For the folks that are receiving my email blog for the first time; I'm Tim Becker, a commercial photographer based in Connecticut. About once a month I share an interesting photo assignment or my thoughts about photography.
Last July I was asked by a long term client: Fred Smith and Associates, to photograph cranes in operation lifting steel sections of a Massachusetts Turnpike overpass, for the Empire Crane Company https://www.empirecrane.com/. I asked how long I would be photographing; I was told to stay until I got a good variety of shots.
I have been on many construction sites over the years including a summer job as a plumber’s assistant, right after I graduated from High School. I was excited about this assignment. I got my hard hat, steel toed boots and Day-Glo safety vest out. One thing I learned working on construction sites, is that you need to look out for danger in all directions, including over your head. I drove for about an hour and a half to Boston and I was extremely lucky to find a parking space on the street. I found my way to the construction site and started photographing a large crane that was lifting steel sections of highway, that were then being bolted into place by iron workers. The fast pace and skill of the iron workers was amazing.
I learned from one of the workers that the entire steel highway structure had been put together in a aircraft hanger over the winter, as a rehearsal to make sure that every component fit together perfectly. I made the mistake of standing inside the red taped area to take a photo, and got yelled at. I learned that was the area that the crane swings around in, and no one can stand there. I was also challenged by a representative of the general contractor. I had to give him my business card and show him the assignment e-mail from the Empire Crane Company on my phone, to avoid being kicked out. I imagine he was the safety officer just doing his job.
Below at the level of the Mass Pike, I photographed a crane that was lifting counterweights onto itself. In the distance on a flatbed trailer was an immense steel beam, that was to span four lanes of the Mass Pike. After a long wait, the crane lifted the beam into place, guided by one iron worker. As luck would have it, the Boston Prudential Center happened to be in the background.
This was the money shot that I had been waiting for. An entire crew of iron workers bolted the beam in place as I kept snapping away. By this time, it was late afternoon and my assignment was complete. I left Boston as the sky was becoming overcast. I welcome assignments where things happen, and value is created. Whether I’m on a ladder, in a crane bucket, or in a fork-lift aerial cage, I always want to photograph from the best angle to capture the action.
Timothy Becker
Creative Images Photography
901 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860-528-7818
On Monday 07/29/2019 my email was hacked and a bogus message was sent to all of my contacts. If you received a message from my email entitled "Proposal from Connecticut Commercial Photographer" please delete it. I sincerely apologize for this issue. I am still perplexed as to why my email was targeted.
Monday I was photographing a Google virtual tour at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT https://www.bushnell.org/ which I will share in a future post. When I got back to my office I received numerous phone calls from friends alerting me that my email had been hacked. I immediately called my email provider GoDaddy, https://www.godaddy.com . Their technicians guided me through the process of changing my password and logging out of all devices. Then I purchased an email security package, that will prevent this from happening again. I have a penchant for learning things the hard way, especially when it comes to computers. Thank you for your understanding.
Enjoy the hot summer weather. I will send more photography related posts in August!
Tim Becker
Creative Images Photography
901 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860-528-7818
Continuing the food theme of my last blog, I would like to recount a photo assignment that I did in the fall foliage season of 2017; in the beautiful Litchfield Hills of Connecticut. This was another great assignment from my Google Agency Instant 360: https://instant360.com/
I had never heard of Bantam, Connecticut. According to Wikipedia, Bantam is a historic borough in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The population was 759 at the 2010 census and the borough consists of one square mile. My assignment was to take 360 degree and still images of the Bantam Bread Company,
http://www.bantambread.com/ along with a few other businesses in the area.
I stopped in the bakery and talked with Niles Golovin, one of the owners, as he was taking freshly baked bread from the oven. It was a delight to photograph the beautiful baked goods that were all around. The most difficult part of the assignment was taking the 360-degree photos in the front area, with customers constantly streaming in and out purchasing the fresh loaves. You can view the virtual tour here: https://goo.gl/maps/nJqbudgTAoUVW7ro9
When I photographed the area where the bread was baked, Niles wanted to be in the final 360-degree image with his freshly baked bread. This required him to hold very still for about ten seconds. It worked!
You may have guessed the rest of the story. I was asked if I would like to take a loaf of freshly baked home.
I didn’t hesitate saying yes. I was given a loaf of ancient grain bread, which I also hadn’t heard of before. The ingredients can include quinoa, oats, amaranth, Kamut, millet, teff and barley. All I know is, the bread was delicious. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Tim Becker
Creative Images Photography
901 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860-528-7818
One of the things that I enjoy most about working with the Google Agency, Instant 360, www.instant360.com is the interesting places I am assigned to photograph. Early in May I received an email and a photo assignment appeared on my Google calendar. I was assigned to do a Google virtual tour in Warwick RI at the Governor Francis Inn http://www.governorfrancisinn.com/.
When I arrived, I met with Craig who has been the owner of the Inn for over twenty years. Craig took me on a tour of the restaurant and kitchen; including the walk-in refrigerator. I never realized how much food preparation space is needed to support a large seafood restaurant.
I wouldn’t describe the place as fancy. It is more of a comfortable, family style restaurant, with great seafood and chowder. A waitress I talked with explained that the restaurant caters to an older crowd, which keeps them very busy year-round. What really caught my eye when I was on the kitchen tour, was a batch of “red chowder”. This is also known as Manhattan style clam chowder, which I really like. It is rarely found in New England. I only get to enjoy it once a year on my annual August visit to see the horses run, at Saratoga, NY Racecourse.
After I completed taking the Google 360 images of the dinning room and the bar, https://goo.gl/maps/EV4nV5CfMeGYWyK87 Craig invited me to have lunch. I said yes and asked for a bowl of the red chowder. It is the best chowder I have ever tasted. Craig also offered me a shrimp cocktail; which was delicious. Before I could finish, I was asked if I would like to take some chowder home. I immediately agreed and said, "this is like gold to me.” I drove back home to Manchester, CT, a happy guy with a half-gallon of chowder and a bunch of oyster crackers. Some days you just get lucky!
In September of 2017 I was asked by Google Agency, Mass Interact https://www.massinteract.com/ , to photograph the Connecticut Science Center. The project called for still photography and 75 panoramic images. This turned out to be one of the biggest Google virtual tours I had ever done. I started in the lobby on a Monday, which is the one day that the museum is closed. The project turned out to be much more than I ever imagined.
The museum is on four levels and includes a theater, a restaurant, a gift shop, 11 exhibit areas, and a rooftop garden. By about one in the afternoon, I had completed the 75 panoramas and had two more floors to go. Apparently, the Google agency had underestimated the size of the project. The Science Center marketing director was concerned that I may not be able to complete photographing all the floors. I told her that I had completed my contract. She told me the she had a contract too, that included all floors.
We decided to both call the photo agency and discuss the situation. Thankfully, my contract was extended; and I kept photographing. When I was done after 4 PM, I loaded over 1400 images totaling 7.56 GB, that were edited into a 4-level tour, with more than 120 panoramas and 24 still images. You can access the virtual tour here: https://goo.gl/maps/yuk9jquXUmG2 . You can change floors by using the "elevator buttons" on the right side of the Google virtual tour panel. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to handle this assignment, and I'm very pleased that this wonderful educational resource is in Hartford. The Connecticut Science Center Mission Statement is below:
The Connecticut Science Center https://ctsciencecenter.org/ is dedicated to inspiring lifelong learning through interactive and innovative experiences that explore our changing world through science.
We strive to create an engaging and sustainable science center that serves families and schools and has a significant impact on student and adult learning in Connecticut. We seek to develop the minds of future thinkers and inventors who will compete in the ever-expanding global marketplace for technology and innovation. And we endeavor to create a Connecticut workforce that meets the projected growth of jobs in science-related hands-on exhibits.
Tim Becker
Creative Images Photography
901 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
tim@cimages.com
