Vincent: A portrait in backyard gold mining

Portrait of Vincent, a worker in a backyard gold mine in Makuche, Kenya, in the western rural area.

The colonial British gold mined here and the tunnels and pits are still there. The new miners are individuals and they dig holes in their yards and then lower each other down in buckets on a winch system. They find the old tunnels and holes and then clink away and haul up buckets of red dirt.

Two people have died in 2 months with the walls caving in, in mines nearby. They say they are not afraid. It is just the job. I'm working on a film of my GoPro where they wore my gear down and made a first-person video of what it's like.

This might be one of my favorite photos I've taken, ever.

I need to decipher why, but I think because it could be anyone, and so deftly represents the hardship, struggle, stamina, will, willingness and desperation of people in some areas, manual labor and also fortitude.

— in Makuche, Kenya