Posted November 2, 2011 at 5:58pm in port of long beach faces of the port POLB port of long beach photographer portraits port workers mckee mckeever photography
The sky was perfect - blue as blue can be, and the beautiful cumulus clouds - they just pleaded to be photographed. It was hardly a day to sit back and not make my way into the Port.
Posted May 3, 2011 at 2:44pm in Port of Long Beach Port of Long beach photograper mckeeverphotography.com mckeever photography terminal pier a long beach photography port of long beach photographer
Posted February 15, 2011 at 10:57pm in gantry crane Port of Long Beach POLB McKeever Photography.com mckeever photography crane
Terminal High
There I was driving “Sammy“—my trusty, rusty ’81 Vanagon—through one of the busiest port terminals in the world (SSA Marine). It was late at night, as I headed out to greet the gantry cranes from a snail’s-eye view, gripping the steering wheel so tight, my knuckles turned white and blue. My ear-to-ear smile was caused by the adrenaline-induced anxiety and excitement…
Shortly thereafter, my client greeted me with a friendly smile and handshake. I then quickly grabbed my gear and jumped into a Ford Ranger, driven by a man named Tim. We raced over to the underside of the gantry cranes. From the truck I watched as “the hands on deck” quickly unloaded the COSCO ship. As we drove, I remember hearing sirens in the background—an ear-piercing cacophony that pierced my ears and scared me simultaneously, as though it was a signal for a citywide emergency! Nope, just protocol.
Tim and I arrived at the scene, where I would complete my assignment: Photographing a logistic company’s newly branded containers. I had two tries to nail it; that’s it. Only two containers were going to be unloaded.
Luckily, I had a bit of control in the situation, politely asking my new helper (a longshore-woman) to communicate to the gantry crane operator when to stall the cargo in the air, so I could snap a few shots. I was shooting this assignment with available-but-awful fluorescent light, at a whopping *4000 ISO! For the camera buffs out there, that is really pushing the light sensitivity way over a comfortable max.
I was in position for about 15 minutes, and clicked off about 60 images. Then, it was back into my shuttle truck, which led me back to where Sammy was parked (right next to the cranes!). The next day, a port employee informed me that me being able to drive right into the terminal, alongside the cranes is unheard of, let alone permitted. Woops! - I didn’t get the memo.
Terminal photography or bust!
The cargo container being lifted from the stack and onto a truck bound for the yard in Long Beach’s industrial area. Shot using a Canon 7D, RAW, 10-22 EFS lens
Posted February 15, 2011 at 10:48pm in Long Beach Port Port of Long Beach Port of Long beach photograper port photographer mckeeverphotography.com mckeever photography POLB Port of Long Beach container ship container cargo gantry crane
