Working Men of Nevada

Midknightc3

I recently had the chance to visit my Dad on a drill project in central NV, and of course brought my camera. Normally that wouldn't be such a big deal, but has anyone else here tried to fit a MKII, 24-105, and 70-200 on a motorcycle, along with everything needed for a week of camping with no outside water or food source? Suddenly every little nook and cranny becomes priceless real estate! I wouldn't typically bring the 70-200 along on the bike, but I specifically wanted to photograph the men working at the project and had to stay well enough out of their way at the same time. It was rather cloudy, which made for boring skies, but very easy and even lighting for ever moving subjects. Here is what I ended up with...

1 Dad and I in camp my first night there


2 I was thinking wide open aperture to blur the background, but didn't think about how his head is tilted and it would blur his face as well...dangit!


3 Logging drill core and it's depth, using flagging to mark every 5ft...this core is at 505ft below the surface


4 Red, the 75yo water truck driver from Montana who still works as hard as he did in his 20's...


5


6 Ron, the geophysicist using the Navy's VLF signals from Washington ST. to measure wave deflection, giving him an idea of what sort of minerals are below the surface and how deep...so cool!


Overall I am pretty pleased with my captures, though I really need to remember to not be afraid of higher f-stop's to make sure the subjects entire face remains sharp. C&C welcome.

Thanks!
Clark

AceCo55

Really nice set and the story is icing on the cake.
#5 is classic
#1 - Father and son - priceless ... what a wonderful shared experience

Eustace2

I like these too. The focus on the second one didn't bother me. In fact, I had to look at it to see what you were talking about. When the eyes (or in this case the sunglasses) are in focus, folks will often accept a shallow DOF on other parts of the face. How did you process these? I like the color saturation.

PhilD41

Very well done!! I think 2,5, and 6 are my favorites as they show some of the guy's personality. The reflection in the glasses of #3 is cool, but it is hard to identify what he is doing with the photo alone. Again though, great photos!! I would certainly call it a success!

Midknightc3

Thanks all! I updated my post with image numbers. Especially with the smaller size posted here I have to agree with Eustace2, the shallow DOF does work. Full size on my screen it's more noticeable, but not so much here...good point! I just did a basic edit in LR4, adjusting the shadows/highlights, contrast, blacks, clarity, and vibrance/saturation. A big part of why the color is so nice is that it was cloudy, so I had the worlds largest soft box working in my favor that day.

Here is an example of one taken during a break in the clouds. Still came out well I think, but totally different feeling and colors. It wasn't full noonday sun, but only very light and high clouds for this shot.


Clark