Mechanisms Close Up

The red wheel of this engine certainly drew my attention to this image. It’s so clean that it might have been a stationary exhibit but the spray of steam suggests rather more than that. Having grabbed my attention, I’m left to admire the linkages and wonder which direction it’s about to move off in.

I’ve studied this at length (there is a screw missing) with nostalgia and a degree of jealousy. This image is a crisp illustration of a rather complex and intriguing assembly. I have not awarded points for complexity, however. A good shot should tell a story and this one could run for several chapters!

Such a clear and crisp shot of a mechanism that looks familiar yet is still not recognisable to me. I have a dislike of images without a title but those that merely state the obvious do not help much when I’m trying to work out what this is and whether I may ever have enjoyed the benefit of whatever it does. Never mind, it caused me to dwell on it and become fascinated by the fresh outlines of each of its components.

What helps this shot stand out are the fortuitous colours and presence of oil to highlight the surfaces. In addition, the informative title explains where these shafts may be found. I was intrigued by the split gear in the foreground and have been trying to determine why that was so (to enable assembly, perhaps)? It does show that a machine does not need to be dirty, unlike the perception often assumed by those who have less of an interest in mechanical things.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this contest looking at mechanisms close-up. As an engineer, I’ve always been interested in things that achieve something useful and I enjoy studying gears, shafts and levers to understand how they work. The images I selected came closest to meeting my desire to get close-up to moving parts and I have not been disappointed. There is a vast range of subject material here, from intricate escapements to heavy engineering and I have attempted to select from the whole spectrum.

There is a certain mystery about this one. I cannot tell what these cast cogs are from or what they might do, other than turn. The shaft of light provides a glimpse of only part this heavy machine. I can see gears, shafts and even levers, with a hint of more behind. Engineering is about function over form and the dark colours help to reinforce the purposefulness of this mechanism with no messing. Congratulations on rising to my top!

This detailed close-up of a timepiece has a technical nature which I love. The texture of the machining and edges of the gears are crisp and are almost drawing-like (I presume through a degree of sharpening) and the colours help lift what might otherwise have been a somewhat dull documentary.

Heavy engineering is functional and rarely glamorous yet, somehow, this image defies the notion of grime or grease. This is a hefty machine and the colours captured convey the strength and purpose of these components. An admirable shot of a cracking machine (only figuratively, of course).

What a wonderful piece of machinery, this is something I can marvel at! I have cogs, gears, levers, pawls, and all manner of mechanical devices and movements here. A feast of precision, perfectly captured for a sad mind like mine to drool over!

Mechanisms are not always light and delicate, as in a watch. This study is of a few of the intermeshed gears of a winch. It would have been so easy to stand further back and shoot more of the gears but, by focusing closer, the shot has created an interest in the size and strength required for the capacity to handle heavy lifting. This is an image with teeth!

Mechanisms are about movement and this shot was one of the few to convey that. We may have lost some of the detail for this but I feel that my level of excitement is enhanced by the blur of the wheel and its driving belt. It’s always difficult to know how much to include or exclude in a shot and this one may have been decided by the distance the camera was away. It’s a shame that he tip of the wheel has been excluded but you can’t always have everything and even less of the wheel might actually improve it.

The focus is on a few gears and spindles of this clock mechanism, with the background harmonising in subdued colour. I wouldn’t expect any blur here, as such movements are unlikely to be spinning, so the title may be considered a little misleading (much though I loved it).