Louie Palu

One of the many reasons that I enjoy reading LensWork is that the magazine introduces me to photographers that I otherwise would be unaware of. At times this is because the photographer has not been widely published and at other times it may be because I simply have not been exposed to them, despite their having achieved recognition.

This month, I was particularly intrigued by the work of Louie Palu, who spent years on his project photographing coal miners in Canada. Every aspect of this project , from how he managed to get access to the mines themselves (pure persistence in the face of repeated resistance), to the dangers of being in the mine (which makes for a fascinating discussion in the LensWork interview), and the challenges of photographing in a dark and hostile environment (equipment literally blown up, dropped down shafts, makeshift lighting etc.) is truly fascinating. I couldn't stop reading the interview transcript and am looking forward to hearing more in LensWork Extended.

Finally, the images were absolutely superb! My description and opinion are meaningless compared to having a look for yourself. So here is a link to the portion of Mr. Palu's website that contains images from this project, which he entitles "Cage Call". But don't stop there, the rest of the projects and images on his site are wonderful as well.

The project turned into a book, which I plan to buy. Unfortunately, it currently seems to be unavailable at Amazon and I can't seem to find one for sale anywhere else either.