Exposure: 1/60 & 0.4 sec Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 200/800 Focal Length: 54 mm (click for larger)

We tracked the train line out of the city, stopping to check the suitability of each station as it passed. We finally settled, partly out of laziness, for a dodgy looking northside station. As the evening progressed shifty characters started appearing. Some barefoot, biting their nails, shooting us nervous glances. Others crazy and disgruntled wandering across the active train lines muttering about our lack of rights to be there.

Mace and I were on one side of the platform and Chris on the other with the camera. As trains passed between us Mace and I were half expecting Chris to be revealed unconscious on the ground, our gear gone to be traded for whatever elicit substances can be acquired in the area.

The shot was a composite of an ambient light frame (with the moving train) and a flash lit frame of the drifter. Refreshing was the fact that there was little to no prep and we were done in under an hour. Previous setup shots, while also fun, have required quite a bit of preparation and setup. ChrisG masterfully composited the shot right after we returned to safer ground. I am quite pleased with the result and hope to do some more of these simple and, more importantly, quick setups.

Exposure: 5 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO: 400 Focal Length: 10 mm

It has been many years since our early adventures into the bowels of the city, looking for places of interest to experiment with photographic lighting techniques. I have dabbled here and there (look at that beast of a torch!) but it has been Sven who has really taken on the challenge of drain photography in recent years. Sven’s vast knowledge on the subject meant easy entry and a guided tour of the drain in question which, I am told, was recently dubbed the best Australia has to offer by a well known community of explorers.

It also provided an opportunity to try out my recently acquired fish-eye lens. I has been a while, so one shot is all I could manage while trying to remember exactly how best to light these tricky environments. As usual lighting was provided by LED torches and I was reasonably pleased with the result.

Will my dislike of walking long distances hunched over or the fear of stepping in that golden turd prevent future drain excursions? Not in the short-term I don’t think, partly because Sven is a very convincing and capable drain host.

Bugs are ironed out now, time to make something decent. Time is our ultimate enemy, with many great subject (stars, dusk->dawn) requiring many many hours of both movement and shutter time. Camping next to the rig in operation would seem to be a good solution, that is unless a drunk someone (unnamed) blindly pisses out of his tent flap into it.

Actually the construction and mechanical design was all Chris. My assistance was providing a controller for the stepper motor and shutter. It basically takes a shot, moves a small distance (1mm in this case), waits a period of time (2 seconds in this case) and starts again. We realise this video is quite dull and the clouds were terrible but it was just a test close to homebase. Look for future instalments featuring far more interesting subjects.

Early video of the dolly below.

You can see below some unfinished stonework in the vaulting capping. Brickwork and other rough stone, such as in the vaulting, would also have been plastered over in all areas of the house.

The other stand-out feature is that the mansion is on a huge estate and is only accessible via a one mile walk. The estate itelf is dotted with interesting features including the boathouse below and several cascading lakes with Victorian era dams. The lakes once fed a mill house at the lowest point of the estate.

Not the usual affair but very interesting.

More information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodchester_Mansion
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-woodchesterpark.htm

Exposure: 10s  Aperture: f/8.0  ISO: 400  Focal Length: 26 mm

It was an interesting place which, I am guessing, once carried power from the nearby (re-purposed) power plant. Now long disused the drainage grates in the floor no longer remove water in a timely fashion, having long succumb to the thick mud and debris that cakes the floor.

While much of the copper cabling has been removed/pilfered (it is after all quite valuable these days) much still remained. Cut away in many areas, the gauge of the cable was impressive. Photographically this bend in the tunnel was the only thing that jumped out to me immediately but I’m sure the place has other opportunities. Though I always struggle to light long straight passages in an interesting way.