins. Even if they’re covered in graffiti, windows broken and the floor covered in junk, don’t disturb, break, or steal anything.

Thanks again!
.-= dc´s last blog ..Road to the Sky =-.