Is it possible for a waste company’s landfill site to be beautiful?  I certainly didn’t think so, but I was quite impressed when I went out to Elizabeth to photograph for NAWMA (North Adelaide Waste Management Ass.) 

Indeed the smell wasn’t too nice!  However, it wasn’t too bad to look at!  Their landfill or dump site is situated out in the countryside of Elizabeth, not visable from the road, but nestled amongst beautiful green rolling hills and farmland.  When standing at the highest point of the landfill, my view was of a patchwork of fields below.  And indeed it wasnt just the surrounding landscape that impressed, maybe because I haven’t been to a landfill since I was a child and it was called a ‘dump’, but the actual site was quite neat!  Rubbish is no longer ‘dumped’ but arranged and compacted into cubes and then covered by dirt.  The excavated area of hill reveals quite pretty patterns and contrasting colours in the different layers of dirt.  So I happily shot away until I was quite tired!

The previous day I photographed at their waste management and sorting premises.  Indeed this was not so pretty, but still full of stimulation for an enthused photographer!  Huge warehouses full of machinary, garbage trucks unloading tons of rubbish, workers sorting the waste in a production line, moving platforms throwing rubbish in a continuous waterfall of paper, plastic & unrecognisables! 

It’s a shoot I might call gross but fun!  Advice I’d give - it’s tough in the low light, tripod is great, but not if your up on the machinary!  Don’t put your camera bag down on the floor, yuk!  I’ll now have to scrub mine.  Equally - don’t kneel to get the shot - learn to squat!  And watch your elbows when leaning over the moving rubbish, I nearly collected a few scraps with mine!