Life And Struggles In A Stone Quarry Of India
I was commissioned to photograph the daily ongoing of a stone quarry in a small town on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, India, with my good friend and an amazing cinematographer, Samarth.
What is a stone quarry you may wonder? It is an open-cast mine where natural stone blocks are extracted from giant rocks using various stone quarry techniques and processes. It is from these quarries you get finished products such as limestone, marble, sandstone and granite. Indian granite is highly demanded in all parts of the world owing to its superior quality and proven physical and chemical properties. 
Picture of a stone quarry from above
Wide shot of a stone quarry below ground
As we arrived at the main entrance of the quarry, we were overwhelmed by the vast amount of earth dug up, heavy drilling machinery, huge excavators and trucks carrying large pieces of rock. An abundance of dust in the air and wet mud on the ground, that stuck to our shoes, made it difficult for us to move around. To make things wildly demanding this was scheduled in the peak summer month of April where the surface temperature touched 46 degrees Celsius and below ground, where the stones are extracted, a scorching 52 degrees Celsius.
Excavator preparing to break huge piece of stone
Excavator breaking apart huge piece of stone in a quarry
Crane moving heavy drilling machinery in a quarry
We were given strict instructions to keep our hard hat on at all times, stay alert for falling debris, and re-hydrate frequently.​​​​​​ As we geared ourselves to begin our assignment, a loud explosion ’boom’ caught our attention, only to be told by the cool-headed site engineer that it was set up to break away the stone from the earth before the drilling process could start.
With that behind us, we set out to capture the on-ground activities. The slight wind blow and partial cloud cover helped with a few moments of relief in the blistering heat, however, we were not prepared for the extreme noise from the drilling, digging, and exploding. Most of the quarry workers barely had any form of safety gear, ear plugs or shoes on except for the mandatory hard hats. When prompted, they humored about the hot weather and being uncomfortable with added layers of gear.
Heavy drill machinery cutting through huge stone
A quarry worker waiting at the switchboard
Workers sitting on quarry drilling machines
Quarry workers moving equipments on a downhill
Quarry worker navigating through puddle while descending from ladder
Something I found really fascinating was the way the site engineers use their hard hats to splash water on the stone surface to inspect for colour variations, patterns and/or imperfections. 
Water splashed on quarry stone wall to check for patterns
Close up of water splashed on stone
I can truly say what I experienced in that quarry was one of the toughest days of my career. It was unbearably hot, humid, loud, dusty (allergies got the worst of me), and beyond what I could imagine. This project happened in 2017, but I still think of how the quarry workers, labourers, and engineers go through it each day with such conditions. I interacted with many of them and had the impression that they were content with their work but they missed home and family most.
Quarry worker faced covered to prevent from dust
Workers at a quarry mine in India
Portrait of two miners working at a quarry
Portrait of a quarry worker
Portrait of a quarry miner
Full length portrait of a quarry worker
Despite the tough working environment, it was wonderful to see them keep each other motivated, smiling and joking among themselves. The amount of respect and commitment everyone showed each other is highly commendable

Equipment used: 
Canon 5D Mark III, Sigma 24-35mm f/2, Canon 85mm f/1.8

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