Equipment operator and freelance photographer Corey Ziems has gained a strong social media following thanks to his incredible shots of earthmoving machinery
If you haven’t heard of him already, it is inevitable that Corey Ziems’ name will eventually pop up in your social media feed. Combining his passion for photography with his work as a machinery operator, he continues to make waves in the earthmoving industry through his Instagram and Tik Tok accounts.
Ziems is well-known for capturing beautiful imagery of machines on-site, and his social media followers are loving it. He’s also a keen car enthusiast, so Ziems’ page provides something for everyone, with clips ranging from tough cars and machines in action to his general shenanigans.
Having recently celebrated the milestone of 10,000 followers on Instagram, Ziems decided to give back to his followers and the earthmoving community by running a competition that offered people the chance to win prizes from 11 industry-related brands – including WesTrac Cat.
Earthmovers & Excavators caught up with Ziems to find out where the passion all started and how he reached this impressive milestone.
Capturing the thrill
Racing was always a big part of Ziems’ childhood, whether it was mountain bikes or motorbikes, and it often involved many broken bones.
When he did find himself injured and on the sidelines, Ziems would use his father’s DSLR camera to take photos of the other riders.
It was at this point in his life that he believes he developed his passion for capturing images, and as he got older, mountain bikes and motorbikes transitioned into taking photos of cars and earthmoving machinery.
Operating earthmoving machinery wasn’t always in the picture though, as Ziems started his first six years of work life as a roofer. After finding that he wasn’t enjoying it and suffering an injury that put him out of work for four months, Ziems decided to try something new – getting into the driving seat of a digger.
“I started at a small family company in Wollongong, where I was completely inexperienced,” he says.
“For three years I learnt the ropes on machines ranging from excavators, dozers and scrapers to posi tracks, rollers and water trucks.
“I learnt pretty much everything that I know to this day.”
Passion project
Now five years into his machine operator life, Ziems is currently working for Sydney-based DJW Civil, having spent the last couple of years in a Cat D8T dozer and, more recently, a D6.
Loving his work operating machinery, Ziems has documented his days on-site and the machinery used through the lenses of his camera and phone.
“With the quality of phones these days, it’s so easy to pull it out of your pocket and snap a shot,” he says.
“I’ve always looked up to professional photographers and their level of work, so when I started taking photos of machines, I always tried to get the right angle or lighting – that’s when my images started to get traction online.”
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From there on, Ziems has been posting as much earthmoving content as possible on his online pages, and trying to perfect his art.
Seeing it as a hobby, his passion for taking photos goes hand in hand with his love for his job.
Ziems explains that he started taking photos and videos of earthmoving machinery because it made sense to blend his two interests together and showcase them.
“I feel I’m lucky in a sense with being able to capture the machines at work, unlike some of my friends working in the mines, who have strict rules when it comes to photos and phones,” he says.
“I like to use this as an advantage to showcase my work, because 90 per cent of people that comment on my posts have probably never seen what these machines actually do.
“They’ll see them parked on a job site, but they’ll never see them working, so I think people appreciate being able to see what I do on the jobsite.”
Love of the job
Ziems is so happy with his job as a dozer operator, that he doesn’t even see it as work.
Living by the old saying – if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life – Ziems comes to site every day with a good attitude. This is key, he says – knowing that positive results will follow and ultimately lead to greater job satisfaction.
“One of the things I love is being able to see a site transform from start to finish; to stand back and have a sense of pride from what you’ve achieved,” he says.
People often ask him if the work is boring, when in fact Ziems sees it as quite the opposite, with every day being a new adventure for him.
He says this is because there is a diverse range of work that can be done in the dozer, which keeps him on his toes.
“I’m always jumping around doing different jobs and different tasks, so I always find that I’m doing something new,” Ziems says.
“I’ve got a big passion for the industry too – as a kid, I loved diggers, dump trucks and anything dirt. I’d say I’m pretty much living the dream now.”
Further emphasising his passion for earthmoving machinery, Ziems treats DJW Civil’s machines as if they were his own.
This may be attributed to his love for cars, as he knows how important it is to take care of beloved possessions – for him, earthmoving machines are no different.
“Respect goes a long way when it comes to the machines,” Ziems says.
“My dozer is so clean you could eat off the floor in it. I wish it was mine.”
Giving back
After reaching the milestone of 10,000 followers on Instagram, Ziems’ giveaway competition attracted the attention of some big industry players.
Certified Cat dealer WesTrac jumped on board and supported the competition by offering a voucher to spend at its merch shop.
For Ziems, this was completely unexpected and a massive deal.
“As a kid, you see companies like Cat and its Aussie dealers, and you want their machines and to be involved somehow,” he says.
“To be at the stage where WesTrac is reposting my content, supporting and collaborating with me – it’s crazy. It’s a testament to our relationship and the bond that we have.”
Since the rapid growth of Ziems’ social media pages, his goal has always been to run a giveaway, so he could give back to everyone who is supporting his journey.
Without the support of his followers, Ziems says he would have never had the motivation to keep creating content.
Every follow, comment and message all add up for him, and with all these people taking the time out of the day to interact with his content, Ziems says it was important to show some love back.
“I never thought I’d have the following that I have now,” he says.
“I get all these people commenting and messaging me saying that my photos and videos are amazing, and I’m just left speechless half the time. I didn’t think people would appreciate and want to see that kind of stuff.”
Although many of his followers aren’t from the earthmoving industry, Ziems has a strong support network from other operators, who find themselves glued to their screen.
This all comes down to appreciation, Ziems says.
“Probably only 10 per cent of my followers are operators, but they’ll never scroll past quality machinery content,” he says.
Since entering the earthmoving industry just over five years ago, Ziems hasn’t looked back and has been left overwhelmed with the support.
From being a completely inexperienced operator to a well-known industry figure, he describes it as a roller coaster journey.
“To me I’m just a kid that drives a dozer and takes photos,” Ziems says.
“To see the reach that my content has had and getting these big industry-related companies on board, it just leaves me speechless.”
If you love all things machines and cars, follow Corey Ziems on Instagram: @coreyziems28 or on TikTok: @corey.ziems