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Demolition machines.

Jerome Marot

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
1: I am not sure that this belongs to "fine art", but I can't find a much more relevant category either…

2: About C&C: I welcome C&C, but I realize that 5 pictures is a bit much (read on to understand why I post 5). However, a simple comment about which picture you prefer would be very appreciated.

These are 5 pictures I present on the exhibition of the photoclub of my place of employment. They will be presented in the order shown here, they are a selection amongst many more I took on that day. I like the arrangement around the central feature (the vertical central frame). BTW: the opening takes place to morrow (7/3 at 17h00), anyone from the forum being in Munich that day is welcome to contact me if they wish to come.

The story: I am running a long-term project about a construction site with a group. I went there when it was snowing, because I wanted to have the snow change the landscape into something more serene. I also planned to take pictures of the demolition machines, first because that is what is taking place on the site at present and second because I thought they would make the viewer aware of the aggression inherent in the destruction of the old site. That latest part did not quite run out as planned, I am afraid.

Technical:
The pictures are clickable and should include the exifs. This is a digital capture processed to look more like B&W film. The actual prints are A2 size, made with an Epson inkjet on a matte paper ("rag" paper). I don't think that the type of camera or lens is important, but you can ask or find out from the exifs.

The first picture:



DSC03886
 
M

Michael Nagel

Well-known member
Jerome Marot said:
The third (central) picture:


DSC03947
Click to expand...
These crushing device has a shape which reminds (me) remotely of a dinosaur head.
Other positions could have yielded easier this association.

I like the tones.

I would like to pass, but we have a lot of things planned for tomorrow, so I do not know if I can pass.

Best regards,
Michael
 
S

Sandrine Bascouert

Member
Definitely the 3rd and the 4th. I would to see a bit more of the surrounding, not much, just have the feeling that the edges are too close (particularly for the 4th). The tones are exquisite, good idea for the rag paper... It will be precious. I hope you'll have a great success with this exhibition...
 
K

Ken Tanaka

pro member
Jerome,
I welcome thoughtful visual project efforts, such as what yours sounds to be. (I've been working on construction-related projects for several years myself.) I can offer just a couple of brief thoughts.

- These are not "demolition machines". Most of the gear you've photographed is actually hydraulic earth moving equipment most often used for digging, pushing, and re-grading.

- If you stick with this project one of the key decisions you'll have to make is what the heck you're trying to accomplish. That is, what are you trying to portray? Change? Process? Equipment? If you don't set a declared conceptual objective you'll end up with just a bunch of pictures.

If you note the reactions to your study images, above, you can already see that some construction gear offers opportunities for an anthropomorphic essay. That can be fun for a short (<= 10 image) essay but it can become tiresome and silly if stretched too far. It also requires a studied knowledge of equipment and of the general construction process to be able to anticipate opportunities.

Another approach might be to look at the nature of man-made change, in which case the site itself is the main character.

So I'm suggesting that, if you've not already done so, you establish a communication goal for your work. You might ultimately change that path in mid-project and/or discover that you also collected imagery to support a separate essay. But if you don't establish a visual objective you'll end up with hundreds of -just-another-pictures- that cannot be meaningfull edited or curated.

Good luck and hove fun!
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Ken,

Ken Tanaka said:
I welcome thoughtful visual project efforts, such as what yours sounds to be. (I've been working on construction-related projects for several years myself.) I can offer just a couple of brief thoughts.

- These are not "demolition machines". Most of the gear you've photographed is actually hydraulic earth moving equipment most often used for digging, pushing, and re-grading.
Click to expand...

Broadly true for the machines, and apt for the Cat medium wheel dozer in "the second picture", but certainly not true at the moment for the hydraulic excavator (looks like it might be a Cat 320 or such) with the tool shown.

Best regards,

Doug
 
Last edited:
Jerome Marot

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
Ken Tanaka said:
Jerome,
I welcome thoughtful visual project efforts, such as what yours sounds to be. (I've been working on construction-related projects for several years myself.) I can offer just a couple of brief thoughts.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

- These are not "demolition machines". Most of the gear you've photographed is actually hydraulic earth moving equipment most often used for digging, pushing, and re-grading.
Click to expand...

I realize that. I have seen the equipment at work. I am using "demolition machines" as a title, because it is a bit shorter to type than "hydraulic earth moving equipment". And that equipment is used to move houses away from their places, torn down to tiny bits of rubble. Or so it seems.

- If you stick with this project one of the key decisions you'll have to make is what the heck you're trying to accomplish.
Click to expand...

Don't misread me: I value your comments a lot. And I understand the "curated" part. But they raise a quite interesting question: do photographs need to "accomplish" something?

I'm afraid we could start up a very, very long discussion on this point in the "what is art?" section of this forum.

Let me offer you a simple answer to provoke some thoughts: if we limit ourselves to only pictures which need to "accomplish" something, we are probably missing a large part of the whole story.
 
K

Ken Tanaka

pro member
@ Jerome,

My "accomplish" remarks were directed toward you, not your photos. ;-) Since you suggested that you were showing us shards from a project I merely passed along a tip from my own experience on similar projects. That is, if you want your photos to "accomplish" something it's best to get rails early.

@ Doug,
Indeed, all of these toys can also be used for "demolition". Down your way I'm sure it's common. Up here, however, they need to use different gear. ;-)
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Ken,

Ken Tanaka said:
@ Doug,
Indeed, all of these toys can also be used for "demolition". Down your way I'm sure it's common. Up here, however, they need to use different gear. ;-)
Click to expand...

I'm sure. Probably relates to more sturdy construction "up there". (When I first moved to North Texas, I commented that all buildings seemed to be built to last about 15 years; that is, giving a five-year "margin" beyond when they would become obsolete for reasons of "style" or real estate market forces.)

By the way, Caterpillar categorizes all these (collectively) as just "machines". Move earth? Move trees? Move bricks? Whatever.

Best regards,

Doug
 
Jerome Marot

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
Ken Tanaka said:
Since you suggested that you were showing us shards from a project I merely passed along a tip from my own experience on similar projects.
Click to expand...

Now I understand. These pictures are not really part of the main project, they just happen to have been taken at the same place.
 
Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
If I were going to do demolition work with a Cat hydraulic excavator, I would probably want something more substantial (with an appropriate tool in place, of course).

Here I am in the cab of a Cat 345B L.

DAK_345B_E24401-04R.jpg

Carla C. Kerr: Telephone engineer aboard Cat 345B L hydraulic excavator​

Here it is in repose for the night:

Pipe_job_E24411R.jpg

Douglas A Kerr: Cat 345B L hydraulic excavator in repose​

An extra-long reach version of these (e.g., 345B UDH) are by the way called "demolition excavators" by Cat.

Best regards,

Doug
 
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