USPOWERGEN Portfolio - Creative Direction

The thought process

With backing and encouragement of their visionary VP, Adam Allen, I chose David Eustace for this job because, after meeting him and working on other projects together, I knew he had the curiosity and enthusiasm combined with a world-class-talent to deliver what I imagined for USPOWERGEN.

I wanted a photographer who had the heart of an art student - one who finds everything interesting and would see what I saw when I walked around the plants. We shot three stations in New York and three in Boston over a total of six days. Unlike fashion shoots, we had only two assistants to log the film shot and help carry all the equipment over, under and around the six enormous plants. It was a grueling schedule and the plants were extremely hot inside from the generators.

furnace

We photographed everything we found interesting.

circuit

I knew the New York plants well, so it was easier to cover the ground quickly. For Boston, I went up a day ahead and ran around taking snapshots so that when David arrived we had some ideas of what to cover and where. The rest of the shots I left to David's eye, and he captured these as we came across them.

eustace shot

David is an exceptional portrait photographer and with nothing more that a sheet of white paper taped to a wall he captured the pride and dedication of employees, ranging from the youngest to the most experienced. We carefully photographed both permanent and contract staff to create a real picture of how modern plants work.

welder

A young welder working at the Gownus plant in Brooklyn.

generators

The Boston Portfolio.

scale

The sheer scale of these plants was consitently astonishing. The Mystic plant in Boston, with its old disused coal plant, was steeped in history and revealed the dramatic changes within power generation as it shifted from coal to natural gas and low-noise air-cooling systems.

Paul

Paul Hamilton, Boston Generating's Executive Vice President

chains

portrait

Fore River plant, name and position to come.

Eustace shot

Mystic 8&9 plants employed the most advanced technology of the company's power portfolio. This shot and the two below demonstrate this best.

Mystic 8&9

air cooler

I wanted as broad a range of images as possible to use across a multitude of applications—from websites to financial report covers to art for the office walls. I ended up with such a rich portfolio that our needs continue to be satisfied, four years later. (To come–Click here for mini slide show of the images in use in quarterly financial reporting systems and board meeting materials)

firehose