Chile - La Serena

After spending the night at the only motel in the little company town anywhere near the mine (mostly was spent cleaning dust from everywhere on my equipment), we drove back to Antofagasta then flew to the beach town of La Serena where I spent the day recovering from the trip into the desert, backing up files, and more cleaning of dust from everywhere.
Juan Carlos took me to the "best seafood in town" where I got to meet his son who lives in La Serena.

The view north from my hotel in La Serena.  Very beautiful and balmy.

I love my job!  Editing and backing up while taking in the view.

Juan Carlos Olivaros and his son.  Great people.

Delicious seafood here!  The orange shellfish was very different and spicy; I loved it!

Christmas time in Chile, yet summer break for school was about to begin. Felt disorienting!

Chile - Andacollo mine

After flying back to Santiago, we drove to the religously significant town of Andacollo, also the site of one of the largest copper mines in the world, which is where the shoot was.  Very unique landscapes and cactus and trees along the way there; very different from the Sonoran Desert here in Arizona.  Too bad I only got to see it from the back seat of a speeding pickup truck!

Here are some of the scenes at the Andacollo open-pit copper mine:

New construction at the mine

heavy-duty construction of the new plant.

These dump trucks are the biggest in the world.  Kind of
scary to be around.

My lighting setup behind the garbage cans; each color
is different recyclable, they are serious at Amec!

Final shot for the annual report.

Another hot and dusty, but very interesting day.  The people I met were fantastic as usual!

Chile - Atacamo Desert for annual report

I had been shooting annual report photography for Amec, a worldwide engineering consulting company, for a few years, when this year they asked me if I could shoot for them in South America.....of course I said yes.

I made the trek down to Santiago Chile, where I met up with my guide and compatriot (and interpreter) Juan Carlos Olivares, the Media Relations Director for Amec in South America.  What a great guy, as was everyone I met on the entire trip.  Juan Carlos took great care of me, and was a wizard at getting us to and from the far reaches of Chile.

The first shoot location was at the Franke Mine in the middle of the Atacama Desert; the driest desert in the world.  Some places in the desert do not see rain for 75 years or more!  As you can guess, there is absolutely NO LIFE at all, not even insects.  It is, and looks like, the moon.  Very dusty.

Very dry dusty terrain; epic in it's austerity.

On the road to the Franke Mine in the Atacama Desert

We drove a VERY long way into the middle of NOWHERE.

An overview of the mining area.  Just a LITTLE dusty!

Lining a tailing pond with rubber at Franke Mine, Chile

the head Amec engineer at the mine.

Me, on the moon.  In fact, NASA tested the Mars & Lunar rovers here.  I can see why.

The final shot for the annual report.