Around the clock this Caterpillar 980K and it’s operator work to keep the payload going through the crusher. In the recent months I have been trying to create images of the night shift workers as they tend to get overlooked when creating images.
When photographing equipment I always try to get someone outside the vehicle to give the viewer a better sense of scale, especially if the operator is not directly visible.
There is a difference between capturing movement and movement that was captured. The latter is usually unexpected and due to improper exposure, settings and more than likely user error. I remembered recently for one lesson during my dark room class (a few decades ago lol) we had to capture motion using panning and slow shutter speeds. Combined with a recent facebook post from a friend who was showcasing some amazing motion blur images of the Portland International Raceway, I decided to add more motion to my mining images on my next shoot.
As I saw the haul truck slowly coming towards us I quickly changed my camera settings to a slower shutter speed and politely asked Asteria and Brian to stay very still as it crept by. I wanted to capture the movement of the vehicle behind them and with this shot I got exactly that.
Vale uses a few different methods to manage dust control at their Sudbury Ontario tailings facility. One method (seen here) is the spreading of straw using agricultural equipment across the tailings pond.
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.
Creating images for the MacLean Engineering fleet has taken me all over Ontario and Quebec above ground as well as under. Visiting the Agnico Eagle Mines in Northern Quebec was a great experience as the crew I was with as well as the professionalism of the Agnico employees aloud us to create some stunning images to add to the MacLeans Marketing image arsenal.
Slow smooth and steady gets the job done efficiently and safely with this MacLean Engineering Boom truck I photographed at the Agnico Eagle mine in Quebec.
“Try catching something with this!” my friend said as he handed me a fishing lure that he received during one of Vale’s Family Day Events. Well me being me I decided to create an image that involved 2 of my passions, mining photography and fishing. The lure had a great color combination that is perfect for Northern Pike and it didn’t take long for the Gator to come chomping at it. I fished a little water system just before my cottage that has the Vale Totten Mine Head Frame in the background using the Vale lure. It was great to see the amount of wildlife in the water system including turtles, water snakes, minnows, frogs………….and pike.
Over the years I have seen my images being put to good use across multiple platforms throughout a variety of clients all over the world. Magazine covers, back covers, headliners, social media ads, trade show booths, job posting, product announcements and press releases just to name a few.
When you compare the cost of professional photography services to the quality of custom images created as well as the versatility and time of use throughout the companies branding and marketing campaigns, these custom images cost dollars to create.
Of course there are hundreds of thousands of stock images you can choose from but I will be honest, those stock images are passed over by everyone who see them. Why? Because often the images used are not associated with the actual company. You want people to invest in your vision, your name, your product and most of all in your company and for these reasons alone you should be showcasing your people, facilities and shops using custom created photography. In the end your ROI will have paid for itself and continue to do so each year new photography is created.
A Geologist takes notes of the thousands of core samples stacked column after column at this Northern Ontario Mine Site.
