Andrea Markey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 27/05) - A photo exhibit featuring seven area mines will open June 6, the first day of NWT Mining Week.

The 79 photos were shot by George Hunter during numerous trips to the North, beginning in 1946.

George Hunter has photographed mines in every territory and province except Prince Edward Island, where there are no mines.

Hunter first started taking photos of mines and miners when he was sent to a Newfoundland iron mine by the National Film Board.

"I like taking photographs of people and of people working," he said.

To preserve the underground atmosphere, Hunter didn't use a flash or any light near his cameras, including headlamps.

Instead, he built his pictures using lights placed around the mine.

Dangerous work, but he said it had to be done to get the shots.

"It scares me now to think back to what I did," he said. "I would spend up to two shifts underground, going up only during blasting. I was never injured and I loved going down, but when I was underground I would think, 'What am I doing here?'"

Feels lucky

Now 84, Hunter doesn't go underground anymore. His last trip down was at the Westray Mine in Nova Scotia, two weeks before a deadly explosion there in 1992.

That isn't why Hunter stopped going down, but he does count himself lucky.

The only injuries he ever experienced were to his equipment. Dirt from the mine took a toll on Hunter's cameras. He used four, with one always in the shop for cleaning.

Being a self-proclaimed die-hard, even in the age of digital Hunter still uses film for his photos. He has gone from a Super Ikonta B to the Rolleiflex and Hasselblad to a 6x7 cm Pentax.

"The cameras have changed but nothing else," he said. "The photo is created with our eyes - our eyeballs are the most important part of the photo."

Hunter also has a proposal in to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre for an exhibit of the Mackenzie River area for 2006.

People in the communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Inuvik and Fort Good Hope, as well as other communities along the Delta, would be featured.

Hunter's mining exhibit, "Not Only Gold," will be on display at the Prince of Wales North Gallery from June 6 until December.