Photographing an industrial operation is one thing. Photographing it hundreds of metres underground is something else entirely.
Several years ago, I was commissioned by Sandvik to photograph mining operations as part of an assignment documenting mining in India. The assignment took me underground, into an environment where daylight disappears and the rules of photography change completely.
Mining photography presents a unique set of challenges. There is limited space, almost no natural light, dust, noise, heavy machinery and strict safety procedures. But for me, the real challenge was not simply documenting the equipment or the scale of the operation.
It was finding the people inside it.
Mining in India – Going underground
From the surface, a mine can appear to be defined by machinery, infrastructure and scale.
Underground, that perception changes.
The further you travel beneath the surface, the more the outside world disappears. There is no horizon. No weather. No daylight.
Mining in India encompasses a vast range of environments, from open-cast operations to mines extending deep beneath the surface. For this assignment, my focus was on documenting the people, machinery and working environments encountered underground.
Instead, the mine is revealed in fragments: a tunnel illuminated by a headlamp, the faces of miners emerging from darkness, machinery appearing briefly in the beam of artificial light.
I had gone there to photograph an industrial operation.
What interested me most, however, was the human presence within it.Photographing people in industrial environments
This is what has always drawn me to industrial photography.
An industrial facility is never just about machines.
Behind every operation are people who understand the environment, operate the equipment and navigate conditions most of us will never experience.
In the mines, the workers carried their own light.
A lamp attached to a helmet became the only source of illumination in the darkness. Sometimes you would see a person before you could see their face—just the movement of a light somewhere ahead in the tunnel.
Those moments became some of my strongest memories of the assignment.
The challenge of underground mining photography
Working underground requires a different approach to photography.
Light is limited and constantly changing. Space can be extremely restricted. Equipment, workers and vehicles move through narrow areas, while safety requirements dictate where you can and cannot work.
There is very little opportunity to control the environment.
That is precisely what makes the work interesting.
Photographing mining in India requires adapting to environments where light, space, access and safety procedures can change dramatically from one location to another.
My approach to industrial photography is not to impose a scene on an operation, but to observe what is happening and work within the reality of the environment. The aim is to create photographs that communicate both the scale of the industry and the people who make it possible.
In mining, that often means working quickly, adapting constantly and finding photographs in conditions where the available light may be nothing more than a worker’s headlamp.
Mining photography for Sandvik in India
Sandvik develops equipment, tools and technology for mining and rock excavation, working across surface and underground mining operations.
My assignment was to photograph the environments in which that equipment is used, while documenting the people working within them.
The resulting photographs move between the surface and the underground world beneath it—from industrial infrastructure and machinery to the miners themselves.
Looking back at this work several years later, what remains with me most strongly is the transition between those two worlds.
Above ground, there is daylight.
Then you go down.
And eventually, the only light you see is the light people carry with them.
Underground Mining Photography in India
For those curious to explore more, I invite you to peruse my Industrial Photography Portfolio. It offers a glimpse into various facets of industrial landscapes, showcasing the diversity and authenticity that defines my work. Discover other compelling examples that encapsulate the essence of industries across the spectrum.
