Heading to the Saguaro Desert near Tucson in the fall with my close friend Bill Fortney. We will be teaching together at MNLP-Master of Nature and Landscape Photography. The title of this weekend’s symposium certainly applies to Bill. Due to the pandemic pause for a lifetime, we haven’t seen each other for a while. But I remember when he helped me out.
I have always enjoyed industrial photography. How do they make stuff? Is the factory cool? Unusual? Sparks, steam? Heavy industry has always been a fascinating subject of photography. And the camera always celebrates labor. Hard work, and the people involved in it. The first time I went to China, in the late 80’s, it was a tightly controlled visit, as I was representing an American magazine, Sports Illustrated. The Chinese authorities asked me if I wanted to travel somewhere.
I finished my research and applied to a locomotive factory near Beijing. (Chinese trains are legendary.) This claim is meant by a measure of awe. “Perhaps the Great Wall?” I am stuck with my request.
So when I needed a coal mine, I called Bill Fortney. Not only is he a mentor and close friend, but for part of his career he was also a coal mining photographer.
Bill put his trust in me to go to a mine in the heart of coal country, southeast Kentucky. A photo from the big city can easily be a little slanted, but I received a warm welcome and willing subjects. At least if I move fast. At the end of an underground shift, the men nervously posed and walked away.
In addition to the introduction, Bill was also my test subject for lighting grids.
Bill, Jack Grahamand John Pederson recently invited me to a great podcast, we talk picturesfor a lively conversation about photography, and Bill fondly recalled the coal mine shoot.
I will teach together Scott Kelby, who brings both superb photography skills and post-production magic to the party. I will teach and talk about storytelling in the field, with the camera in hand, as well as the notions of remaining as a viable photography career over the long haul. Call Symposium on nature and landscape photographyit will be a rewarding, enriching photography event, held in a beautiful location.
A place with lovely skies and landscapes that put you on the ground. In contrast to mines, where darkness, drama and intense work occur, thousands of meters below the surface.
Hats off to Bill for trusting me to introduce me, as a stranger, to this underground world. And fame for hard workers is everywhere.
More tk, and hopefully, see you in the desert!
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