You Get What You Wait For

trucks pouring concrete at job site. Early morning and late ngith lighting

Opportunity

18 hours of continuous pouring. 1350 concrete trucks. 8 pumping trucks. Middle of the night through sun rise. A target rich environment.

AWESOMENESS!

I had the job. It was mine. We agreed on the price. The scope of work. The deadline. I had sent in the insurance certificate, the W-9 and deposit request. Just had to wait for final approval from upstairs. Then like a fart in the wind, it was gone. Poof. Disappointed? Most certainly. But when big business decisions like this don’t go my way, I don’t get crushed, I get motivated. And as a self-employed creative professional, I play the long game and endeavor get out something of every situation that nourishes my business, my life or my soul. After 40 years, I’m good at it.

You see, I’d been given a diagram of the construction site as part of the cost estimating process. And that triggered my visual game plan for how I was going to document this amazing, landscape altering concrete pour. And I still wanted to execute it. It’s what I do, paid for or not. Of course it’s always better to get paid, but us creative souls have to create. It’s especially cathartic for me. There was no way I was going to sleep in!

In this instance I was limited in accessing the site from the public spaces along the perimeter. But art thrives on limitations. And I’m always up for that challenge.

Without promise or obligation from the client, I drove to the location and captured the process that played out before me. When the sun was about 15% above the horizon, it was time to leave with my photographic treasures.

See more of my progress photographs here.

Thanks for reading.

Michael

Michael Stern

My work depicts, appreciates and honors the people who build. Their specialized equipment and stunning challenges are marvels I behold and get paid to interpret. Hope you enjoy this site.
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