Industry

This photograph works on a number of levels: our eye goes to the warm glow of the molten metal as it's poured from the crucible, bounces between the other places and surfaces (particularly the two visors) that also glow orange, then, we examine the darkened background that reveals further information. The overall contrast between the warm, bright highlights, and the cooler darkened spaces, is expertly offset within the composition.

I appreciate thoughtful quiet landscapes such as this. There are three horizontal bands of information: the strip of green grass at base, the congested band of houses and buildings, and, the bright sky above. The latter clearly features our principle subject - an industrial facility. The soft, backlit diffused lighting provides plenty of detailed information within this semi-urban scene. The final element that elevates the overall impact is the corelation between the vertical chimneys of the industrial plant with the rows of vertical trees in the foreground. A quirky, subtle consideration.

Something as simple as a manhole cover - those small, flat, ubiquitous panels found along every street in every city - can act as the conduit to considerations greater in scale. For example, who is "Thomas Dudley Ltd"? Did they supply the water or merely the manhole cover itself? The number 6270 suggests there are at least another 6269 mahole covers elsewhere! And so on. When we think of what constitutes "industry", we imagine structures of grand scope and scale. Photographing an everyday manhole cover is an intriquing way to stimulate those structures from a different direction (physically and metaphorically). This photograph is simple in concept and execution: formally framed with enough information around the manhole to add to the overall integrity, the side lighting helps also to lift the shallow contours.

This has a wonderfully classic quality, in the traditions of fine black and white modernist photography. The composition has a clear and strong order to it: the band of dark roadway anchors the bottom of the frame, the rhythm of road markings and line of silos (our principle subject) is topped by a gradated tonal sky. The telegraph pole adds a constrasting but complimentary feature and the sharp daylight lifts every element perfectly.

A simple composition: the racks of threaded spools stand in neat rows in the foreground closest to camera. Their regimentation provides a pleasing pattern, so too the switch between warm and cool hues that light them. The delicate threads lead to the loom in the background and further information that this is a working industrial environment. Though the first few rows of spools are slightly out-of-focus, the depth of field is nontheless great, and provides much information to view and ponder.

The title of this photograph, "inside the tower" provides a guide, but little certainty as to what sort of "tower" we are actually looking at. I have to presume a cooling tower, the steamy atmosphere providing the obvious clue. What is certain is the mysterious nature of this place. Our eye is lead to the lower centre of frame where we see a small figure gazing upwards to a billowing mist above. The circularity of the ground-level surface (what is that exactly!?) is reinforced by the mist clearing above the figure. It is dramatic, like a sci-fi film set.

We know what this is: an underground mine shaft. I love the way the leading lines - formed by a track and hosepipes - take us from the foreground around a bend, past darkened chambers to a bright light in the background. That light - a cool blueish cast - contrasts with the warmer hues closer to camera, and also highlights a flood of water from above. The whole scene is mysterious, and provides a dramatic narrative to what otherwise could be a straightforward mining illustration.

The near perfect symmetric composition - aligned with overhead roofing lines - of this photograph, provides a natural starting point to corral the information within this busy construction site scene. The incomplete ground-level worksite provides much to view and consider. The temporary access ramp in the bottom-right corner of frame is balanced by the two figures top-left. The latter provides a note of scale, action and drama to this interesting composition.

This is a wonderfully crafted industrial still-life photograph. I love the blend of subdued daylight - visible in the murky sky - with the harder, direct artificial light illuminating the teeth of the remnant cogs. Once again, I am intrigued by the scale - are these tiny or huge? I do not know for certain. But, what is certain is the integrity of their industrial heritage has been expertly captured in this photograph.

The cool Nordic light is countered by the warm artificial lights of the power station and snowy entrance. The silver pipes act as a gateway and leading line to the station proper in the background. There is a good balance of ground-level information, pipes and background structures. The remnant daylight provides enough illumination to see the distant hills which provide a sense of depth in this industrial landscape.

This scene reminded me of Sebastião Salgado's photographs of the Serra Pelada Gold Mine, Brazil, 1986. Unfortunately, for many in certain parts of the world, "industry" still means hazardous manual labour. This photograph conveys such concerns expertly. The jagged chunks of sulphur in the shouldered baskets of the figure closest to camera, nestle precariously. The figure seems frozen like an oddly configured statue. The blur of the billowing sulphur clouds in the background, and overall murky lighting add to the drama of this peculiar scene.

The aerial viewpoint breaks the scene into the shapes of the circular ponds and the curvey lines against a blue background. Once we determine what it is that we are gazing upon - a salmon farm - we can consider what those 'lines' actually are (feeding, oxygenating hoses?), what the smaller specks that surround the ponds are, and the mottled feature creaping into the top of frame. The photographer has struck a great balance between fact and abstract rendition.

The aerial perspective works well for this shipping scene. The wharf, positioned neatly and parallel with the top of frame, provides a solid shape to juxtapose the angled ship being positioned by tug boats. The swirling waters they create, in turn break the uniformity of that peculiar shade of green that the remainder of the water has. Our sense of scale is challenged, as the components: wharves, cranes, vessels, seem simultaneously miniature and gigantic.

This classicly composed photograph depicts a worker repairing fishing nets. The tight frame isloates the principle elements: blue/green netting and the human figure, which meld as one. The soft side lighting highlights the worker's patterned shirt, face and hands and provides enough shadowed tones to enhance a sense of depth.