Industrial Photography
I recently did a portrait project for a client. We photographed a bunch of employees for posters to be displayed on workplace walls along with inspirational quotes. The plan was to create dramatically lit portraits to print in duotone. Here are a couple of the images. One was taken in the warehouse, the other in the offices. Let me know what you think.
Every picture tells a story. That's what Rod Stewart said. For this project, my client wanted a story about the people who develop and manufacture the product. It could have been about the manufacturing process or about the product. We spent the day shooting and encountered lots of remarkable people. Let me know what you think!
This is kind of niche, but it sure was a lot of fun. Everyone was wearing masks—but not because of COVID, It’s just something you do in a dairy plant where there’s lots of bacteria and stuff to keep out even without a pandemic. Learning about things that other people do is what makes this job fun.
Shooting on location is often full of surprises. You’re never sure what you'll find when you get there, even if there has been a lot of pre-production. Often there is not. I enjoy the challenge of pulling a photograph together on the spot. Fortunately, this client had prepared well and knew what they needed. This makes it easier for me to make better photographs. I am in awe of the amount of coordination required for a factory to function smoothly. It was like watching a dance. I am lucky to be able to illustrate it with photography.
I had a project earlier this year photographing in a factory that produced Bush Hogs, among other things. Everything seemed to flow through the factory as if in a choreographed dance. It was a busy day. We had to wear shoes with metatarsal protection because of all the heavy things moving around in the plant. We were busy and made quite a few photographs. I am always interested in your thoughts.
3D printing is the future. I got a little glimpse of It recently while shooting at an Ann Arbor firm that does 3D printing. I photographed their process and final products. They print in plastic and metal. It’s absolutely fascinating; a little like science fiction. One of the favorite things about my job is the peek into compelling worlds that I would never otherwise see. Let me know what you think!
We are all part of a larger whole. The scope of the larger whole is sometimes difficult to fathom. In this case, these are pulleys, not cogs, and they have a bit of silicone or rubber to absorb shock and vibration. Smoothing out the bumps seems like a good idea in many contexts.I like the way the translucent silicone looks. It's always fascinating how industrial parts are beautiful objects with the right perspective and lighting.
Somebody has to make the brushes that clean your car at the carwash. We spent a day shooting a carwash door that moves up and down quickly to keep the heat in during the winter months, and some brushes. The door was beautiful, but I took a liking to the brushes. Red, graphic, and oddly organic looking, this one reminds me of a sea creature. All in all, it was a great day with a great client, excellent art direction and a stellar crew.
I love photographing shiny things. Kinda doesn't matter what it is. Cars, jewelry, industrial parts or tools, as long as it’s Shiny. I photographed this tap on a white background and put in the blue handmade paper in post production. I’m always interested in what you think.
Detroit Industrial Photographer
Without forktrucks, industry would grind to a halt. Since the early 20th century forktrucks have been the way things get moved around a warehouse, and trucks and railroad cars get loaded. Like everything else, technology has made them faster and safer. In my client’s case, industrial designers have made them easier to use and nicer to look at. My job is to find interesting angles and light that flatter the design. I am always interested in your thoughts and comments.
Go ahead, guess what this is. Stumped? It’s sausage casing! Really! I just love the things I shoot. I hope the affection comes through in the photographs. Photographers have been shooting circles for ages. Usually it’s pipe, maybe with a couple of people wearing hard hats in front. I was drawn to the the luminescence of the casing. Less and less light getting through to the lower tubes. I like finding beauty in unusual places.
It’s not the cockpit of a jet plane, but it looks pretty cool for a pallet jack. Excellent industrial design makes my job a little easier. It’s more than just a pallet jack, as you might guess from the complexity of the controls. I’m drawn to the the lines and values of gray. As always I am interested in your thoughts and comments.
Industrial Photographer Blue Sky Photography
Visibility is important if you’re driving a fork truck. Vision is important in many jobs. I am generally not a fan of “straight on” shots, but in this case it’s kind of dramatic. The diagonals provided by the red forks are dynamic and the strong verticals of the mast create a sense of strength. And it all frames the eyes. Please let me know what you think.
You’ve gotta lift those really heavy parts with something! This is the smaller of the two that we shot the other day. I was attracted to the yellow I beam this one moves on. We created a studio in the plant where they build these, which, funnily enough, included another crane to move this one into position for a photograph. I love variety of my photographic life!
Detroit Industrial Photography
The biggest of these little steel balls is about a millimeter in diameter, about the thickness of a dime. It’s called wire cut shot. It's used in industrial processes. I had to level the table so it wouldn’t all roll away. It’s challenging to get them into the shape you want and make it look natural and random. I love the little glimpses into otherwise invisible areas that commercial photography provides.
The biggest of these little steel balls is about a millimeter in diameter, a little less than 10 times the diameter of a human hair. They are used as an abrasive in industrial processes. They were fun and challenging to photograph. I had to level the table so they wouldn’t all roll away. The best part of this profession is that there are always new and interesting things to shoot.
Photographing very small things can be challenging. The product in this photograph is an abrasive, but to be honest, I don’t know how it is used. I imagine that it’s similar to sand blasting. The largest of the stainless steel balls is about one millimeter in diameter. For comparison, a BB is about 4.5 millimeters in diameter. So these are pretty small. As always, I am interested in your thoughts and comments.
Every now and then we need to photograph large products. Fork trucks are not the largest product we’ve had in the studio. We’ve had large trucks, turf maintenance vehicles, salt spreading equipment and truck bed liners in the studio too. These fork trucks are fun to photograph because of their excellent industrial design. Please, let me know what you think!
There is no end to the variety of parts used to build machines. Cylinders are used in machines to build machines, and in consumer products. To be fair, I’ve no Idea what kind of cylinder this is. It could be an air cylinder, but I suspect that it is hydraulic. I photographed it on a white background, then outlined it, and put it on the green handmade paper. Let me know what you think.
Photographing anything shiny is a kick! Finely machined aerospace parts fit the bill. You wouldn’t think Detroit for aerospace, but in the last year I’ve done work for several aerospace companies. I’m guessing that there is a lot of talent here honed making automotive parts. It’s fun shooting them, wherever they end up.