VALERIE LEONARD
SULFUR'S SLAVES (Series)
DESCRIPTION
In East Java, Indonesia lies Kawah Ijen volcano, 11.500 ft tall, topped with a large caldera and a 650 ft-deep lake of sulfuric acid.
The quietly active volcano emits gases through fumaroles inside the crater, and local miners have tapped those gases to earn a living.
The first miners arrived here fifty years ago. Stone and ceramic pipes cap the fumaroles, and inside, the sulfur condenses into a molten red liquid, dripping down and solidifying into pure sulfur.
Miners hack chunks off with steel bars, braving extremely dangerous gases and liquids with minimal protection, then load up as much as they can carry for the several kilometers to the weighing station.
Loads can weigh from 170 to 220 lbs, and a single miner might make as many as two or three trips in a day.
At the end of a long day, miners take home approximately 6 $.
The sulfur is then used for vulcanizing rubber, bleaching sugar and other industrial processes nearby.
Fumes of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide attack mucous membranes, lungs, eyes and skin. The life expectancy of these men rarely exceeds 50 years.
AUTHOR
French-American, Valerie Leonard travels the world following her theme that she named “Labours of Hercules" where she attempts to show with utmost respect the dignity of women and men living and working in particularly hostile environments.
She takes the time to live with the people and be fully accepted before starting her work.
There is no staging, with patience and respect, she waits for the right moment, the right light to tell the truth, but in terms of beauty.
Far from seeking aesthetic or false compassion she intends to change the way we see a forgotten humanity.
2018
1st Prize Zoom-Photo-Festival-Canada.
2 Hon.Mention.PX3
2017
Silver.Medal.ND Awards
Hon.Mention.ND Awards
Winner Pollux Awards
Hon.Mention.SDN
Hon.Mention.IPA
2016
Silver & Bronze Star ND-Awards
2nd Prize APA-Awards
Gold Medal.PX3
Nominee. FAP. Awards
2nd Prize The.Other.Hundred
1st Prize Florida Museum Photographic.Arts
2015
Hon.Mention ND Awards
Hon.Mention Monochrome.Awards
Remarkable.Award Siena.Photography.Awards
Hon.Mention FAP Awards
Gold, Silver & Bronze.Medal. PX3
Nom.Oasis.Photo.Contest
Fin 7th J.M.Cameron.Award/ 6 categories
Hon.Mention IPA
APA-Off the-Clock
2014
Silver Star ND.Awards
Hon.Mention IPA
Short-Sony.World.Photography.Awards
2013
Finalist-Travel-Photographer-of-the-Year
Hon.Mention Best-of-Photography
Nominee Nature-Images-Awards
Hon.Mention IPA
Nominee Oasis-Photo-Contest
Hon.Mention Winner-of-PX-PARIS
2012
2 Hon.Mention IPA
Bronze Medal "Art-en-Capital" Grand-Palais-Paris
Photographer-of-the-Month National-Geographic-France-Web
2011
1ST Prize National Geographic Channel's Contest France
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