Offshore workers portraits.

Offshore Workers Portraits

These portraits were taken on a North Sea asset during an offshore wind operation. Shot in the working environment, they focus on the people behind the project rather than the infrastructure around them.

Offshore portraiture is a different discipline to studio or event work. The subjects are working professionals in a demanding environment, and the images need to reflect that — direct, unposed where possible, and honest about the conditions. There's little room for elaborate setups on a vessel or platform deck, which tends to produce portraits that feel more genuine for it.

The offshore wind industry employs thousands of people in specialist roles — technicians, rope access workers, supervisors, marine crew, and support staff — many of whom spend weeks at a time on rotation. These images are a small record of that working life, shot as part of a wider documentation of North Sea operations.

For more work from offshore wind projects, visit the Wind Industry gallery.

How Tall Are Offshore Wind Turbines? — Technical Info & UK Offshore Examples

UK offshore wind turbine up close; tower height, blade rotation, scale against sea.

Offshore wind turbines are massive — but how massive? On UK wind farms, turbines can reach up to 204 m to the blade tip, with blade diameters around 164 m. These numbers aren’t just statistics — they shape visual scale, installation requirements, and how turbines integrate into sea and sky.

The turbine in the video above comes from a UK offshore wind farm. At full height of 204 m, the blade tip sweeps an arc almost twice that of many older onshore turbines. For comparison, many onshore turbines are 80-120 m in tip height. That scale affects logistics — transport, foundation design, sea access — and affects what the turbine looks like from shore or sea.

Seeing one in place, through video, gives a real impression of height and movement. The blade diameter of 164 m means each blade is longer than many football fields are wide, and the swept area covers hectares. Height also changes how shadows, wind, and light interact with the structure — tall towers catch more wind, reflect more sky, and tower over waves.

Technical specs like this help understanding what wind turbines are and what they do. For more photographs of UK wind farms, structure and scale, see my Wind Industry and Places galleries.

Wind farm substation

The Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm is one of the largest in the Netherlands, located in the southern North Sea off the Dutch coast. The offshore substation at its heart collects the electrical output from the surrounding turbine array and transmits it back to shore via subsea cable — a critical piece of infrastructure in any large-scale offshore wind project.

These photographs show the substation from several angles and distances — the platform structure, deck equipment, and its relationship to the turbines and sea around it. Low sun and clear conditions on this rotation made for good contrast across the steelwork and gave the images a cleaner quality than overcast offshore days typically allow.

The project is operated by Vattenfall and connected to the Dutch grid via TenneT, the Dutch and German transmission system operator. It is one of several major offshore wind farms that have shaped the southern North Sea energy landscape in recent years.

For more photography from offshore substations and wind farm operations, visit the Wind Industry gallery.

Helicopter flight.

Morning,

Here are some images taken on my phone, capturing the transit of personnel from a jack up platform. We were flying in and out of Den Helder in the north of the Netherlands.

Scaffolder's shadow.

Good morning,

Today I wanted to share a couple of images from where I was working at height on a telecoms tower. I liked the shadows created of a couple of scaffolders walking by, unaware.

I would love to see your shadow photography,

leave a comment on instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks,

Lee

Fog creeping in.

Hello, here are some images of the fog slowly creeping in, over the windfarm.

The fog approaches like a soft whisper, gradually swallowing the horizon. The wind turbines, once clear and imposing, begin to fade into the mist, their outlines becoming ghostly silhouettes

The Edda Brint, SOV (service operations vessel) adjacent to our substation.

Housing 60 persons, the 60 PAX will be made up with the ships crew and technicians who are servicing the turbines.

The Wind Cat CTV (crew transfer vessel) This vessel is our daily transport to and from shore.

As the fog thickens, the turbines seem to float in mid-air, their blades slicing through the mist with a gentle, rhythmic motion. This ethereal scene creates a stark contrast between the solid structures and the ephemeral fog.

Have you captured the beauty of fog in your photography? Share your images and comments over on Instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks

Lee

Substation in the sun.

Hello,

Today I’d like to share a couple of images of an OSP (offshore substation platform)

I always enjoy, how I can take many photos of the same subject, and with the differing skies and ever-changing weather can change the image.

Which one do you prefer?

Leave a comment over on instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks

Lee

Adventure training... or work?

Good morning,

Here are some images of guy conducting specialist rope access, to inspect and repair the coating to an offshore sub station in the North Sea.

Would you enjoy this type of work? Love to hear your thoughts over on Instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks,

Lee

A ship with legs.

Good morning.

Images of the Wind Orca with a walk to work bridge.

The Wind Orca vessel provides a safe, efficient, and reliable solution for the installation, maintenance, and decommissioning of wind farm projects. Their advanced specifications set the industry benchmark for vessel transit speed, lifting capability, DP station keeping and jacking speed, offering a significantly improved operating weather window. They are fitted with high-quality equipment, supported by advanced preventative maintenance systems, and incorporate a significant level of operating redundancy. Safety is enhanced through a 6-leg design that allows them to operate even on sites with the most challenging seabed conditions.

Let me know what you think of these recent posts I love to hear from you on Instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks

Lee

Derrick

A derrick is a structure over an oil well which supports the drilling equipment and allows it to be lifted into and out of the wellbore.

The term derrick originates from Thomas Derrick, an English executioner c. 1608.

In English history, the executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased knowing who the executioner was and where to find him. Executioners were sometimes coerced into the role. Derrick in particular had been convicted of rape but was pardoned by the Earl of Essex (clearing him of the death penalty) on the condition that he became an executioner at Tyburn.

Derrick executed more than 3,000 people in his career, including his pardoner, the Earl of Essex, in 1601. Derrick devised a beam with a topping lift and pulleys for his hangings, instead of the old-fashioned rope over the beam method.

The word derrick became an eponym for the frame from which the hangman's noose was supported and through that usage (by analogy) to modern-day cranes.

Offshore Vessels.

Happy Monday.

A couple of images from an offshore work site.

CTV

Head for heights.

Hello,

How are you? Have you had a good week?

Today id like to share some images of a job on Blackpool Tower.

The above image on the left is obviously not one of mine, but wanted to show how things have changed, and thank god that they have.

The guys in the past had little or no working at height protection.

These days we use advanced techniques such as rope access, to access these hard to reach places safely.

I hope that you have a good weekend.

Lee

Accommodation vessel.

Hello,

Hope that you are well.

Today id like to share 3 more images of the Safe Boreas Flotel in the North Sea.

I asked the question to see if anyone could work out what camera these recent offshore oil and gas images were taken with..

All recent offshore images were taken with my iPhoneX.

The advancements of these cameras is phenomenal.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter and would love to see what images you have achieved with your phones.

Lee

Platform construction

Hello,

How are you? Have you had a good week?

Today id like to share some images of a North Sea oil and gas platform module.

This module was constructed in Aberdeen but a consortium of companies.

These images were taken are on the day that construction was completed and they were being shipped out to the platform.

Leaving the yard to head to vessel.

Two more parts of the puzzle.

From wagon to shipping vessel.

I hope that you found these interesting,

I was lucky to have followed the construction from design all the way through to execution.

Lee

Accommodation at sea

Hello,

Id like to share a couple of images of the accommodation vessel the Safe Boreas attached to the side of the Mariner A platform.

Again as previously talked about, all about the timing. There is around 2 hours difference between these two images.

Have a good weekend.

Lee

Prosafe - Safe Boreas

Hello,

I want to share some images taken of an accommodation vessel..

The Safe Boreas is the most advanced and efficient harsh environment accommodation vessel in the world, constructed to comply with Norwegian regulations.

The vessel has the capacity to accommodate 450 persons in single man cabins.

The layout of the unit is unique, with two large internal atriums allowing natural daylight into cabins, mess room and recreational areas.

The vessel is named after Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind and the bringer of cold winter air.

The name reflects that the vessel is designed for operating in the Norwegian and UK North Sea, a geographical area renown for its cold climate and harsh winters.

BP Glen Lyon

Saipem S7000

The Saipem S7000 arrives. 

With its state-of-the-art J-lay tower, upgraded dynamic positioning capability and fast ballasting system, the Saipem 7000 semisubmersible crane vessel has the capacity to handle the entire workscope of offshore construction developments worldwide, encompassing pipelaying in water depths greater than 2,000 metres and heavy lift operations up to 14,000 tonnes.

The vessel’s Class 3 DP system of 12 thrusters ensures that the vessel maintains good station keeping in the most difficult of weather conditions. Additionally, because the Saipem 7000 has accommodation facilities up to 725 people, the vessel can assist hook-up and commissioning as well as initial platform life support activities.

Altogether, this high specification means that the Saipem 7000 can be counted on to provide the highest level of reliability for conventional, deep and ultradeep water development projects.

VESSEL FEATURES

Length overall 197.95 m

Upper platform 175 m x 87 m x 8.5 m

Lower pontoons 165 m x 33 m x 11.25/15.25 m

Depth to main deck 43.5 m

Free deck area 9,000 sq.m

Deck load 15,000 tonnes

Operating draft 27.5 m

Survival draft 18.5 m

Transit draft 10.5 m

Transit speed 9.5 knots

The last flight to the BP Miller.

Today I want to show you the last ever flight to the BP Miller oil and gas platform. 

Also give you an insight in what happens during a routine Helicopter crew change. 

The H.L.O gives permission for a flight to land on the deck. 

Offshore worker, happy to be returning to work. 

Arriving offshore workers in their survival suits picking up their luggage and leave the helideck. 

Bristows Helicopter pilot. 

Helideck team get ready the refuelling hose. 

A Bristows, Sikorsky S92 Helicopter being refuelled on the oil and gas platform. 

Departing offshore worker. 

Button her up, time to leave. 

As this was the last flight, the pilot was happy to conduct a fly by :)