“I see you there walking around my personal space, chasing the equipment, people and light as it fades into my horizon. Many have come before you, many have succeeded in capturing my good side but many have also failed. Show me respect and walk safely within my domain and I will reward you with captured glimpses that will stay true to the end of time.” ~ The Open Pit
Congratulations again to Negar Saeidi for her 40 Under Forty Award. I photographed Negar this past September at Vale’s North Atlantic Operations. You can read here 40 Under forty Q&A here: 40underforty
A familiar image popped up in my “memories” feed today so I revisited this session that took place way back in October 2008 when I started to photograph more underground sessions around Sudbury, Ontario. I created some underground work environment images as well as a “Family Portrait” for one proud father as both his daughters are involved in the Mining Industry and still are today. We were fortunate to have all three on site during this shoot so of course I create a keepsake memento for them.
This image showcases a few old school lessons I learned in photography composition. “You look at an image like you read a book, from left to right” was mentioned to me early on in my career and it stuck with me ever since.
Using leading lines and creating highlights and shadows with my lighting I draw the viewer into a specific part of the image. In this case I used the leading lines of the truck to draw your attention to the main subject while utilizing some background lighting for impact. This overall composition leaves room for “copy” on the left side of the image over the negative space of the truck while drawing your attention onto the main subject of the miner and tablet. As well with this composition the image can be cropped vertically isolating the subject thus giving a designer several options for layout placement.
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.
When the equipment breaks they work diligently and fast to get it back up and running. Underground or above sun or rain the pressure is always there to be as quick and efficient as possible.
It was Sumit’s first time underground here at the Eldorado Lamaque Site and I was glad to be able to join my MacLean’s Rep on his first journey to the underworld. After our day photographing some of the MacLean fleet I had to take a few moments and create his first underground portrait.
I received a few messages in regards to my last post in regards to candid images while on site. Do I use lighting, do I stage them am I stopping production?. The answers are yes, no and no. Photographing weddings over the years (I stopped 6 years ago) hones ones skill in anticipating a moment. You look at the current scenario and visualize where the next moment will happen, so while on site if I do have lighting with me, I place my lighting where I think the “scene” is heading and anticipate the moment I wish to capture. Just a little bit of extra light can help fill in some shadows and draw the focus to the subject of the image.
We are almost done our first month of 2018 and most of us are back in the Captains chair restructuring, organizing and implementing new business strategies for the year. These next few months are filled with industry trade shows and conventions where companies will showcase their products, processes and fabrications to wide eyed prospectors and investors. This is where I come in. A well executed image in your trade show booth and marketing materials can increase engagement from your prospects. Just google “why you should include images in your marketing materials” and browse a few websites. My clients know the value of custom photography. Photographing their employees and equipment instead of using stock images solidifies the confidence that the company believes in their products and people which is why I do what I do. Like the below image I created while on assignment for www.macleanengineering.com . It was a great day underground where I got the chance to create some great portraits and high impact images which Maclean still uses in their marketing force including their website, twitter and linkedin media.
