You know, always want to show things that are not seen.
Things that are in the dark.
Most of the images that had an impact in my career,
that were important in my career,
most of the images I really like, most of the images I'm attached to,
were taken in the early morning hours or in the afternoon in the late or early night.
That's where I like to work.
When you see this place, it is crumbling,
there's like abandoned lorries lying around,
mangled-up steel pipes, and beams.
Yet there are still people working there underground.
I expected it to be more mechanized, more automated
but it's really just like hard labor and people working with
pick axes and jack hammers and carrying around these
big steel pillars that are filled with water that weigh more than 100 kilos,
so it's really, really, really tough work.
So I was hoping to show just that. Like how labor intensive it is
and how hard it is to work down there.
You had like black slush that was raining down on you,
that's the kind of conditions I sometimes work under
and that's where I want my camera to work.
The setup of my camera was very simple. I had an EOS R.
I had battery grip on it, and I used the
50mm 1.2 lens.
Honestly, the most difficult circumstances I've ever photographed under
because of the gases that are in those mines, you can't have electricity
so there's no light except the headlamps and they're especially sealed so
it's either entirely black, or you have like really bright light.
I really like pushed the camera to its limits - in terms of low light capabilities
but also in terms of dynamic range and focus of course.
It's so dark that like my eyes can't really see anymore
which part of my image is exactly in focus so I have to rely on the autofocus.
You can use the screen as a touch screen to move around the focus point.
So I used that quite often, especially since the resolution
of the camera and the lens is so high
and I was shooting with a wide open aperture
so you really have to get things spot into focus.
People always say it's not about the camera, it's about the photographer
but it's something that has to work together.
Both elements have to come together and form the image at the end.
There is no technological limitations anymore that I feel
need to be broken to show what I want to show in terms of content.
You always strive to take a photo that has an impact that moves people,
that makes people want to help and get engaged.
I don't think my photos will have impact in terms of
these mines being closed or bettering the work conditions
of these people but it's still something people should be aware of.
When miners get out after shift of work,
they have coal under their eyes, they have like
coal in their pores, they're almost like a direct representation
of what they do. It's in their faces.
Apart from the physical difficulties, the extremely manual labor
these men work on...
it's also incredibly dangerous.
Most of the work I do is like,
you know, you suddenly get a perspective of the privileges you have.