[quote name='lonestar081' post='250608' date='Sep 30 2008, 05:04 ']Hey Laurens, those are some spectacular photos of both Las Vegas and Clark County fire trucks. I have taken
a number of apparatus photos from both departments myself, hopefully I will be able to post them some day. In regards
to the Las Vegas fire truck photos I was wondering what type of camera you used and how you managed to capture in
photos the very bright, brilliant shade of red and gold that those trucks are in person. Many Las Vegas fire truck photos
that I have seen turn out looking a dull, rusty redish/orange color. Being from the Netherlands I was curious also as to
how you feel european fire trucks compare to U.S. fire trucks designwise. European apparatus is totally different in every
way and in many cases I feel rather bizarre looking. Do you have any preferences when it comes to fire truck/emergency
vehicle designs?[/quote]
My apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I am way behind on all the threads. A new house and a baby girl have kept me from spending too much time on the board :-)
Anyway, I used a Nikon D70 with a VR 18-200 lense with polarizing filter. And then of course there is Photoshop. The polarizer takes all unwanted reflections in the sheet metal away, but it also tends to make digital photos look a bit dull. With Photoshop you can boost the colors again.
As to the comparison of European style apparatus and US fire apparatus, that's a dangerous debate. I guess everyone builds/buys a truck that fits their purpose. The city I work in has a very old, historic city center with a lot of canals and tight streets. We would never get around with an "average" US engine, let alone one of your towers. Way too big.
Aside from the size, our operations differ from yours. In The Netherlands, an engine company is staffed with 6 firefighters and they do all the work (rescue, ventilation, fire attack). The truck crew "just" operates the aerial and may assist the engine company. The same accounts for rescues or squads. Usually staffed with only 2 firefighters who will assist the engine crew. And where your NFPA requires lots of ground ladders on a truck, we just have the aerial device, an engine will carry an additional ground ladder. Then there is another big difference: we don't do medical calls (yet).
And to end with a photo, I noticed someone mentioned Nellis. Here's their Colet crash truck!
Stay safe!
Laurens
NL
a number of apparatus photos from both departments myself, hopefully I will be able to post them some day. In regards
to the Las Vegas fire truck photos I was wondering what type of camera you used and how you managed to capture in
photos the very bright, brilliant shade of red and gold that those trucks are in person. Many Las Vegas fire truck photos
that I have seen turn out looking a dull, rusty redish/orange color. Being from the Netherlands I was curious also as to
how you feel european fire trucks compare to U.S. fire trucks designwise. European apparatus is totally different in every
way and in many cases I feel rather bizarre looking. Do you have any preferences when it comes to fire truck/emergency
vehicle designs?[/quote]
My apologies for not getting back to you sooner, I am way behind on all the threads. A new house and a baby girl have kept me from spending too much time on the board :-)
Anyway, I used a Nikon D70 with a VR 18-200 lense with polarizing filter. And then of course there is Photoshop. The polarizer takes all unwanted reflections in the sheet metal away, but it also tends to make digital photos look a bit dull. With Photoshop you can boost the colors again.
As to the comparison of European style apparatus and US fire apparatus, that's a dangerous debate. I guess everyone builds/buys a truck that fits their purpose. The city I work in has a very old, historic city center with a lot of canals and tight streets. We would never get around with an "average" US engine, let alone one of your towers. Way too big.
Aside from the size, our operations differ from yours. In The Netherlands, an engine company is staffed with 6 firefighters and they do all the work (rescue, ventilation, fire attack). The truck crew "just" operates the aerial and may assist the engine company. The same accounts for rescues or squads. Usually staffed with only 2 firefighters who will assist the engine crew. And where your NFPA requires lots of ground ladders on a truck, we just have the aerial device, an engine will carry an additional ground ladder. Then there is another big difference: we don't do medical calls (yet).
And to end with a photo, I noticed someone mentioned Nellis. Here's their Colet crash truck!
Stay safe!
Laurens
NL
Facebook
Google
Reddit
Twitter