Photography is regarded as indispensable to Navy industry. You say you did not know the Navy was or had industry? Well, stop and think for a minute. How about the naval aviation depots, the public works centers, and the shipyards? The demands for good photography for research, development, documentation, and communication placed on us by these industrial types of

activities has made photography an integral part of the Navy's industrial framework.

You should be able to tackle just about any photo job that comes up. When shooting industrial photography, you must work closely with research and development engineers, machinists, and technicians far outside the realm of photography. You must be the master of photographic techniques, and have an eye for good pictures-plus imagination for creative photography.

Know Your Subject

Before a satisfactory photographic record of an industrial situation can be produced, you must have an adequate understanding of the subject. For instance, when you are called on to photograph a malfunctioning machine that is capable of performing several operations in the manufacture of an aircraft wing component, you should be told-better yet-shown, how the machine, or one like it, works. With this information, you are better able to shoot the malfunctioning machine and show what the problem is or what is causing the problem. Granted, you could probably make the picture if someone just pointed you in the right direction. It is not always possible to discuss each intimate detail of a problem, but it is certainly possible to make clear just what a photograph should illustrate. This kind of preparation is possible only when there is cooperation between the photographer and the requester. Coordination of photographic activities within an industrial organization promotes a better understanding between everyone concerned, and it leads to a more effective application of photography.

Safety Precautions

Photographers, like other people in and around industrial operations, must observe existing safety precautions. If your imaging facility does much industrial photography, it should have, as a minimum, a safety helmet and protective clothing available for you to wear.

An industrial photographer, like other photographers, must be able to move around to determine the best camera angle. You must also keep in touch with the people responsible for safety to avoid risks to yourself and others. The people in the

photographs must also be shown wearing their safety helmets, hearing protectors, and so forth.

The camera also must be protected. It is a precision instrument and should be given adequate care and protection. When in use, the camera usually does not need any more protection than the photographer. But it should be given extra protection when used in places exposed to flying sparks, spattering molten metal, and so forth. A skylight filter on the lens should always be used to help protect the lens. This filter does not affect exposure or color balance but does protect the lens element. Buying a new filter is a lot cheaper than buying a new lens.

A lens shade should be the constant companion of every lens. It keeps a lot of extraneous light from entering the lens and can also protect the lens from certain types of damage.