Brian Zinchuk Publishing

Early in 2015 I was contacted by the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show (a.k.a. Weyburn Oil Show) board to  prepare an album for them to present to some VIPs at the upcoming oil show. They wanted something that was representative of the industry, something that would be a “best of” sort of collection.

Wow, I was pretty honoured by that.

This is the album, as it was printed, minus the logo on the cover. Many of these have been printed as canvases up to five feet wide. My intention was for several of these to be included with a now-on-hold project that would have seen three of these printed as 10-foot canvases for a massive art installation.

Album cover. Red Dog Drilling Rig 3, Northgate

Vortex Drilling Rig 1, first hole, near Lake Alma

Stampede Drilling Rig 2, near North Portal

Red Dog Drilling Rig 1 (insert: hammer – Stampede Drilling Rig 1, cable – Red Dog Rig 2)

Stampede Drilling Rig 2 near Bienfait

Independent Well Servicing, south of Oungre, (insert, left: Gilliss Casing Services, same location). Right, Excel Well Servicing, Stoughton)

Left, Betts Drilling Rig 1, first hole, near Northgate. Right, Red Dog Drilling, Rig 4, first hole, near Kisbey

Pumpjacks near Glen Ewen

Left: Fast Trucking Service moving Red Dog Drilling Rig 2, Estevan. Right, clockwise from top right: Betts Drilling Rig 1, first hole, Northgate; Vortex Drilling Rig 1, first hole, Lake Alma; Panther Drilling Rig 4, first hole, north of Estevan; Precision Drilling Rig 120, Macoun

Left, top to bottom: Vortex Drilling Rig 1, Panther Drilling Rig 4, Stampede Drilling Rig 1. Right: Red Dog Drilling Rig 4.

United Centrifuge, south of Weyburn

Red Dog Drilling Rig 4, first hole, Kisbey, 360 degree panorama

Stampede Drilling Rig 2, North Portal

Red Dog Drilling Rig 4, first hole, Kisbey

Left: Stampede Drilling Rig 1, Browning. Right: Vortex Drilling Rig 1, first hole, Lake Alma

And this is what it looks like in book form.

I tried to spread the love around as much as I could, as well as include other aspects of the industry beyond drilling. However, since the vast majority of my work has been on drilling, that was the key ingredient.

It took quite a while to pick the best out of several years of work. I had about 240 files in my selects folder, and had to whittle it down from there. This video shows the selects that were considered.

The six albums were printed in Venice, Italy, as are all my albums. They had 3/16 aluminum covers and leather bindings. That’s my usual album design. In this case, the albums were 1/2 my usual size.

I had thought they would end up as keepsakes for the oilman of the year and hall of fame recipients. It turns out they had other plans. Imagine my surprise when Premier Brad Wall and Minister of Economy Bill Boyd were presented with these albums.

Premier Brad Wall, Minister of Economy Bill Boyd, Oil Show chair Del Mondor

Minister of Finance Kevin Doherty, left, Minister of Economy Bill Boyd

Other recipients included Deputy Premier Don McMorris and Minister of Health (and Weyburn MLA) Dustin Duncan. I believe Weyburn Mayor Deb Button got one as well.

Long-time oil show volunteer Ron Jeffery was also presented with one. After all his years of service, he deserved it.

After it was all over, I sat down with Ron and his wife and explained what each picture in the album was. They were quite happy, as was I. I was beaming ear-to-ear. It was definitely a highlight of my year.

If anyone is interested in a copy (minus the oil show logo), please contact me at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net. This album had 30 pages, but I would likely add another 10 pages in a second edition.

These are not inexpensive items. They are made by one of the best album-makers in the world, and priced accordingly. But they are something you will cherish for a long time to come.

If you find yourself in these albums, be proud. There’s one sitting in the office of most of the power brokers in Regina.