Lansing — Known for its mitten shape, freshwater lakes and two battling Big Ten universities, photojournalist Colin Finlay believes one of Michigan's most defining features is its status as the nation's automotive capital.
Focusing the photo shoot on the local auto industry, Finlay, a renowned photographer, led a group of Lansing Community College photography students through a General Motors Corp. assembly plant in Lansing on Wednesday.
"This project really comes down to storytelling and the students sharing what is unique about their communities," Finlay said.
Finlay's shoot with the Lansing students is the first stop in a nearly three-month long campaign to work with students across the country and promote a new Adobe software program.
In each city, Finlay and local students document an important local feature and use the Adobe software to catalog their photos.
Lansing students were given access to the GM Lansing Delta Township assembly plant to photograph machinery and workers.
Danielle Coale, an LCC student pursuing an associate's degree in photography, said to have Finlay speak and help with his photos was a great opportunity.
"I feel very lucky to be in the program right now," she said. "There's a lot more than you think when you're starting out.
"(It pushes) me harder to do things."
In his 17-year photography career, Finlay has traveled across the world documenting conflict, genocide, famine, environmental issues, religious practices and cultures.
His work also includes television documentaries and ad campaigns.
About 2,200 employees work at the GM plant, which opened last year, and there are plans to increase the work force to 3,000.
Hailed as an environmentally friendly industrial center, the GM plant will produce the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave crossover vehicles later this year, the plant's spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said.
Although they won't construct vehicles for consumers until the end of the year, workers are assembling cars for company testing purposes, Carpenter said.
The preproduction allows workers to practice assembling the cars to ensure each part fits with others, she added.
The plant usually has a no-camera policy, and several assembly-line workers on Wednesday morning asked the community college students about their gear as the group walked through the plant, Carpenter said.
John Allen, a team leader on the plant's assembly line, said he has seen tour groups from all over the world come through the plant.
"All eyes are on us," he said. "We have the technology now to build a world-class car."
