12 Rigs of Christmas 2015: Day 5: Stampede Rig 3

29 11 2015

 

On the fifth day of Christmas, the toolpush gave to me…  Stampede Drilling Rig 3.

Stampede Rig 3 was working close to the U.S. border at the time. Indeed, I think it has spent most of its career drilling withing a few miles of Mackenzie Meats, which made for a good snack when I was out there.

I believe Stampede 3 is the newest rig in the Saskatchewan drilling fleet at this time.

While some of the other rigs you may have seen before, this is the first time I have put photos of Stampede Rig 3 out “in the wild.” There are some really good sunset shots. Also, I went out an extra day to get photos of Stampede 2 and 3 working close enough together that you could get both in the same photo. It’s rare to have two rigs from the same company working so close to each other.

For the video slideshow I had to pick a country song for Bill and Jackie, the crew that runs Stampede in Estevan.

The Stampede Drilling Rig 3 gallery can be found here at Stampede Rig 3.

If you’re looking for more rigs, check out the master drilling gallery here.

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For the next three days (Nov. 29-Dec. 2) I am running a sale: 15% off all Stampede Drilling prints. This includes Rigs 1, 2 and 3. (Discount does not include shipping). You can order normal photo prints, canvases, metal prints (which are AWESOME) or even a coffee mug. The coupon code is: Stampede

Do you have a rig you’d like me to profile in my 12 days of Christmas? Put your requests in the comments on my Facebook page. Don’t forget to share, and scroll down to see the other Rigs of Christmas. If you recognize any of your buddies, please share.


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12 Rigs of Christmas: Day 12: 12 Different Rigs

15 12 2014

On the 12th day of Christmas, the toolpush gave to me, 12 different drilling rigs.

I had a hare time figuring out how to wrap this up with so I decided to pluck some from my travels, where I will stop on the side of the road and get a shot, as well as some other miscellaneous projects in various stages of completion. In this collection you will find:

One Alliance, one Panther, one Advance, one Stampede, one Savanna, three Nabors, three CanElson, and rig one we found in the foothills just as the sun was going to start going down. I have no recollection of what it was. It was orange, near Rocky Mountain House or Drayton Valley. Either way it had a nice fence.

See if you can figure out which is which, and put the company (and maybe rig number) in the comments under each picture.

Several of these pictures have found there way onto walls in the form of large canvases. Two are in Western Star Inns & Suites lobbies and one is in the mayor of Estevan’s office. If one of them catches your eye for a print, let me know via personal message or email brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little project. I hope do do it again next year, but a little earlier, before the printing lab deadline.

If you haven’t had a chance to see all the 12 Rigs of Christmas, you can see them on the Brian Zinchuk Publishing Facebook page or my website at www.zinchuk.ca.

Merry Christmas to all the riggers, and to all the company men, a good night.


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12 Rigs of Christmas: Day 8: Stampede Drilling Rig 1

11 12 2014

Yesterday I posted Betts Drilling Rig 2, which was photographed on a beautiful summer day. Well, today’s rig was also taken on a sunny day, but it sure wasn’t summer. The Day 8 rig of the 12 Rigs of Christmas was photographed in the coldest conditions I have ever worked in. I didn’t even know if the cameras would work after a few minutes, but they did. It was something like -37 C with a -52 C wind chill. Thank God for hoarding around the drill floor! I felt really sorry for the roughnecks.

Did I mention there was a rig move involved too? In this God-forsaken cold weather? This was right around the time that Kory Sheets was working for Fast Trucking, although I didn’t see him on this move. I saw him on TV a few days later moving what looked like a CanElson or Betts rig. It was orange anyway.

Photos of Stampede 1 in all its frozen glory can be found here.

My other drilling rigs can be found here.

The photo lab suggested that all orders to Canada should be in by Dec. 8, or Monday. So if you would like a print of one of these pictures, please contact me directly at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net. With a giant Epson 9900 printer the size of a love seat and weighing 340 lbs., I have the ability to do paper prints up to 16×20 ($75, need to be framed) or 16×32 here in Estevan, or canvas prints from 18×24 ($240), 24×36 ($500) to 36×96 ($1900). Canvas prints cost about $80 per square foot. Canvas prints especially take a fair bit of work, so you need to order early.

I also may be able to order other sizes of prints from my Canadian lab, but those would need to be ordered quickly.

Merry Christmas!


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12 Rigs of Christmas: Day 2: Stampede Drilling Rig 2

7 12 2014

Got a rig hand or someone else who works in the patch on your Christmas list and you have no clue what to buy them?

How about a gorgeous wall print of their favorite rig? Over the past several years, I have photographed most of the locally owned rigs in southeast Saskatchewan, including rigs from Betts Drilling, Red Dog Drilling, Panther Drilling, Stampede Drilling and Vortex Drilling. There’s even an occasional Savannah, CanElson and Precision, too!

Thus I am presenting the 12 rigs of Christmas. Next up: Stampede Drilling Rig 2, which was photographed near North Portal and Bienfait. To order find a picture just right for you, click here.

These pictures are very special, in that they are the closest you will likely ever see a dragline and a drilling rig working together just before spring breakup of 2014. They were directly across the road from each other. Knowing a person may never see that happen again in their lifetime, I went out two evenings and one morning and took 1400 pictures to get these shots. My fingers were pretty frozen as a result, but they truly do encapsulate Estevan as the Energy City.

You don’t have to wait for your particular rig to come up on the 12 days. They can all be found here.

You can order any size, from tiny up to 40×60 inches, so there’s something for every budget.

Until Dec. 9, there is a 15% coupon on all Stampede Drilling prints. This includes Rig 1, 2. Sorry, Rig 3 isn’t complete yet. Enter coupon code: Stampede

You can indeed order prints off my website, perfect for delivery for Christmas. Just click on the green “Buy Photos” They can be printed as gallery wrap canvases, metal prints, or even on coffee cups. The turnaround for almost all these orders in 1-3 business days. Allow for shipping from California, where the lab is located, so I wouldn’t wait to order after Dec. 16 or so, otherwise you’re taking your chances.

Merry Christmas!


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