Blue(ish) Collar Worker

For our final lighting assignment of the year, we had to set up a lit environmental portrait of a blue-collar worker or a hobbyist. I was immediately drawn to blue-collar worker, because it is so diverse, and so many of these people are genuine, salt-of-the-earth types.

I had some ideas: there's a facility not far from school that sells dry ice and fills oxygen and other tanks. These look really cool. I will shoot that someday. I also tried to get into the area behind the glass at Reid's Dairy to shoot a guy on the milk production line. Still tied up in red tape on that, but I have big plans for that shoot.

For now, it's Gerry at The Home Depot.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (06/04/11) - Gerry (last name withheld), an employee at The Home Depot in Belleville, poses for a portrait in between unpacking boxes in the cabinet department of the store on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Gerry has worked at the store for several years and likes the physical work of making the store organized and helping customers. Photo by Rachel Psutka.