Blast Furnace HF6
This is the heart (blast furnace) where they used to meld iron ore into Pig iron. The site has been closed for several years...
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This is the heart (blast furnace) where they used to meld iron ore into Pig iron. The site has been closed for several years
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Feb, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in an industrial site somewehere in Europe. When I saw this part of the huge site, it was love at first sight ! It's the centre of the site and therefore it's special because the main activity used to happen here. Yess, 'used to', because it's been abandoned for a few years now. All activities have been stopped.Time
I remember the time, at was 3PM. We entered the site at 10AM in the morning, so we already did mutch of exploration that day. And then finally, we saw the blast furnace itself. I was already going for my tripod and Nikon, as a was still exploring the view. This blast furnace is really huge, so had to take this photo wide angled, so with the incoming light sideways, details must be perfect !Lighting
The lightning had to be perfect. The intakes had to be clear. The yellow safety paint had to be the contrast of all the iron wires and tubes. I finally made several tripod shots with different aperture, to create a little HDR for the detailling in this photo. I never expected to turn out his good, as I am a selfthaught photographer.Equipment
This photo is taken with a Nikon D7100 camera, with a mounted Nikkor 12-24mm f4.0 lens with UV filter. This photo was at 12mm, so wide angled to get as mutch information as we could ! The Nikon was mounted on Manfrotto 055 tripod, wich is great for 'architecture'. I rarely use a flash for urban exploration, because I love natural light. If you use a tripod a with long shutter speeds, there will be more then enough light in the photo.Inspiration
I found pictures on the internet, when this blas furnace was still working. Many people worked at this site, in extreme condition like heat. This site was used to melt Pig iron into other basic irons like steel. I was so inspired by the action pictures, I had to visit this place and take photos from the 'afterlife'. I wanted to be were all these people used to work and sweat, as it is abandoned now.Editing
Processing is very important when you use HDR. First the combination between the 3 RAW files givew you a nice atmosphere between shadows and highlights. It's also gives you the opportunity to let details pop out of the picture, especially the ones that normally are in the shadows. Remember to not overdue the colors, personally I really don't like colors to be unrealistic !In my camera bag
I always carry a 24-70mm f2.8 wich should be in every photographers bag as standard. next to that one, I always take my 12-24mm f4.0. Better one should be a f4, but if you use a good tripod as my Manfrotto 055, it's the diafragma is not that important any more. I use this one in small area's for interior shots, or, to get a wideangled landscape. Post processing (perspective) is very important after taking pictures with the 12-24. A 70-200m and an 8mm fisheye are options when I go out...Feedback
To explore abandoned buildings needs some planning, as a mather of fact, a lot of planning. Huge sites like blast furnaces or other big industrial sites, are most of the time beeing watched. Copper thiefs are also active on these kind of spots, so in most cases, there is always security at the site, although it is abandoned. You really should use Google streetview / earth / maps before you start you're trip to explore the streets around 'the playground'. I always start very early for an exploration trip. I try to arrive at the scene when the sun comes up, so not many people could see you entering the site. Then, you should have the benefit of an ealy sun, so not to many highlights, and you should have enough time to explore the entire site as they are always very big ! Some very good tips : take workwear clothing, working shoes, work wear gloves, bandaids, and some more stuff to prtect yourself if you get hurt. Sites like sthis are always full of surprises. So don't think you always get out unharmed !
