In June 2000, I bought a van. My first car. It was a Ford Econovan, and was the same model as the one I’d learned to drive in. It also was big enough to carry my drumset for band rehearsals, or alternatively my longboards and a mattress for surfari’s up the coast. (This love affair is about to end… it’s going up for sale in a few days. But that’s another story…)
Before my very first North Coast adventure, I wanted to get my van serviced and checked over. I phoned the closest mechanic, spoke with Adrian and Dominic at Randwick Mechanical, and unexpectedly found two of the most genuine, honest, and hardworking mechanics I’ve ever met.
Dom & Adrian have been running Randwick Mechanical for over 12 years, and they’ve been my mechanics for that entire time. Recently we spoke about documenting their workshop and their building, as a celebration of the time they’ve been in business together.
I was thrilled at the opportunity, and as I was shooting, I was reminded of older style portraits of tradesmen and workers. My mind’s eye was seeing gritty black & white, textural shots.
I also wanted to crop each image to an 8×10″ shape/ratio. Back in the day, the 8×10 ratio was the only format available in sheet negatives, and it always reminds me of the era of large-format cameras – you know, the ones with the bellows on the front, the big tripods and the black sheets that the photographer would hide under? (Kind of like these.) Yep, large format. Kickin’ it old school.
Here is my documentary of Randwick Mechanical. These images speak to me of honest, grease and oil, hands-dirty hard work.
I love these images so much that I printed a set for the mechanics, and printed another set for myself – which I have on my desk as a reminder of the power of beautiful imagery when it is beautifully printed.
All of these images are available as fine-art limited edition prints. Email me if you are interested in purchasing one.
