New work celebrates Drumheller miners and history
In conjunction with the centennial of coalmining in the valley, another celebration of the industry that built Drumheller is happening on the pages of a new book.
Lawrence Chrismas has been documenting mining and miners through photographs across Canada for decades. At the Drumheller May Day Celebrations, he will be releasing his latest work, called Coal in the Valley: Drumheller Miner Photographs and Stories.“It is sort of a commemorative book,” Chrismas told inSide Drumheller. “This is the first book I have devoted exclusively to the valley and the people I have photographed over the years. It has been a 30 year project.”
Fresh out of university he went to work the Department of Mines and Energy. He came to the valley for the first time in 1969. In 1979, he was in Canmore when the last coal mine was closed. There he met men who worked for the same mining company upwards of 50 years, who were now watching the industry die. This was the start of what became his life project. His first work was a national project where he photographed people from Cape Breton to Vancouver Island.
The first place he documented was the community of Minto in New Brunswick.
“It grew from there, I realized I was doing something of considerable historic value and people we enjoying my photographs and stories of the miners,” he said.
He relocated to Calgary from Ottawa in 1980 and shortly thereafter began coming out to the valley to photograph and interview. He purchased a miner’s shack in Cambria, which he still owns and uses as a base when he comes to the valley.
Over the years, he has interviewed and photographed more than 4,000 miners and their families.
His body of work includes CoalDust Grins, which was shortlisted for the Roloff Beny Photography Book award. He also produced a music CD to accompany the work. He has also published books on the miners of Minto, Canmore and Alberta. His work has been displayed in public and private galleries across Alberta.
While his work is extensive, he wishes he made a better historic record of all the of the names and faces he has come across in his research.
“I sort of did it on a random basis. I didn’t think of documenting everybody, and I wish I had,” he said.
The book is about 120 pages with about 60 portraits of miners and family members, and includes interviews and stories. It also includes some scenic and architectural images from the valley, as well as some photos from the Glenbow Museum Archives to show how the valley once looked.
While he bandied about the idea of a Drumheller book for some time, when he heard of the centennial activities, he proposed the book.
The book will encapsulate photos he has taken over the years. While some will be recognizable from his previous works, some have never been published.
“Sometimes I have tried to take a different view of an individual I took as compared to one that has appeared in one of the other books,” he said. “It covers a period of 1982 to 2010. Some of it is quite recent.”
“It is not a fine art book. I mean there are some wonderful images in there, and they are printed quite well, but there are some in there that are documentary, they are there to illustrate on individual or some aspect of Drumheller Valley.”
While he has a digital kit, many of the photos were shot with an 8"x10" large format view camera, giving unsurpassed quality and the negatives were scanned in to be published.
“There is something special when you look at the book and see the portraits, you realize sometimes you get results with a view camera that you cannot get with a digital,” he said.
Having said that, he is learning the ways of modern photography.
“There is quite a bit of art to the digital world too, and I am learning that. It has been a slow curve. I have always had a digital camera from when they first came out, and now I have the finest digital camera you can get, with good lenses, but there is still more craft to it,” he said. “Getting a good black and white print is a challenge, and I welcome that.”
Lawrence Christmas’ book will be officially released at the May Day Celebrations, and he will be holding a book signing on Saturday, April 30 at the East Coulee School Museum, and on Sunday, May 1 in downtown Drumheller.
See drumhellermining100.com for more information.
