Sheffield Cooling towers - 24th august

33L

33L

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Lee
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Hi all

The iconic cooling towers in sheffield are finally coming down on the 24th of august.
So far it just states that its in the early hours of the morning - i will be contact e.on for more info on that.


Is there any locals or nearby togs that want to record this event. There is gonig to be a special viewing platform arranged in the meadowhall car park above M&S.

Let me know if there is gonig to be much interest in this or if im going to be on my own.

Lee
 
I started a thread about this when they said they were going to pull them down last year, I am very interested, and I think a few others were.

Interested to know if you get any more info ;)
 
OOOOHHHH!,

Wifes away with the kids, and i'm free so i might go an take a look at this, thanks for the heads-up!
 
might be interested in this...only problem is that the 24th is my wedding anniversary so I don't know if I'll be allowed to go! I suppose if it is in the early hours I could sneak out :)
 
24th is my wifes birthday party too! grrr.
 
lets have a meet and a joint anniversary/birthday party then :LOL:
 
What's the ambient light like at 3.00am ? :thinking:
I don't think my flash will reach. Are they going to illuminate the scene do you reckon ? Hopefully masses of bright arc lights.

Although they are touting Meadow Hall as the viewing area I reckon you'd get a better shot from the other side of the M1 or up one of the hills. Not sure what access will be like though.

Ray
 
rayfin said:
Although they are touting Meadow Hall as the viewing area I reckon you'd get a better shot from the other side of the M1 or up one of the hills. Not sure what access will be like though.

Ray
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my thoughts too - I imagine the towers will be lit from the Meadow Hall side for TV news etc, going the other side would be a better shot imo but sod all lighting :(
 
Jimmy_Lemon said:
guessing they are going to have to close the M1 so it is going to me like 2-4am would be my guess.
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well the motor way is shut from midnight. for most of the day so anybody's guess


rayfin said:
What's the ambient light like at 3.00am ? :thinking:
I don't think my flash will reach. Are they going to illuminate the scene do you reckon ? Hopefully masses of bright arc lights.



Although they are touting Meadow Hall as the viewing area I reckon you'd get a better shot from the other side of the M1 or up one of the hills. Not sure what access will be like though.



Ray
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3 am is not a lot light and if it is gonig to be this early i maybe justthere to spectate and try and shoot but rather not want to crack up the high ISO's

I am gonig to have a scout this weekend on the hills past the tram/train tracks. however the meadowhall car pack is the best palce to get both of them in shot. It does have the viaduct infront of the towers but this would be a good static featue for the series of shots.
 
oh if anyone wants to try and get contact with E.on here is the number for the press agent.

Andrew Barrow at E.ON on 024 7618 3677

I have tried but gonig to v.mail
 
right....

Just spoke to the above person.

demolition is planned at 3.am (glad i dont live in that area)
the lights on the viaduct will be off shortly before hand.
a few worklights will be there.
Andrew stated that there is decent light at that time but to befair probably not that good for togs.
I will have to check weather forcasts and also get my alarm set a 3 o'clock this morining to see what light is like on reltively clear day/night.
 
well i start work on that day at 5am so i might get up a bit early and come and watch the towers come down so if ya see a bloke on a silver bike come and say ello :)
 
33L said:
right....

Just spoke to the above person.
Andrew stated that there is decent light at that time but to befair probably not that good for togs.
QUOTE]


not natural light at 3am ,so unless they have it lit up ,iso ten million
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Noooo... It won't be the same without the cooling towers. Once I see those, I know I'm well and truly 'home' in Yorkshire :(
 
well over the weekend i woke up at 3.30 and even then it was too dark for anything worth while.

I might still be going! in the hope they are delays and better light!
 
Hi guys, i will be there as i work for the Highways Agency and we're recording the event for posterity. Yes it is at 3am but from what i've been told there is going to be some auxillary lighting. This is purely for safety reasons so i wouldn't expect it to be all that illuminating!

This is definitely a first for me, i have never had to go and do a shoot at 3am, where i'm shooting subject matter from a quarter of a mile away!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated as i have a one camera set up so it's vital i make the right choices before they press the plunger!

I have a 5D with 16-35mm 2.8L, 24-70mm 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L, 70-200 2.8L and 100-400mm 4.5-5.6.

I will obviously be using the tripod and would ideally like to use the fastest lens i have but as i have not visited the site yet i don't know if the 85mm may be a little too wide to shoot the towers from Meadow Hall. I imagine the ISO is going to have to be very high but any further up from 800 and i think it's going to get too grainy.

Anybody have any helpful hints?

Cheers.
 
Howdy James welcome to the forums :)

I have been pondering lenses too. Looking on Google Earth it seems the towers are about 260meters away from the closest part of the Meadow Hall car park (god knows if that is where anyone will be able to get to).
2008-08-18_124938.jpg


I am now trying to imagine how far 260 meters is :p
 
/thinks back to those days at primary school with a trundle wheel
 
i didnt even think about that car park! i was thinking of a totally different one! which is even further away!
TBH i really dont want to be closer to a couple of chimney packed with explosives!
 
Thanks Jimmy Lemon.

There will be a section of the carpark that is designated for media. I spoke to the guy from Eon to get my name on the list of media invitees but i'm sure it will be easy enough to get in there. I doubt if there will be doorman checking your name is on the list and you're wearing the right footwear!!

So what were you thoughts on lenses then?
 
I look forward to seeing if anyone manages to get a 1/2 decent shot. 3am, a blast shock wave and the inevitable ground transmitted vibration isn't going to make life easy for anyone trying to get a shot. Possibly a D3 at the highest ISO setting possible then the image rescued from a couple (or more) stops of underexposure might get a useable image - but I'll be more than happy for anyone to prove me wrong!
 
James Edward said:
So what were you thoughts on lenses then?
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Really am not sure to be honest :( the fastest lens I have with any reach is my 70-200 F4 so I am probably going to be use that whatever happens. If you can get a good enough shot composition wise with your 85mm then I think that would be my pick of you set.

I think I might got for 70-200 locked off and weighed down on my tripod with shutter release and 1600 iso and try and nail the exposure so as not to get too much noise :( to be honest I think it is going to be pretty impossible to tell until you get there and see how much light there is and how close we can get :(
 
I've got a feeling i'll be going for the 70-200 as well. I can't imagine i'll be able to get a tight enough shot with the 85mm.

I hadn't considered the shock wave, as if it wasn't going to be challenging enough!! ;) It's a shame my tripod doesn't come with shock absorbers!

Oh well it should be an interesting evening anyway. See you there.
 
On a raised acr park, you will get vibration through the ground. Whichever lens you go for, you are going to be down to 1/2 sec or possibly more. ANY vibration, or wind, will ruin your shot.

I would go for the hills, get there on Saturday, spend a couple of hours doing a recce around the hlls overlooking from the same side of the Mway. Then go and look from M&S car park and have a coffee and doughnut. See which of the options is better. Take the two lenses you are humming and harring between....and set the shot up. Then you will know.
 
If you get a few shots off at 3-5 fps just as the towers start to blow you may well beat the shock wave through the tripod by a couple of seconds. After all the speed of light is quicker than the shock wave. You may also have time to get some useful shots once the vibration passes as well.

Ray
 
rayfin said:
If you get a few shots off at 3-5 fps just as the towers start to blow you may well beat the shock wave through the tripod by a couple of seconds. After all the speed of light is quicker than the shock wave. You may also have time to get some useful shots once the vibration passes as well.

Ray
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True, but when you watch TV footage of things being demolished you often hear the first round of explosions several seconds before anything starts moving so I would guess that by the time the movement starts the shock wave will have already reached you.

Just a thought, if you set up your tripod on a vehicle - a pick-up would be preferable to the roof or bonnet of your car ;) - then maybe the tyres and suspension would absorb some/all of the tremor?

I saw some film of cooling towers being demolished on TV a few weeks ago - much more interesting than watching a block of flats being dropped as they don't collapse straight down into themselves, they kind of corkscrew down.
 
Thats down to the magic of the demolition experts isn't it. I remember the cooling towers near us being demolished (to make way for a prison :( ) My dad took some pictures from a vantage point near him on his Practika, which I still have in a box upstairs.

The cooling towers for me, were quite memorable in my childhood, and I suspect these are going to be missed by many as a prominent landmark.
 
rayfin said:
If you get a few shots off at 3-5 fps just as the towers start to blow you may well beat the shock wave through the tripod by a couple of seconds. After all the speed of light is quicker than the shock wave. You may also have time to get some useful shots once the vibration passes as well.

Ray
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What sort of shutter speeds are you expecting to get? Pretty sure you'll be lucky to get exposures that'll challenge the frame rate of any DSLR. A tumbling tower (or even two) will create their own seismic waves that might well interfere with the shots. It could be worth trying some racketball balls cut in half and put under the tripod feet - that might reduce the vibrations enough - try a squash club and see if they've got any split ones, even squash balls might work but are smaller so might be difficult to balance the tripod on them.

BTW, don't forget to turn off any long exposure NR that the camera wants to apply (if you can), it might kick in and leave the camera unable to shoot while it does its subtraction frame...
 
I know knocking these sorts of things down can be tricky. Visited the site of the Former Willington Power station nr Derby earlier this year. Managed to get some cracking shots of the towers and also inside the towers too which was amazing! The reason these still stand is they are worried that if they knock them down the nearby canal will burst its banks. If you have the chance to get anywhere near a cooling tower do it just make sure they're not going to knock it down that day!
 
It's a shame when they have to do it late (such as with Drakelow in 2006) but in this case it was inevitable. Although that said, I was on the M1 last night just outside London, and it's clogged up with roadworks anyway...

The towers, I think, are great, and really add to the Sheffield skyline. Also they're an iconic reminder of the industrial past in the area (although I'm not sure how much of the steel industry Blackburn Meadows actually powered). So I'll be sorry to see them go, and I'm disappointed I can't make it over to see the show, but thankfully I got there earlier in the year for some closer pictures.

For those that are interested, you can follow the access road to the treatment works from the Meadowhall overflow carpark under the flyover for some closer photos of the towers. This doesn't involve crossing private land, and fences clearly indicate where you're not meant to go. Obviously on the evening of the demolition access here will be greatly restricted for safety reasons.

Look forward to seeing if anyone gets some worthwhile shots (or some footage!).
 
Nod said:
What sort of shutter speeds are you expecting to get? Pretty sure you'll be lucky to get exposures that'll challenge the frame rate of any DSLR.
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Sorry - completely forgot about the 3am bit! :bonk::bonk::bonk:
 
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