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I recommend checking this guy out (https://www.viktormacha.com/). I asked him a similar question once, and he told me that all of his photos are taken legally, except for two locations in the US (I think).
Into the Fray. https://www.ninjalobster.com/ | |
Posted by KingKong
I work in an active steel mill in western pa as a maintenance tech. Each mill is different, but using mine as an example, getting permission to enter the site as a regular member of the public is out of the question, much less photograph it. Even employees risk termination for snapping pics. It's taken very seriously.
As for "infiltrating" the mill, good luck. You won't stand out at all, with no hardhat, no ppe, a big-ass camera, etc. Anything worth seeing is already being watched, whether it be guards or workers. There is literally a command center where >3 guards are watching the cameras 24/7, let alone the half dozen that are in patrol inside/outside. If caught, they'll most likely detain you & press trespassing charges.
Lastly, mills are no place for sightseeing. It is a very dangerous environment that takes lives every year. I'm not trying to sound dramatic, but you could very easily get yourself or someone else hurt by not knowing what you are doing or where you are going. Inside, There is lots and lots of very big, very heavy and very hot stuff that is constantly on the move.
Of course other places may be different. Use your head and don't be naive.
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What makes you think I wouldn’t just wear my work clothes and ppe? It would be stupid not to. I’m not really worried about the safety aspect, I’ve worked in heavy industry for a number of years now and steel mills are no more dangerous than what I do every day. I’m just trying to figure out if
It’s possible, not have others tell me I shouldn’t do it because safety. I’ll be responsible for my safety. If I don’t know enough about something I don’t do it. That’s the single reason I haven’t been to this recently shutdown paper mill.
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Posted by theninjalobster
I recommend checking this guy out (https://www.viktormacha.com/). I asked him a similar question once, and he told me that all of his photos are taken legally, except for two locations in the US (I think).
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That’s a really good idea, I’ll have to check him out. If someone has legally been able to take cool pictures it’s worth a try. Id honestly rather do it legally if I can still get the pictures I’m after.
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Posted by Samurai
as i am someone who worked at the back end of a paper mill for 11 years, there are just some places you don't want to go wandering around unsupervised. Sorry if that seems against the ethos of this hobby, but a steel mill is a pretty dangerous place if you don't know what's going on around you.
honestly, if you really really really want to see what goes on in one of these places, call the front office of the mill. Ask for their public relations department or general manager. Introduce yourself, tell them exactly why you'd like a tour and go from there. Be polite, be honest, tell them that you'd like to get some pictures if possible. If they don't like that idea, well, how bad do you want to see the inside. Go with it.
the mill I worked at gave tours to the public all the time. If you use this method, you'll be reasonably safe, won't get burned/gassed/crushed looking at things.
just my two cents anyway...
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I actually just finished a maintenance job at ak steel, it’s not that dangerous if you have half a brain. However the public relations dpt seemed pretty set about no pictures being taken. Guess I’ll try some other ones. Im hopping they all handle this type of stuff differently and I’ll have some luck.
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yes mills equals never with regard to active I did get permission for Mclouth (closed down) and shot my ass of but still dangerous!
Kabbalah is an undramatic tradition that requires great patience and stability. One of the reasons for this tempo is that everyone has to mature his potential gradually and thoroughly at his natural pace. In this way his life's work unfolds at the right moment in his own and the cosmos's time.
Z.B.S. Halevi -- Kabbalah | |
Posted by Sebk
What makes you think I wouldn’t just wear my work clothes and ppe? It would be stupid not to. I’m not really worried about the safety aspect, I’ve worked in heavy industry for a number of years now and steel mills are no more dangerous than what I do every day. I’m just trying to figure out if
It’s possible, not have others tell me I shouldn’t do it because safety. I’ll be responsible for my safety. If I don’t know enough about something I don’t do it. That’s the single reason I haven’t been to this recently shutdown paper mill.
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You completely missed my point. Of course safety is entirely up to you.I was referring to your initial premise of infiltrating an active mill. Anybody not wearing ppe on the mill floor would attract a lot of attention, let alone not having the proper color hat, fr pants, etc. (My mill is all orange) But since you are an expert on the industry, you clearly don't need me to tell you that.
[last edit 11/15/2020 4:47 AM by KingKong - edited 1 times]
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Years ago I worked for an engineering company that was doing some work at CF&I in Pueblo, Colorado.
One day, there was a strange noise coming from an electric arc furnace and I noticed people running out of the building. I thought that perhaps I should be doing that as well.
After getting outside, there was a loud BOOM. We went back inside to find puddles of molten steel all over the place.
I would not imagine that this is not an everyday thing, but happens enough that the employees know when it's time to run.
Good luck!
In order to use your head, you have to go out of your mind. | |
Posted by Radio2600
Years ago I worked for an engineering company that was doing some work at CF&I in Pueblo, Colorado.
One day, there was a strange noise coming from an electric arc furnace and I noticed people running out of the building. I thought that perhaps I should be doing that as well.
After getting outside, there was a loud BOOM. We went back inside to find puddles of molten steel all over the place.
I would not imagine that this is not an everyday thing, but happens enough that the employees know when it's time to run.
Good luck!
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the department I worked in, recausticizing, was right next to the power house. Because we took green liquor and steam from them, and our sewer went through their building on its way to water treatment, my duties took me in the building from time to time. One of the things the guys that worked in there told me was that if things weren't booming and making a ton of racket, run... get to the nearest exit and haul ass. On one side was the recovery boiler, on the other, the power boiler.
funny haha about that... i had to go over there for a lockout one afternoon. We were acid washing one of the green liquor pumps and then opening up the line, so it had to be double isolated (that's locks on the valves on both sides). I go in to close their valve and next thing you know, these 75lb sewer grates are blasting out of the floor and smashing into the ceiling at like the speed of light, and we're dodging them like it's a game! Come to find out the recovery boiler had burned a hole through itself and molten smelt was dropping into the sewer and exploding... It was funny as hell to watch as I was closing the valve. That boiler ran like that for three months until the annual outage.
but if you didn't work there, or know what the hell was going, that would scare the shit out of you.
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Posted by Samurai
the department I worked in, recausticizing, was right next to the power house. Because we took green liquor and steam from them, and our sewer went through their building on its way to water treatment, my duties took me in the building from time to time. One of the things the guys that worked in there told me was that if things weren't booming and making a ton of racket, run... get to the nearest exit and haul ass. On one side was the recovery boiler, on the other, the power boiler.
funny haha about that... i had to go over there for a lockout one afternoon. We were acid washing one of the green liquor pumps and then opening up the line, so it had to be double isolated (that's locks on the valves on both sides). I go in to close their valve and next thing you know, these 75lb sewer grates are blasting out of the floor and smashing into the ceiling at like the speed of light, and we're dodging them like it's a game! Come to find out the recovery boiler had burned a hole through itself and molten smelt was dropping into the sewer and exploding... It was funny as hell to watch as I was closing the valve. That boiler ran like that for three months until the annual outage.
but if you didn't work there, or know what the hell was going, that would scare the shit out of you.
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That reminds me another incident with the electric arc furnace. They were doing a cold start and it sounded like the world was coming to an end.
I was informed that racket was totally normal.
Although I was not present when it happened. I was told of an incident where they tried to cold start, but forget that the ground clamps were still on. They got a phone call from the power company that they stalled the generators with the load it pulled.
In order to use your head, you have to go out of your mind. | |
Posted by Radio2600
That reminds me another incident with the electric arc furnace. They were doing a cold start and it sounded like the world was coming to an end.
I was informed that racket was totally normal.
Although I was not present when it happened. I was told of an incident where they tried to cold start, but forget that the ground clamps were still on. They got a phone call from the power company that they stalled the generators with the load it pulled.
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in the control rooms of the pulp mill and recaust, we had two lights in the ceiling, one blue, the other yellow. If the yellow light started flashing, we had to start pulling pulp and get ready to flush lines and shut things down. If the blue light start to flash, it was assholes and elbows to get things shut down NOW! What the lights meant was that the power house was having trouble and we were on the brink of losing steam, mill air pressure and/or electrical power, three things everything runs off.
there used to be an alarm that accompanied the lights, but one of the operators took a hammer to it one dark and stormy night when it woke him up.
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Posted by Sebk
That’s a really good idea, I’ll have to check him out. If someone has legally been able to take cool pictures it’s worth a try. Id honestly rather do it legally if I can still get the pictures I’m after.
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This dude has had a lot of trouble with getting permission from US mills. I believe he's been trying to get into the various Northwest Indiana works for almost a decade with no success.
[last edit 11/16/2020 5:52 PM by uLiveAndYouBurn - edited 1 times]
"Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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You should just get a boat and try Zug Island and bring back pics, that's what I'd be fucking with if I was in Michigan right now. Get yourself a canoe off craigslist or fb marketplace or whatever and start scouting. Wear a life jacket.
Zug Island had a "no cameras" policy for the whole island during operation. It closed in April of this year.
[last edit 11/16/2020 6:07 PM by uLiveAndYouBurn - edited 2 times]
"Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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Zug Island was featured on an episode of "What On Earth" on the Science Channel. It's a program that shows unusual photos taken by satellites and experts in this field or that field try to figure out what they are of.
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Posted by Samurai
Zug Island was featured on an episode of "What On Earth" on the Science Channel. It's a program that shows unusual photos taken by satellites and experts in this field or that field try to figure out what they are of.
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Sounds similar to this game, guess where the picture was taken.
https://www.geoguessr.com/free
"Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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For some context of why there are NDA's around mills (be it paper/ nonwoven or steel). A lot of those industries get classified under "defense technology/ industry" especially if they are supplying to government contractors. Also heavy industry like that are still industrial/corporate espionage targets. A good example of this is titanium dioxide production https://www.bloomb...ling-dupont-white/
That being said I've done an active brickyard, but they were only doing commercial product but even ceramics can fall into that defense space...
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Posted by uLiveAndYouBurn
Also the thing about UER is there are a shit ton of people here that only do abandoned houses and just make conjecture about everything else. There are steel mills that are wide fucking open and there are shitty little derp abandoned 10x10ft shacks with the best guard you've ever seen. Each spot needs to be scouted thoroughly IRL not asked about from idiots on the internet you don't really know.
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^ this
Wish I had a dollar for every newb that comes on here talking big and never explored anything bigger than a vacant house for sale in their own neighborhood!
(I know the expression is "wish I had a nickel" but with inflation and all)
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