Irrigation Flange

[Calavera]

Growing up in the central valley of California, I have developed an odd fascination with these irrigation flanges. They stand like towering, rusty sentinels, in vast fields of green and yellow. I have considered shooting a series, which celebrates the various shapes, colors, and textures of these underrated (and usually unnoticed) machines. My question now is which approach would be most interesting. I have primarily been considering night shots with long exposures. I think light-painting might give an interesting edge to these shots. I also really like the reciprocity failure technique, but am unsure if it can be done with a digital SLR. Any advice or suggestions, which could help me shoot this subject in a more interesting way would be greatly appreciated. Also, is reciprocity failure possible on a DSLR? Here are some beginning shots of this subject. Thanks,

-Cala-

 

[Helen B]

Is that what they are called in California? It looks like the motor of a disused turbine well pump to me.

I like the last one the best - it gives a bit more context, and I get the sense of its shape and purpose more clearly. Your idea of light painting sounds good - whether you use a small flash (strobe) or a torch (flashlight) is up to you. If you have both, try them. Whatever you use it will help a lot to get the light source away from the camera, to reveal the texture and shape.

If you are going to keep the low camera angle, it might be an idea to remove grass etc from between the motor and the camera so that there are no distracting foreground details.

Sensors don't suffer from reciprocity failure in the same way that film does. I'm not sure what you mean as the 'reciprocity failure effect'? Do you mean strange colours (colour crossover)? That could be imitated digitally.

Best,
Helen