Category Industrial

Get Real: It’s about people, not brands

0 Comments read Blog, Industrial, Mainers at Work, Marketing

Industrial Recycling Worker

The biggest trend in 2022 seems to be the embrace of artificial intelligence (A.I.) tools like ChatGPT, Jasper and MidJourney by content marketers. In an age of deepfake videos and faked resumes, trust is the only thing in short supply.

That’s why authenticity matters more than ever when it comes to social media and content marketing. Winning brands take a people-first approach and who create meaningful connections with their customers and audiences.

What does authenticity mean? It means creating content that reflects your values and tells a story about your brand that resonates, cultivates relationships and fosters loyalty. It means creating visual content that features your real customers, team or audience, rather than opting for stock imagery. After all, people follow people, not brands. Authenticity entails communicating your brand values and cultivating your brand’s unique voice.  It also may include user-generated content and collaboration with influencers who can help you tell your story in authentic ways. Here are a few ways brands might choose to be more authentic and transparent:

  • Lift the curtain: Show what it looks like behind the brand: your process, your culture, your successes and, sometimes, your misses.
  • Tell stories about real people and the impact they and you have had on the world.
  • Use short-form video to cut through the noise and provide answers to customer questions, provide useful information or to educate and inform.
  • Leverage user generated content (but only if allowed, and always give credit).

In a time when people are extremely wary of marketing that is ‘business as usual’, the trend is towards authenticity, engagement and connection. If you want to create impactful, authentic content that will connect with your clients, we’d love to help.

Bring Your Vision: Hammond Lumber

0 Comments read Blog, Industrial, On Assignment, Showcase

 

Lumberman

I’m happy to share some of the work I’ve been doing over the past year for the Hammond Lumber Company, based in Belgrade, Maine. This is a sprawling, Maine-wide sawmill and lumber operation involving three generations of the Hammond family.

It’s a busy, hardworking, growing Maine company with a great reputation and deep relationships. That served them well during the pandemic especially, when rising demand, supply chain challenges and other restraints kept them on their toes.

The project encompassed lifestyle photography shoots at multiple locations across the state as well as a short video piece (not yet published) that showcase Hammond’s connection to the state and its customers. Their customer-centric theme of “Bring Your Vision” was a theme through all of the shoots.

 

 

Lumber Man

 

Maine Construction Workers

Showcase: ReEnergy biomass energy producer

0 Comments read Annual Report, Assignments, Blog, Client Work, Industrial

Last fall, I spent a few days photographing several biomass facilities for ReEnergy Holdings, an energy producer based in New York.  I’ve worked with ReEnergy for several years to create a library of images for use in their ongoing marketing efforts. The idea was to photograph their facilities and the work being done there in a way that captured the mood, atmosphere and scale of their various locations throughout New England.  I love being able to show the gritty details of hard work through commercial and industrial photography. My approach is to keep things as authentic and real as possible while adding light in a believable way, in order to augment and help tell the story.  As with all such work, time is always at a premium and the ability to be efficient and focused is absolutely critical.  

biomass worker

Power Generator

power worker

Energy worker

biomass

Energy Worker

Energy worker

Client Work: ReEnergy Holdings

0 Comments read Assignments, Blog, Client Work, Industrial, On Assignment, Showcase

Renewable Energy

With the latest boom in commercial and residential construction, have you ever wondered what happens to all of the tons of used (or unused), broken or left-over materials used in the building industry?  Some of it ends up in landfills, but much of it—wiring, piping, metals, wood—can be recycled, resold and reused.

I recently finished a project for ReEnergy Holdings, photographing their recycling operations throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. These facilities process tons of construction material and repurpose what they can.  It’s often a dirty, dusty, mucky job but one I’m glad they are there to do.

Location work like this is challenging because it requires creating great images no matter the situational challenges that arise.   At busy industrial facilities like these, the machinery can’t just stop while I set up lights and get everything just right. It’s more of a run-and-gun situation, photographing people and processes as they happen and making lemonade out of lemons (I’m into recycling, too). The primary challenge is to take advantage of the visual opportunities that are there—even when they don’t easily present themselves—and stay on the move….all while dodging moving trucks, loaders, and spinning machinery.

The shoots were done indoors and outdoors, in dry, extremly dusty conditions and on days that it was pouring rain and the mud was several inches thick. I’ve found that extreme situations such as these, though unforgiving on cameras and lenses, offer plenty of visual gold.  Enjoy!