This month saw a challenging and endlessly interesting shoot. The Black Hills of South Dakota were calling, and as spring eased into summer, that’s a great place to be for not one, but two shoots.
Coeur Wharf, a gold mine that’s been in production for more than 30 years near Deadwood, is operated by Coeur Mining. This location’s photo library was long depleted and was in dire need of a massive refresh, so we worked 2 1/2 days and delivered nearly 1000 new images … after editing.







When I booked this shoot, strict Covid protocols were still in place which necessitated driving rather than flying. No problem there—Six hours of beautiful countryside and mountains always beats five hours of airports! It also meant I could bring extra equipment: A full portrait setup (Yes, I did headshots wearing muddy steel-toe boots!), personal PPE, studio and battery high-speed strobes, iPads, laptops, CamRangers, etc. Luxury.
No assistants or stylists to credit, but a huge shout-out to Kourtney Peterson, Wharf’s HR genius. Kourtney is a sneaky-brilliant coordinator and producer!
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