Remote Exploration: A Journey to Success

The landscape of resource exploration has changed dramatically over the last ten years. Projects that were previously deemed impossible have been made possible, and the industry has literally stretched the boundaries of what we think of as traditional exploration.

Over that same ten years, I have been part of one of the most dramatic shifts in resource exploration and production culture. Media has completely transformed the way that investors, perspective employees, and the general public view the entire industry. Gone are the days of text-only annual reports and low-resolution images shot by the leasehand on a point-and-shoot camera.

A younger generation of investors, CEOs, and board members are demanding a new standard of company presentation. This new face of exploration media sports a clear coat of stunning images, social-media updates, bold infographics, and captivating information.

I’ve had the pleasure of working and shooting in some of the world’s most inhospitable conditions from the Arctic to the desert and from the jungle to the city.

I started shooting exploration media the moment I joined the industry. Back then, it was handheld video cameras and inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras, which captured photos of the rig drilling in the Canadian Arctic or a shot of a helicopter landing, loaded with seismic bags north of Fort McMurray.

During that early phase of portfolio building, everything was risky, and you had to squeeze in shots wherever time permitted. That was not an altogether easy task as I was working flat out as a resource HSE and logistics consultant, and sidelining as a resource journalist, photographer, and lecturer.

However as my portfolio grew, so too did the list of inquiries for images from the rig manager to the client representative; I suddenly found my work on the webpages of a handful of juniors and from there things really took off. I started challenging the status quo of secrecy and media restrictions, pushing large petroleum and mining companies to open their doors to the positive possibilities of media. A well-rounded media portfolio cannot only change your public perception, it can also dramatically change your stock position.

The latest breed of explorers and board members have grown up in an age where people uploaded new images and updates daily; a website that hasn’t updated their images in months might as well not be connected to the Internet.

Exploration photography is neither for the faint of heart, nor for those who wish to remain accustomed to the comforts of five-star hotels and sparkling mineral water. In recent years, I’ve been in a plane crash, ran from aggressive wolves, been locked in a compound, pelted with rocks in the highlands of PNG, and escorted under armed guard through the Mosques of Jakarta. That’s before taking into account this year’s bout of apocalyptic weather—dust storms in the South Australian desert, heat pushing 40 degrees Celsius, and jungle rains measured in the inches.

It’s likely you could count all the resource exploration photographers and journalists on one hand, because those who normally choose to chase after such photographic adventures are cut from an entirely different cloth.

In the coming months and years, advanced media will continue to be a growing part of the mainstay of resource exploration and production environment. Stunning magazine features, social-media campaigns, tweets, video uploads, and infographics are going to reshape not only the way people think about exploration but also how investors engage with blue-chip listed companies and juniors alike.