Not many people would purposefully visit a museum when it is closed, but I did exactly that during a recent short stay in Hobart.
Of course, the museum is no ordinary museum – it was the Museum of Old and Modern Art – and, actually, I did not have much choice about it being open or not as the only day I could visit was Christmas Day.
I am sure you have seen those amazing videos of clouds scudding across the skies, of shipping arriving and departing port in no time at all and of buildings being built in as short a time as 5 minutes. And you will no doubt realise that these are created from a series of individual photographs taken at intervals over the duration of the project or activity.
Infrastructure projects are probably the least glamorous in the built environment space, but occasionally, a little gem is created. One of these is the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. Opened in 2002, this engineering marvel completes a continuous waterway between Edinburgh and Glasgow by connecting the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal.
Setting up a project to shoot progressive photographs of a construction project, as outlined in my blog post ‘Preparation, preparation, preparation’, is only the first step in achieving a successful outcome. If you are not properly prepared for each of your regular visits, you good project set up will be for nothing.
You will only do these once – arrive on site once to find your memory card full, camera battery low on charge or not have the correct paperwork.
One of the many things I have learned from my career in design and management within the built environment is the importance of diligent preparation before embarking on a project.
The prospect of photographically recording the progressive development of a construction project involving multiple visits from start to finish is no exception. In fact, the better prepared you are for any photographic assignment, the better the outcome.
In July 2016 I wrote about the features images I took of Flinders Street Station. These were for a contractor’s submission for the repair and refurbishment of the station. The contractor, Built Pty Ltd, was successful with their submission and has subsequently appointed me on behalf of Major Projects Victoria to take the progress photographs of the project.
Located on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets and stretching a block and a half along Flinders Street, the station’s administration building is one of Melbourne’s 20th century icons.
On top of a 9 metre high slightly sloping roof of an engineering workshop is not where I would normally choose to be, but the opportunity to photograph the installation of 132 solar panels was too much to miss.