take five Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Old metal on wheels,
five brothers...

This shot of abandonned cranes on the Scheldt (Schelde) dockside is a reply shot to
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo1031294.htm by Andria.

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My short history of the port of Antwerp...

The name Antwerp comes from 'anda verpum', which refers to its position on the oustide of a bend in the river Scheldt.

In the 16th century Antwerp was the Europe's busiest port, then it fell victim to a sectarian war, as a result of which the Low Countries were split in two and the port of Antwerp became blocked for centuries.

In the late 18th century Napoleon saw the port of Antwerp as a potential "gun aimed at the heart of England" and brought the harbour back to life.

Of course, it was he himself who was defeated some time later...but it proved to be enough for Antwerp to reclaim its position as a world harbour.

Since then the natural curves of the river Scheldt have been straightened (ouch!) for bigger ships to dock, but as the harbour became bigger, it left the city and moved north towards the Dutch border, though remnants of the old port are still visible in and near the old town, including some old cranes.

I guess they belong to a museum, or maybe they just got left behind.

Sad old monsters...

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Camera: Nikon D40
Shutter speed: 1:4000sec
F-stop: f/3.5
ISO: 400
Focal length: 18 mm
Metering mode: Pattern
No flash / No tripod

dta, ktanska, Wanda1, Photo65Net, xavshot, bukitgolfb301, alvaraalto, hispic, leo61 ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

dta (4169) 2009-05-08 6:31

Bonjour Benny ,
Une superbe vue de ces vieilles grues dans le beau ciel bleu . Un port que les marins de ma région (dont ceux de ma famille) ont si souvent fréquenté .
Un bel hommage aux travailleurs des ports .
Amicalement

ktanska (16353) 2009-05-08 6:38

Hi Benny,
Impressive quintet of old big cranes. You've shot them on very good sidelight showing well details of ageing. I like how they are arranged on different positions giving an impression of sort of mechanical dance.
Kari

sevy (12783) 2009-05-08 6:54

Hello Benny,

Very good title for an original photo presenting well these cranes. The lightning was perfect to evidence the colors of the iron.
For the composition, perhaps a little bit too much ground on the bottom. It can be change easily by a small crop.

Yves.

molla (6869) 2009-05-08 7:12

hej Benny
Like five giant Giraffe waiting for the Iron Acacia to turn up.
excellent and quite humoristic
cheers Anders

pauloog (6278) 2009-05-08 7:17

Dag Benny,
Als oude broers bijeen om een praatje te slaan, en de middelste voet het hoge woord.
Moi gezien en uitgevoerd.
Groetjes,
Paul

francesav (602) 2009-05-08 7:57

Hi Benny,
a very nice picture of industrial archeology!
Colours and framing are very good too!
Regards.
Francesco.

Wanda1 (10832) 2009-05-08 9:30

Hallo Benny,
Like alien monsters advancing an attack on the city :o)
They make for a nice subject and I like the way they are so stark against the clear blue sky and the concrete ground. Great that they are all perfectly lined up in a row too and all at various heights.
Groetjes
Wanda

sayeed_rahman (2159) 2009-05-08 14:09

Benny..i like the approach and the title..makes a lot of appeal and sense..good treatment and results..theres nothing you could have done differently..its more graphic than anything else

Works for me

Cheers
sayeed

Adrian_S (572) 2009-05-08 14:27

Hi Benny!
Looks like almost domino to me:)) But I guess it would be a disaster if it continues. I like how the one in the middle creates the simmetry.

All the best
Adrian

Photo65Net (43084) 2009-05-09 0:58

Hello Benny,
Nice use of the old metallic tools... I like how you created balance and graphics here.
Have a nice day,
JB.

luighi (4012) 2009-05-09 9:03

Hi Benny , espectacular composicion vertical amigo mio .Un conjunto impar con muy buena armonia y percfeta definicion.
Gran encuadre y grafismo , felicidades.
Saludos cordiales
Luis

marietom (31756) 2009-05-09 14:45

hello Benny,

J'aime beaucoup ton titre, ainsi que le thème de ta composition. Bravo, c'est superbe.
Bonne soirée
Marie

jhm (81531) 2009-05-10 2:40

Dag Benny,

Goed gezien de vijf broers mooi naast elkaar, industiële argiologie, maar ze hebben hun werk gedaan.
Prachtige silhouetten tegen een staal blauwe hemel.
Mooi foto werk, bedankt.

Prettige zondag,
John.

xavshot (61745) 2009-05-10 2:41

Bonjour Benny
très joli graphisme. J'aime bien le cadrage vertical et le côté futuriste de l'image. On dirait des robots. Bien vu.
Xavier

bukitgolfb301 (4361) 2009-05-10 3:48

Hello my dear Benny

Great shot and a little sorrow. The contrast of monster crane and deep blue sky is very contrastive.
Congratulation on your super shot !
Thanks for sharing and best regards
Takero

aadilj (17950) 2009-05-11 3:37

Lovely saturated hues and a superb impact. I love the way this image has been composed and the crispness of the ambience Benny

alvaraalto (5225) 2009-05-11 12:26

Hallo Benny,

Prachtig beeld van deze 5 met elkaar babbelende kranen tegen de strak blauwe lucht.
Vorige week vrijdag was ik wat minder blij met Antwerpen toen het mij een uur kostte om er langs te rijden.

Groet Rob

hispic (7399) 2009-05-11 20:25

Hello Benny,
Nice capture of attractive old five brothers in an excellent composition and lighting. Remarkable sharpness.
Regards, Hisashi

Olrik (1537) 2009-05-13 1:51

Hello Benny,
I'm always interested in shots which are ambiguous with the industrial/modern life. Sure, there is a sad feeling in your shot, the machines are rusty, ugle but... there is also something fascinating, there's a certain beauty here. It's "the shining beauty of the beast", to repeat the words of Godfrey Reggio, the director of "Koyaanisqatsi" (I don't remember if it's with you that I evoked this great movie about tehnology and modern life in the occidental world).
Olivier.

boa (1250) 2009-05-25 14:52

Hi Benny,
i like these old five brothers. The fact is that I like very much old technology and mechanics, and i would love to try a old crane :)
I like the fine colors very sharp and an excellent Pov.
Best regards and thanks for sharing !
Boa

leo61 (42638) 2009-06-03 10:09

Hi Benny!
Great shot of these cranes.Could be a scene from a science fiction movie.....
Perfect sharpness,the right amount of empty foreground and great contrast with the sky.
Regards,leo

chicken (1781) 2009-06-09 19:37

What an odd collection :-)
Great framing and the soft, low light works as well as the plain blue sky are perfect.

ben4321 (9773) 2009-06-15 6:47

Good one Benny - you found beauty amongst the ugliness of industrial dereliction. A fine antidote to all the pretty pictures that dominate this site.
It's a good shot - bold, simple and taken in great light. Despite the old design of the cranes, it's quite a futuristic shot in a way.

Cheers,
Ben

donluicu (23877) 2009-10-28 14:16

hi Ben
this is a great image, excellent framing,
i love how those machines look like humans here

congrats