I was waiting patiently for them start emerging from the mine entrance so that I could capture some candid moments during the shift change. Some walk on past without lifting their heads. Some are already in a deep conversation with their coworkers reviewing the days activities and some take a moment to pause, look at the camera and give me a little something to capture.
Photographed at the El Mochito Mine in Honduras with www.ascendantresources.com
Well I haven’t been able to post much to my blog lately as I have been on location in Mexico this week creating images from morning til night and I have had very little time to get on the laptop. At the moment I am waiting for my images to backup to my two hard drives so I figured I would share the last image I created tonight. This was a quick “thank you” portrait I created for Abdel for taking me around the site tonight to create some long exposure images of various installations on the site. I printed him a small print using my Canon Ivy Printer so he could take it home and show his family. I will have more images to showcase in the upcoming weeks and you can always check out my instagram @miningphotog for the latest behind the scenes.
I have been in the mining industrial industry long enough to see numerous changes in how a company markets their products, equipment and software. Social media has been a major factor in how information is presented, stories are told and connections are made. The faces of mining are at the forefront of marketing and storytelling has become a key ingredient in marketing and branding. Companies are no longer using “stock photography” of nameless people that have nothing to do with their company or even the industry. Nowadays people connect with people first and when you have a story that is relatable to the person reading it the connection to your company is stronger.
This is what I love to do and what I have built my photography career around and when I give my elevator pitch to prospective clients I suggest to them to showcase the companies story through the people that are representing the company from the bottom up. Highlight them, showcase them and inspire others through them.
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Manitouwadge Ontario to create images for Manroc Developments. We covered their undreground operations including their Alimak Raise Climber at Barrick Gold’s Williams Mine as well as some fabrication processes at their multiple industrial shops in the town of Manitouwadge. The Alimak is an interesting piece of equipment (from Manroc’s Site) The Alimak method raises between levels in a safe and effective manner. Drilling, loading and blasting are all performed from the platform of the Raise Climber, which is adapted to fit the precise dimensions and shape of the raise. Furthermore, the Alimak Raise Climber implements a rack and pinion rail, designed to carry air and water for increased ventilation.
I always enjoy photographing the Alimak and this time was no different. It can be a challenge in some locations especially if it’s over an open area but this time I got to get up close and personal at ground level.
Here is a different image from past shoot of the Alimak
Alimak Raise Climber 1
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I photographed Vanessa (3rd generation miner) and her Scoop Tram 10 years ago next month. I have also been lucky enough to photograph her sister and dad who are both in the Mining Industry with Vale as well. This was before high visibility PPE was required at Vale at all times while on site in Ontario which changed from blue to high vis orange on July 1st 2016.
