Across in the Cotswolds, engineering client Dyer and Butler have been working on a number of railway sites as part of the HST preparations. Many platforms have been extended to accommodate longer trains.
Actually there were two aspects to the job, the night shoot capturing active work whilst the rail lines were under blockade, and daytime work, visiting a number of stations that had completed works.
Having worked earlier on Saturday in Exeter the plan was a trip to a hotel near the location in the Cotswolds, sleep, then a couple of hours’ photography from about midnight, and then, following more sleep, a drive up the country visiting seven stations.
As is to be expected the weather was always going to be unpredictable. Initially the rain held off for the night shoot though rainfall came and went so the cameras wore their rain-jackets for much of the shoot.
A full PPE bag is always at the ready and the cameras often go on site in a yellow Peli case. I bought the Peli after a digger drove a little to close to my finest Italian leather bag! The Saab had been prepped with new rubber and a battery by the way, and yes I did experience rain, hail, sleet and at one point wind blew the camera/tripod over.
Hats off to Travelodge by the way, good sized room, exceptional service and comfortable bed!
This was the first such outing for the Nikon D850 and it seemed to deal well with the conditions, not that I have any complaints about the D810.
Commissions such as this usually create opportunities for a number of image types, hero shots, I often call them beautiful engineering images, branding shots, and quality documentation of the works.