Pic(k) of the week 47: Lead pipe and shot factory, Melbourne
As I'm touring around New Zealand now, I've prepared another Pic(k) of the week from my visit to Melbourne, Australia last week.
I had photographed the "Lead pipe and shot factory" before but always wanted to go back and give it a bit more photographic justice.
This 50 m brick tower was completed in 1890 on the present North side of the Melbourne CBD (Central Business District). It was used to make up to 6 tons of lead shots (i.e. bullets) per week and was in use till 1961. The building was saved from demolition in 1973 and was eventually incorporated in the large Melbourne Central Shopping complex under a large conical glass roof in 1991.
The bullets were made by dropping small lumps of molten lead from the top of the building. By the time they reached the bottom, they had cooled and solidified into shot pellets. Individual shots were then checked for size and roundness and were then remelted and dropped if not passed by quality control.
Image details:
Fujifilm X-E1 with Fujinon 14 mm 2.8
ISO 400, f 2.8, 14mm (21mm full frame equivalent), 3 shot shutter speed bracketing
32 bit merge in Photomatix and then developed in Lightroom 5.2
Pro contrast with Nik Color Efex Pro 4
Remember, "Space is the breath of art" Frank Lord Lloyd
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