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Thursday, May 12, 2016

A favorite challenging image......

I received a call from a potential client asking me to survey a photographic problem he had. His company rebuilds printing presses and he couldn't find anyone that could properly produce an image for advertising purposes. I met with him at his plant and like so many manufacturing facilities it was problematic. The lighting left a lot to be desired, the floors were stained from grease and paint from the general manufacturing processes. The background was strewn with a multitude of presses and equipment in various states of repair. I saw it was going to be a problem. After the first viewing I said that I could produce the images he needed, but I told him that I wanted him to get Styrofoam insulation boards and build a frame for them in an "L" shape to cut out the background view.

He was O.K. with that and then I added that he would need to paint them white. He looked at me in a curious way. Bear in mind that this was before the days of Photoshop and if you wanted a clean background you have to make it happen at the time pf the photography. The walls were 16 feet high and the "L" shape was long enough to make it appear as though the press was in a "white room." In order to cover up the floor I just wet it with water so it would catch some of the press reflection and also give me a surface to bounce the light around.

He did ask at this time if I had enough lights to get the shot. I assured him I did. We shot at night so I would have a totally dark room in which to photograph. I arrived at the job and started unpacking my 4 x 5 Linholf View Camera, 4 x 5 inch film holders, tripod and extension cords, and Polaroid film and the back for the Linholf. I set up the camera and tripod, focused the camera, made the necessary adjustments to correct for parallax and depth of field, and pulled out my light. I plugged in enough extension cords to be able to walk around the machine then plugged in my one incandescent bulb. He  said "Where are your lights ?? I held out the bulb and said, "Here..."He then started to question my sanity....and really was concerned that he got the wrong guy to do the job. I asked him to turnout the lights, I then set the Polaroid in the holder, the lights went out and I turned on my incandescent bulb and walked around they press. Satisfied that I had done enough I closed the shutter on the camera and told him to turn on the lights. " Is that all you're going to do ?? he asked....."Yes", I said pulling out the Polaroid to start it procession.

One of the longest minutes of my life started then. The Polaroid is basically used to get a starting point from which to adjust camera adjustments, exposure, an multitude of items in the process. He was grumbling that there was no way it could work and that he thought he he had hired someone that could do the job but felt that he had made a big mistake. He also wasn't going to pay if I didn't come across with something he could use. I was not really comfortable...

The minute was up and I peeled back the Polaroid and I handed him the result.............
Absolutely dumbfounded !!! How'd ya do that ????  I just calmly stated that that is the reason I was was a Professional Photographer......

The image below is the result and I had them as an account for years. A truly fun shoot.


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