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Power line 1139

Posted by
John Leech (Grange-over-Sands, United Kingdom) on 6 March 2009 in Abstract & Conceptual and Portfolio.

Now this should be interesting! I took this shot at the weekend, but this is the first time I've shown it alone. I'm intrigued to see what kind of reaction it gets.

NIKON D300 1/500 second F/5.6 ISO 640 105 mm

UK based wedding and landscape photographer. The panoramic view of Morecambe Bay from my house is a regular feature of my landscape photography.

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Ian Bramham from Manchester, United Kingdom

One of my real favourites from your recent photos John.....I love the graphic art quality of this I'm looking forward to eventually seeing a set of these power line photos.

6 Mar 2009 5:28am

@Ian Bramham: Thanks Ian. I drove to Kendal the other day and was amazed by the opportunities along the side of the 590. I'll need to find half a day to pop along there - not a nice place to park or walk. And there are more closer to home - lets face it, there's no escaping these things!

Rags from Plano, United States

I really love the lines in the image. Nice work.

6 Mar 2009 5:40am

@Rags: thanks Rags

Tammy-Cricket from United States

Lines, angles, and simplicity is fantastic with this image.

6 Mar 2009 6:14am

@Tammy-Cricket: Thanks Tammy, I'm surprised by the potential of this subject - I've got plans!

Peter Miller from Lichfield, United Kingdom

Not sure what to say about this whether its with regards to Mr B or not. In a way it is interesting and one cannot help to look but does not hold the interest for long, looking back at some of your other work I do find it quite fasinating

6 Mar 2009 9:46am

@Peter Miller: Thanks Peter. I'd think that a power line/cable photo that works on its own would be a rare beast. This is possibly the closest I've come so far. I'm posting a couple more over the next two days, and the feeling of a set will hopefully start to make more sense of them. It isn't an image that I expect to having popular appeal, though I find viewing things like this stimulates ideas.

Giovanni from Milan, Italy

Love the simplicity and the geomteric composition. The b&w is clean and effective. Beautiful work!

6 Mar 2009 12:28pm

@Giovanni: Thanks Giovanni

Momo from Montpellier, France

very excellent...love the strong graphic and how you found beauty in something so mundane...the crop is just perfect...

6 Mar 2009 12:32pm

@Momo: Thanks Momo, it is a subject I had experimented with in the past, but seeing someone else's stark processing pointed the way forward.

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

A minimal chaos. I like this!

6 Mar 2009 1:12pm

@bluechameleon: I hadn't though of it as chaos, but minimal chaos does sum it up rather well!

hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong

Hey John, have to be honest, I enjoy this very much... not just the pic itself but also that precious "sense of wonder" behind it!!! So easily are we caught up in some "serious business" these days that we have lost the interest in the rest of the world and don't even look at things about the streets any more. To me, this is very nicely seen and captured - the interestingly composed lines are arresting my attention the very first second, and the longer I look at it, the more I'm drawn to the beautifully captured details and textures... Look forward to seeing the rest!:-)

6 Mar 2009 1:14pm

@hugo poon: I'm glad you enjoyed this one with its strong graphic influence. Here's a more comprehensive set from John Abbott and was the inspiration for the stark processing. His collection extends the concept far more than my limited opportunity so far. I live in a very small town, we just don't have the complexity of some of his more involved studies! But it is a collection what I indent to expand.

Cheryl from Texas, United States

super shot! I love the short lines tapping into the rest of the lines...makes me think about maybe the KGB or secret service tapping into our private conversations. This image provokes thought and imagination. Bravo. The processing, composition, light are perfect.

6 Mar 2009 2:49pm

@Cheryl: thanks Cheryl - I thought yesterday's shot would have been more popular that this, but a nice surprise! Talking of surprises - if the KGB tapped into these lines they'd be in for a bit of a shock, its a 3 phase mains power line with thousands of volts pumping through it. I know that isn't relevant to your comment, just an amusing thought :~)

ZoomLNZ from Los Angeles Area, United States

You have a great series of B&W images; but since I used to climb structures such as this when I was a young lineman, I thought I'd add my comment here.

You do good work.

7 Mar 2009 1:17am

@ZoomLNZ: Did you go up the really tall ones as well? I bet there's some amazing views from some of those. I was talking to a guy who worked on the tall pylons, but is now in management. In the 70s when safety took more chances (ie, very little safety) he had a photo of two of them up in the heavens sat on the structure, eating sandwiches, ice around them. He had it framed on his office wall - but the company insisted that he took it down as it sent out the wrong message! I'd love to see that photo. I bet it is similar to the classics of building NY.

ZoomLNZ from Los Angeles Area, United States

Yes, I can understand your friend having to take down his photo if it reflected a negative safety message. Safety is a HUGE issue with electric utilities these days. To answer your question: I did in fact spend two years in transmission construction where I worked from 120' towers. You're right, I probably could have taken some very interesting photos, but I really didn't think about it back then.

8 Mar 2009 12:18am

@ZoomLNZ: 120' - serious stuff. As a builder once said to me, fall off something like that and its what? Broken fingers?

Ken from Chicago, United States

John, like this a lot, but ( uh oh...) I can not decide if I like the white framing ( I know that is an option on here), but when the power lines, just stop, it is jarring to me and I would like them to run off the edge.

5 May 2009 3:36am

@Ken: Fair comment Ken. I use the same white border on all of my internet pics for consistency. I used to put a keyline around any where white edges bled into the frame, but a while ago I decided to ditch that unless I feel it is really necessary... and so far have not resorted to it. The argument to use one for these pics is quite sound, though I did try one and found that the keyline fights with the power lines. I usually tinker with the white areas slightly in order to define the edge. In this case I like the way that the lines do that themselves. But I'm not saying it is right this way, or a different presentation would not be better!

NIKON D300
1/500 second
F/5.6
ISO 640
105 mm