Under Construction Photography

19/06/2026

📍 Burbank Ranch Studios, California

Ironworkers of Local 416 doing what they do best.

Most people will never see this side of construction. Suspended from harnesses, tied off, and working high above the ground, these men and women build the backbone of the structures we all depend on.

Every piece of rebar placed today helps create the foundation for something bigger tomorrow.

Respect the craft. Respect the skill. Respect the people who build America.

18/06/2026

16/06/2026

Santa Monica College
🔭🧪Science Center 🥼🧬

09/06/2026

TREEING IRON 🌲🏗️

Most people see a building.

Ironworkers see the process.

This is called treeing iron; hooking multiple pieces of steel beneath the crane hook so they can be flown to the raising gang and connected into place. On the ground, the hook-on gang builds the tree.
The tagline control the load.
The crane operator flies it.
The connectors receive it in the air.

Every lift takes communication, timing, and trust between the crew on the ground and the crew above. It’s one of those parts of steel er****on the public rarely sees, but it’s happening all day long on jobsites across California.

Iron doesn’t magically appear in the air.
Somebody has to build the tree first.

09/06/2026

“Hit it with your purse!”

If you’ve spent any time around ironworkers, you’ve probably heard that one before.

Started this clip tight on a bolt gang ironworker driving a pin. The harder he swings, the more likely somebody nearby is yelling unsolicited advice from across the iron. Then the camera pulls back and suddenly you realize the scale of the structure he’s standing in. The second half takes you up to the welding deck a platform built specifically for the welding operation. Leads everywhere, equipment everywhere, organized chaos everywhere.

Just another day in structural steel.

05/06/2026

Every piece starts with a gang

Before the connectors grab it, before the bolts go in, before another floor rises into the skyline, there’s a raising gang working in sync, ground guys hooking on, operators making the pick, and ironworkers guiding Iron into place.

Different jobs. Different crews. Same trade.

This is how the skeleton of America gets built.

04/06/2026

Phase One. The Foundation of What’s to Come.

Before the arena began rising over the Malibu hills, Ironworkers were already hard at work placing and tying the rebar that would become the backbone of Pepperdine University’s new parking structure. Most people see the finished building. Few see the craftsmanship, planning, and thousands of hours of labor that happen long before concrete is poured. These clips take us back to the early days of construction, when the first phase of the project was taking shape one bar, one tie, and one lift at a time.

The future arena may grab the headlines, but it all started here.

📍 Pepperdine University – Malibu, California
🏗️ Phase 1 Parking Structure
📸 Under Construction Photography

03/06/2026

Work is taking me back to New York this July. 📸🗽

One of the things I love most about construction photography is that it gives me the opportunity to tell the stories of the people who build America while taking me to places I never imagined I’d get to see. This July, I’ll be heading to New York for a week-long assignment, camera in hand and ready to document another chapter of this incredible industry.

From ironworkers and operators to laborers, carpenters, and every trade in between, it’s always an honor to capture the skill, grit, and pride that go into building our nation’s skylines and infrastructure.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support my work and trusts me to tell these stories.

New York, I’ll see you soon. 📸✈️🗽

— Tara Garner
Under Construction Photography

02/06/2026

A little teamwork goes a long way.

Ground guys hook the piece, gives it a spin, and sends it skyward. Seconds later, the connector is waiting on the iron, ready to put it in its final place.

Malibu High School rising one piece at a time.