Black and white photographs of tools in a blacksmith shop

Portraits of simple tools, made and used by the hands of skilled craftsmen

There's something viscerally satisfying about simples tools made for use by hand. These tools made of steel and wood—many made by the smith himself—may be ingeniously simple, but they are used with timeless skill.

My grandfather had a dark, earthy-smelling basement full of rusty tools and all kinds of fascinating treasures for a young boy to explore. In my memory, the entire basement was lined with rough wooden workbenches, every surface covered in tools, car parts, and all kinds of interesting objects. Since we kids were rarely allowed to go into the basement, it seemed like a rare treat to go inside. I remember asking my grandfather the same question over and over, “what’s this?”

I recently had open access to photograph the inside of an old-fashioned blacksmith shop. My personal favorite image of the set is the row of hammers, which hang side-by-side, creating a visual repetition symbolic of the repeated hammering motions required to pound out metal objects. Blacksmith shops made all types of iron objects, including horseshoes, tools, gates and hinges, railings, farm implements, and utensils.  

High quality wall art prints of blacksmith tools 

Learn more about the types of prints I sell here: About the prints.

Row of Hammers in a Blacksmith Shop: black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Click to buy a fine art print.

Fine Art Photograph of an Anvil in a Blacksmith Shop. Buy a fine art print here.

Rusty Tools in a Blacksmith Shop: black and white photograph by Keith Dotson. Buy a print.

Black and White Photograph of Blacksmith Tools by Keith Dotson. Click here to buy a print.