MACHINERY This is a line in commercial photography which takes the operator out into the shops and manufacturing plants, and is one for which there is considerable call in manufacturing centers. As pictures of machinery are nearly always used for sales promotion work, and practically every machine has one or more competitors in the field, it is necessary to take them at their best—also for the operator to be able to pick up the good points quickly and with as few questions as possible. For this reason, unless he has a liking for machinery and a knowledge of mechanics, he is handicapped to a certain extent from the start. A knowledge of this sort also comes in very handy in blocking.
Pictures of machinery are usually blocked, that is, with a pure white back ground, and with this end in view, the shops usually have on hand backgrounds of some kind, either dirty or otherwise, which can be stretched up in back of the particular machine to be photographed.
As to preparation, the modern commercial photographer does not rely so much on preparing machinery for photographing, as it is usually painted either a dark gray or blue-black these days, which photographs very well anyhow, and exposure and development take up many of those deficiencies.
But, if you do have to prepare anything, a color that photographs very well is what is known as battleship gray. This may be applied so as to come off quickly if gasoline or turpentine substitute are used in mixing. Practically the only time you will have to prepare anything is in connection with some small parts, as the larger companies usually make it a point to have their machine painted before the photographer is called. If they do not have this done, work a little of the payment-for-time stuff, which will undoubtedly have the desired effect of having the job ready when you arrive on the scene of action.
If it is necessary, touch up the name plate, which should be displayed prominently. This can be done with aluminum paint, chalk, or whiting, etc., just so it comes out plainly in the photograph.
In my opinion, the one best way to photograph machinery is with a blow-. lamp. I even use it to help out fairly good daylight, as there are nearly always gears, wheels or the like in the shadows, where a short blow will help detail.
In using a blow-lamp for this purpose, the lamp should be moved at least six or eight feet during the exposure, that is, from side to side and up and down, so as to get light into all the crevices and shadows. Of course, a little longer on one side than on the other is good to give a slight relief.
In using blow-lamps, they give considerable trouble unless a few pre cautions are exercised. The blow-lamp should be kept absolutely clean at all times, that is, clean off all of the deposit that forms around the burner, keep the powder passages clean, the alcohol pad in good shape, and by all means have a cover on it to extinguish the flame when the job is finished.
With reference to the powder, it is advisable to use a fine and a medium powder mixed together, as it seems to give a better result than either fine or medium used separately. About an ounce of powdered aluminum, such as used for bronzing, mixed in with the powder, is also somewhat of a help, as it keeps the powder from getting dull.
All powder should be taken from the lamp and the lamp reloaded after each exposure, as the moisture from your breath, blowing into the powder through the tube, has a tendency to cake the powder.
I suppose it is hardly necessary in this day and age to caution that it is not safe to use regular explosive flash powder in a blow-lamp, although it seems to happen occasionally, for it will surely ruin your blow-lamp for all times and will make business for the undertaker. Magnesium only should be used.
Occasionally, you will, of course, have to photograph with daylight alone, and at other times with electric light. The same as in connection with the blow lamp, when using electric light, the light should be moved about to get well into the shadows.
As for the plate, it should always be either on a double-coated plate or a film, as one has a great range in tones, from the deep black to the white nickel.
With reference to the lens to use, this should be of long focus, and if it is at all possible to avoid it, a wide-angle lens should never be used.
The illustrations show various types of machine work, Number 20 being a retouched photograph.