Submitter's name:	Olaf Greve
Title:	Dark times
Gear used:	Camedia C2020-Zoom
Diaphragm:	Around f4-f5.6
Shutter speed:	Auto, the flash was used but I underexposed the shot by anywhere between 1/3rd and 2 stops to get a darker effect.
Film used:	Smart Media 32MB film ;)
Technical information:	Not much to say for once, just some bracketing to work out a nicely dark exposure (where the built in flash would not create hotspots) and then take the shot hand held. I bracketed heavily in most of the pictures I took and most of the times underexposing it by 1 stop yielded the nicest result (but some shots were underexposed as much as 2 full stops). I do not remember anymore how much this particular shot was underexposed, but it is likely to have been around 1 stop.
Digital technique:	No edits, I only resized the picture to the 800 pixels formats. Other than that, not a single pixel has been retouched.
Subject information:	Ever since the theme "machines and tools" was proposed I already had a shot like this in mind. What we are looking at here is an ancient steam engine from the late 19th century. Where I live there is a nice museum that has some fabulous machinery from the textile ages. There were really old looms (from the 18th century) as well, but I particularly fancied the steam engines that marked the hay day (sp?) of the city where I live, as that used to thrive on textile mills. Interestingly enough this engine was not Dutch made (as were the majority of them), but rather it is a German made one. I took about 90 pictures and I had a pretty hard time figuring out which shot to submit. In the end I figured this shot best fit the feeling I wanted to convey. Back in those days people used to make very long days in dark factories filled with engines like these. Deliberately controlling the flash-lit exposure by underexposing it rather heavily further adds to the dark feeling. If only they would still have a running engine...
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Comment left by: Walt Wayman (no e-mail specified)

Really nice! Gives the appearance of a more complex lighting setup. Makes a film shooter a bit envious of the "free" bracketing capabilities of digital, though. Excellent composition, shooting from the proper angle for correct perspective. Well done!

Comment left by: Gregg Iverson (no e-mail specified)

Nice lighting. Sounds like what we are experiencing right now - with the mills closing around here. Digital makes it much easier to get what you are imagining.

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