Industrial Photography

Portrait of a worker at a fish processing factory.

I love industrial locations and I love to photograph them and the people that work at them.

The first time I ever actually stepped onto an industrial location was back when I was 18 and labouring for a hydraulics firm that specialised in – you guessed it – industrial hydraulics and maintenance.

I used to work summers in between my studies at university. It was hot, tiring work, but I loved nothing more than visiting a new factory, walking into an air craft sized hangar filled to the brim with machinery. At the time it felt like a secret world. A place beyond the every day, a place complete with fortress like fences and security guards. It was also a place where I was actually learning how things were made and where they came from.

I’ll never forget walking into the Comalco factory (they make aluminum cans) and seeing the 20-metre long display on the wall that was filled with a sample of every can – complete with art work – that had ever come off the production line. It spanned decades.

Now days I look forward to jobs that involve industrial locations.

As a photographer I find them incredibly visual. As a person, I still get that giddy feeling of ‘what am I going to see behind these gigantic sized doors’? moments before walking through.

To see samples of recent industrial work, please go to www.thomaspickard.com and click on Industry

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