A long time account and challenging shot...

My first assignment with this company really made me think, which is the essence of the profession.
The company manufactured printing presses for commercial use. As it seems in all commercial photography assignments,  there is always a hook, generally involving shooting on  site and time deadlines. This was no exception. I was called and ask to view the product and discuss the possibilities of getting an image for advertising purposes. I arrived at the company and we talked about the shot, hopefully I would be able to get something that showed the machine in the best light.....no pun intended.

We walked out into the plant and I saw what could be a gorgeous machine....surrounded by factory works, trash cans, workbenches, and it was darker than the inside of a wolf.  The first question I was asked is whether or not I had enough lights to make it work. I answered yes. I walked around the press which was HUGE ! The floor was concrete and pretty rough. I formulated the plan in my head and explained it to the owner of the plant.

I would be back in two days when the rebuild was done and all of the parts were on the machine. I asked him to construct walls using two 4 x 8 Styrofoam sheets supported by 2 x 4 studs giving me a wall 16 feet tall running around two sides of the machine. Basically I eliminated the rest of the plant and gave my self something to reflect light off of. We wet the floor covering years of production reminders, and also something else to reflect light off of. I set up my Linholf 4 x 5 and did a walk around to get the feel of the shot.

I asked him to turn out the lights and I went to work. After about 20 minutes of grand endeavor on my part, I asked him to turn on the lights again. He looked at me with a look of "How in the hell could I have hired this guy ?, and said, Bet ya don't have anything. I pulled out the Polaroid out of the back of the camera and started the 60 second count. He was tapping his foot ....for effect I guess. The minute was up and I had the shot I wanted. He was dumbfounded. " How'd ya do that ????? Mirrors strings and wires" I replied. Then I put in the Ektachrome and finished the job. I'll have another for you in a few days.