Welder

[Terry Breedlove]

I took this in 1996 with my 35 mm Pentax and Tmax 100 film. I was attending the Art Institute of Seattle at the time and I was shooting an assignment I gave myself for class. The theme was men at work and I had been shooting for several days around the ship yards and construction sites but I had nothing I truly felt good about. Well one morning in the parking garage under the school I came across this welder working on a foot bridge. I immediately knew this was the shot I was after so I quickly turned my camera to the ground and based my exposure from the grass below and took this shot. Just a few seconds later and he came down from the ladder packed his gear and moved out of sight.  I lost those negative and this is a scan I made a couple days ago of the only print I made and luckily still have.

[popnfresh]

The completely blank background bothers me. If I didn't know this person was welding from the title I could have assumed he was doing something else. Of course, there is the fact that he's wearing a welder's mask, but the picture doesn't say "welding" to me. The most effective shots of welders, imo, are those where the welder is in a dark environment and is illuminated by the welding torch. In this shot the sparks look like they could be paint splatters. They don't look like light-emitting things.

[RSL]

Terry, It's a fine shot. I think the blank background is essential. Anything visible back there would have trashed the very good black and white graphics. Bravo!

[button]

The multiple diagonal lines against the stark background create motion, and  I find myself looking at this over and again.  Print and hang!

John