AFAR

Director of Photography: Tara Guertin
Art Director: Jason Seldon
Associate Photo Editor: Alex Palomino
Photographer: Celine Clanet

Heidi: I read that Creuset translates to cauldron or crucible. In this image the iron is heated  5,184°F (2,862°C) how close could you get to the iron before the heat became too much to bear?
Celine: Well, pretty close actually, but not for too long, that was the thing.

Did you wear special clothing and did it affect your gear?
I just wore regular safety equipment (shoes, glasses). It didn’t affect my gear, but there was just some black dust covering it, covering all of us actually.

How many days did you spend at the factory?
Two full days.

How long did you spend at each assembly line station?
It depended on the visual interest of each one. I remember spending much time on the sanding line: the guys – it’s a guys-only line – were wearing special breathing helmets, moving like robots, grabbing pots, sanding and throwing them out in a beautiful collective ballet. The industrial world is such a ballet.

When you were developing the narrative arc of the story, how did you keep track of big sweeping environmentals, portraits and tight shots to make for a dynamic story?
You have to think of every details that will make the viewer feel the experience of a place, which is basically the point of a magazine assignment. Photography is limited: no sounds, smells, nor movements, therefore every detail possible matters, and I just have this in mind when I shoot. I always try to step back, and ask myself what did I miss to shoot in what I see right now?

Did you review the shoot and then go back to visit anything you feel you may have missed?
No, two days were enough to stick to Afar’s expectations for this assignment.

Which part of the factory drew you in as a photographer?
The foundry. It was such a show.

How did this story come about? Did you pitch this idea to the magazine?
No, they thought of me first, as I do a lot of industrial photographic assignments, outside of my personal work and other kind of assignments.