Linesman

[Stagecoach]

Shot this last night as a linesman worked on the power lines that supply my house, the only illumination being from a small spotlight on the roof of their truck.

Tonight as we again sit in darkness but now with gale force winds and rain battering us from cyclone Sarai I thought I'd try some PP by candlelight

140mm, 1/60s, f/2.8, ISO25600



With my small generator happily chugging away on its fridge duty rota the situation was all fine until I realised some idiot had forgotten to keep the fridge topped up with beer

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nicely seen and captured, clean processing on the lowlight situation.

[Wavelength]

A well captured real life image...

[Tronhard]

You folks got a bit of a hammering, but glad to see you were able to work around the challenges - well, mostly: the beer thing was a bit of a tragedy!

[Manfred M]

I'm sorry to hear about the lack of planning on your part...

All that thermal mass from the beer in your fridge would have helped keep everything acceptably cold.

On the other hand, I am impressed by the PP work done using a generator; now that is hard core photography!

As for the linesman; that is one job I would not want. Getting to work in those terrible weather conditions and using an aluminum ladder to get up to the wires in a high wind situation is not something I would want to do.

[rpcrowe]

Well, at least if I were working on those lines in the wind and rain, it would not have been readily noticeable that I had wet my pants

Nicely done image in a difficult situation...

[Stagecoach]

Nicely seen and captured, clean processing on the lowlight situation.

Thanks John.

[Stagecoach]

A well captured real life image...

Thanks Nandakumar.

[Stagecoach]

You folks got a bit of a hammering, but glad to see you were able to work around the challenges - well, mostly: the beer thing was a bit of a tragedy!

It could have been worse Trevor and so far the centre has skirted around the main island and it's now slowed.

[Stagecoach]

I'm sorry to hear about the lack of planning on your part...

All that thermal mass from the beer in your fridge would have helped keep everything acceptably cold.

It's now stocked, so I'm having the generator running a few extra hours during the day to get the beer temp just right for what is looking likely to be another night of no power

On the other hand, I am impressed by the PP work done using a generator; now that is hard core photography!

A few minor adjustments in ACR, then through NIK Define, then local creative and output sharpening.

As for the linesman; that is one job I would not want. Getting to work in those terrible weather conditions and using an aluminum ladder to get up to the wires in a high wind situation is not something I would want to do.

When he erected the ladder and I noticed the brightness of the surface I immediately thought 'aluminium?' then realised they are using fibreglass ladders now in addition to conventional wood.

[Stagecoach]

Well, at least if I were working on those lines in the wind and rain, it would not have been readily noticeable that I had wet my pants

Nicely done image in a difficult situation...

Thank you Richard. I always find it fun when you get an opportunity to push the camera to the limits to see what can be achieved.

[Stagecoach]

Sometimes you just have to laugh

We put our effort into making an image realistic, use our skill and equipment to get the result we want and some online editor comes along, uses it and considers your night time shot looks better as a daytime one



But I was extremely pleased that the main daily hard copy paper has used it twice this week and printed it perfect

Grahame

[Wavelength]

Grahame, congrats

[Manfred M]

Sometimes you just have to laugh

We put our effort into making an image realistic, use our skill and equipment to get the result we want and some online editor comes along, uses it and considers your night time shot looks better as a daytime one


But I was extremely pleased that the main daily hard copy paper has used it twice this week and printed it perfect

Grahame

I have often scratched my head trying to figure out what the photo editor was thinking. They are constrained by the technology they are using, especially when dealing with print, but a night shot during a power outage somehow seems to be a more effective approach.

On the other hand, it's always nice to see one's work in the media. Congratulations on having your image published.

[Stagecoach]

Grahame, congrats

Thank Nandakumar.

[Stagecoach]

I have often scratched my head trying to figure out what the photo editor was thinking. They are constrained by the technology they are using, especially when dealing with print, but a night shot during a power outage somehow seems to be a more effective approach.

On the other hand, it's always nice to see one's work in the media. Congratulations on having your image published.

I have to admit I do feel pleased when I get my pics either in the paper or on the TV news here, but to be honest, the standard of general documentary/story photography in the media is not too good.

It seems that the few competent and serious photographers for the media concentrate on sports alone.

[rpcrowe]

I have a solar system which works like many other solar systems when the electricity grid is working and I have access to power generated by the grid. If I use more power than I generate I am charged for that power - if my system contributes more power than I need, I am paid for the extra power that I generate by the power company.

Where, my system is unique (there are probably others that do this but I have not learned of any) is when the power grid fails. I can the disconnect my home power from the grid and use my own power directly.

Obviously, since I have no battery back up, I would have power only during the hours when the sun is shining... However, I could keep my fridge and freezer running during the daytime and by being careful about opening these appliances at night, my food would be secure. I could also keep all my rechargeable batteries such as cell phones, flashlights and, of course, cameras charged during the day.

Since, we in Southern California, are most likely to lose power during wildfires which occur most often during the hot and bright weather of Santa Ana conditions, my system would be quite an advantage. If I lived in another area in which power loss might be due to hurricanes or typhoons, it might not work quite as well.