Oil refineries aren't what most photographers aspire to capture when they set out to shoot landscapes, but seasoned pro Simon Buttenuorth doesn't understand why people aren't queuing up to shoot industrial complexes. "I've visited lots of award-winning buildings in my time, and from a purely aesthetic point of view most of them don't even come close to the drama and grandeur of an oil refinery at dusk." "Obviously, no-one wants one in their back yard, but at night they offer enormous potential for photography
The key to photographs such as the one here is timing, both in terms of the time of year and the time of day, Billowing smoke is at its most dramatic on cold, clear evenings, and it also helps if it's not too windy." "The best time of day is the hour after sunset, when there's still some colour in the sky. Any earlier and the sky will be too bright to get a good exposure; any later and the refinery lights will produce a horrible yellow colour cast, and noise could become problematic."
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It's best to shoot towards where the sun has set, as this will ensure there's still some colour in the sky To avoid problems with security guards, find a vantage point as far as possible from your subject, and use a long lens to crop in and compress perspective. A dramatic sky is essential for a shot like the one above. A clear sky with some cloud tends to produce the best results. When it comes to composition, keep things as simple as possible, otherwise you run the risk of it looking cluttered.
This becomes an issue if you want to set a wide aperture to blur out the background. If it's a bright day you may need a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec for a correct exposure at, say f/2.8. The solution is to set your camera (or flash) to high-speed sync, which enables it to tire at higher shutter speeds. The only catch is that the flash won't be as powerful, but for a subtle burst of fill-flash, this won't be an issue.
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