In the end, it was a gecko, some drill rigs and some mud that most inspired renowned Aussie mining photographer Richard Woldendorp, the judge in consulting firm Snowden’s inaugural mining photo competition.
Perth, Australia-based Snowden was seeking photos that captured the “essence” of mining, while providing a measure of artistic flair.
Woldendorp awarded first place and A$10,000 to amateur photographer Claire McCamish for a picture of a gecko on a pipeline worker’s finger, dubbed Pipeline Gecko. McCamish works as an environmental advisor for
Arnand Van Heerden, a geologist with
Nigel Baker took home A$1,000 for his photo entitled Dirty Digger. Baker, a geologist with Australian miner Jackson Gold, photographed a drill rig offsider covered in muck after being hit with groundwater during exploration drilling at the Wallbrook Hill project on Edjudina Station, Western Australia.
“The standard of entries for the photo competition was excellent,” says Snowden Executive General Manager Philip Snowden.
More than 150 people submitted 340 photos from Australia, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S.
The winning photographs and finalists will be exhibited at Snowden’s booth at the Diggers and Dealers forum, slated for Aug. 8-10, in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Snowden’s 2006 photo competition will run from Jan. 30 until June 30, 2006. Rules and criteria will be posted on Snowden’s web site (www.snowdenau.com) beginning in November.
Snowden provides mining consulting services from its offices in Perth, Brisbane, Vancouver, Johannesburg and London.
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