Deep down under
“ONCE UPON A TIME” blog post series
The image featured here is part of my “ONCE UPON A TIME” series. It was taken deep underground at one of the world’s deepest mines, using a 35mm film camera and two remote flash units.
Looking at it now, I can’t recall the exact mine shaft or even why we were there — only that the shaft was somewhere within the Western Deep Levels mining complex, a facility beyond Johannesburg’s western outskirts, past Soweto toward Westonaria and Carletonville.
What I do remember clearly is the descent into the mine.
Preparation alone was an exercise: overalls, steel-capped boots, helmets, and gear in tow. We did this in the pre-digital age, as in working with 35mm film cameras. Before going down, I had to keep them close to my body to prevent the lenses from fogging. Flash light units had to be used remotely — no cables, no direct connections — due to the methane-rich environment underground.
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Then came the wait for the cage.
Not an elevator in any familiar sense, but a narrow, multi-level steel lift. You hear it before you see it — the rumble, the rattle and whine of the cable hauling it up through the shaft. It arrives with weight and presence, and only once it settles completely, do the gates open.
Miners first. We followed.
The descent was fast, long, and intense — down to more than two kilometres below the surface. Here, the air was dense and hot, shaped not by sunlight but by the earth itself. Temperatures in such mines can be extreme, requiring refrigeration to make them survivable.
At the work face, we met a drilling crew on shift. I set up quickly, shot what I needed, and stayed out of the way. We were there for perhaps thirty minutes — long enough to understand the environment, but not long enough to belong to it.
Being that deep is unsettling. The earth feels alive — creaking, groaning, shifting.
The ascent mirrored the descent, though somehow it felt longer. The cage swayed and shuddered as it climbed, guiding us back toward light and air.
And just like that, it was over. Another day’s work — far beneath the surface.
