British Sugar

[Ian Grant]

Wista 45DX, 90mm f6.8 Grandagon N, Tmax 100 @ 50EI, Xtol replenished, f22 approx 20 seconds. Agfa MCC .

This is the sugar extraction area, sliced sugar beet on the moving conveyor on the left is fed into the huge rotating drum far right the whole building constantly shaking

Ian

 

[PaulNWE]

Some of Walker Evans' photographs were of the industrial everyday and this reminds me of that. I like the complexity of the different pieces of machinery which is heightened by the complexity of the pipework and handrails.

 

[Ian Grant]

I spent a day shooting there the following year, the plant was in its last campaign before closure, due to EU Sugar quota requirements. I'd actually worked there the year I made this particular image, there was only one other 5x4 shot. I shot when my old shift were working, so they were at ease.

There were health & safety issues with glass, so for those reasons when I did the major shoot the following year it was with a Mamiya 645 1000S and one lens, a 45mm. When working there, you couldn’t use any glass objects, like a drinking glass, any broken glass in sugar would be undetectable. So from a safety aspect I opted for the 645.

Twelve of the images are here.


This had been my job the year before, controlling the purification of the beet juice to which milk of lime is added, then that neutalised using Carbon Dioxide, while computer controlled there was regular sampling and lab testing, as well as regular cleaning of pH probes.

Ian

 

[PaulNWE]

Great set of photographs - thanks for sharing.

 

[Ian Grant]

I think I shot around 15 rolls of Tmax100, I probably only printed 12 of those negatives, plus the 2 shot on 5x4.


This was from the other end of the building, a longer exposure. The shots were taken after a night shift which ended 6:30am, just as it was getting light, late February. That’s why the light coming through is more subdued in this image, 10 minutes later it was a lot brighter.

The plan is to print a much larger set for an exhibition marking 25 years of the plant's closure. Shaun in the white overalls, in the control room image, worked there from leaving school, becoming a senior engineer and shift leader, He has collected a lot of historical documents, etc to compliment the photographs, and has written some history. Ideally, I need to get some funding, as the cost of printing quite a large exhibition are high.

Ian

 

[thronobulax]

These put me in mind of John Sexton's "Places Of Power" series. Nicely done indeed.

 

[Ian Grant]

I've not seen John Sexto's book "Places of Power" here in the UK. One of my favourite's of his work is a Space shuttle in a hangar, it's superb.

Over the years I've had some contact with John, he's down to earth and unpretentious. He's on a par with the UK photographers John Blakemore and John Davies. All amazing photographers and printers.

Ian