Souffle Tes Bougies mon ange
Cruas nuclear power plant over the Rhône, at night.
Cruas nuclear power plant over the Rhône, at night.
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Jun, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from the left bank of the Rhône, south-east of France, on front of the nuclear power plant of Cruas.Time
Most of my photo trips are night trips, because I like to show this parallel world which never sleeps, the industry, and the sprawling lights of the cities. Electric constellations spread on the ground of the earth, tending to erase the primary ones, in the sky.Lighting
Although night is dark, night photography is all about lightning. Industrial plants are lit like luna parks, but all the light sources don't have the same intensity, and if you want to capture some part of the background too, it becomes ever tougher. I considered using neutral filters, but decided eventually to combine different time exposures : it offered me the possibility to get these smooth, hairlike, plumes.Equipment
I shot with a Sigma 24-70 mounted on my 5DMKII, on tripod.Inspiration
There's some kind of poetry in these strange industrial sites. To an innocent eye, they could either be big machineries designed indeed to produce something, either architectural experiments glowing into the night. If they are machines, they are so big that none can understand their operation in a single glimpse. The industry has thus oversized the human capacity to understand things, because the synthesis of all the processes which happen simultaneously cannot fit in one only brain. Then walking around or inside the factories is like walking on the ground of a foreign planet. This is even more true speaking about nuclear plants, because we are transmutating the matter in there ! I want my work to be a focus on this alienation of the earth - of the night too, an exploration of these non pedestrian grounds.Editing
The central line of lights was much brighter than the rest of my frame. I thought first of using a neutral filter, in order to avoid a heavy post-processing, but I didn't want to lose the lights on the river. So I decided instead to mix together different time exposures. The shortest exposure is the bright and crisp line in the center, then I combined it with two longer exposures wich melt the exhaust fumes, soften the reflections on the water, and reveal some details of the mountain in the background.In my camera bag
I usually wander around with my 5DMKII, a Zenitar 16mm fisheye (all manual, but one of the best lenses I've ever had), a Sigma 24-70, a remote intervallometer, and my Manfrotto Tripod.Feedback
Industrial sites are usually hidden from the public by walls, trees, fences, etc. Even if you don't trespass, it is often forbidden to take pictures of them. Of course, if you pass by during daylight and take a quick shot, none will say you anything, but if you start to settle a tripod and all, you may attract attention, and soon have to meet with security. Or elsely put, people who won't understand at all what exactly you are doing there : a factory is ugly and one doesn't want to take pictures of an ugly sight, unless he is a spy or a terrorist. Be patient, discreet, or simply ask for permission !
