My largest photography bag is the actually the one with my PPE; helmets, goggles, a harness and a buoyancy aid, as well as all of the other essentials such as eye protectors, boots and gloves. Recent engineering photography shoots have included road, rail, water and, as of this week, airports; the airport writeup will need clearance though.
On this shoot though I started the day in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a compact site where a road/rail-bridge was being supported and repaired. As ever timing trains adds to the fun and the cameras had their kagoules on due to the inclement conditions. The bridge shoot resulted in a number of images recording the complex bridge support structure.
Unusually for me I allowed Google to take me to the second site, the Basingstoke canal, and it really seemed like the middle of nowhere; except this nowhere had some humungous houses. I used to live in these parts and to be honest this visit to the canal was a bit of a revelation. It was good to get the buoyancy aid out again and the waterproof Peli case offered peace of mind when carrying thousands of pounds worth of Nikons in and out of a small water-based taxi.
Once trust in the pilot had been gained the cameras came out, we had decided to do the whole shoot from the craft and as long as I didn’t rock the boat too much things we (reasonably) stable. Mud was prevalent and unavoidable though, these environments always demand caution and respect for the photographic equipment, the Peli Case is great being both waterproof and robust. I bought the yellow one thinking if anyone ever stole it I could shout ‘Hey, stop the guy with the yellow case!” (true); it is a useful colour in environments where the case may me a tripping hazard.
As ever I find an intriguing and enduring beauty to civil engineering photography.
Gallery of Rail and Marine Engineering Photography
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