PROVO — It took several years for Chris Dunker to get permission to photograph the demolition of the Geneva Steel plant in Vineyard.

But he persisted in his quest, making telephone calls and sending e-mails to company officials until they tired of him and gave permission if, in return, he would take portraits of company executives.

"I knew it had to be documented, or it would be lost," Dunker said, "so I just kept after them."

Once he had the green light, he began a vigil that brought him from Logan, where he has a studio, to Vineyard several times a month for the next three years. He watched equipment taken apart, huge piles of scrap hauled away and whole buildings dismantled.

He captured images on film that would live forever — images that represented 57 years of steelmaking and the blood, sweat and tears of generations.

Dunker received a bachelor's degree in photography from California Polytechnic State University and a master's of fine arts in photography from Utah State University. He was an assistant professor of photography at USU from 1998 to 2002.

"I grew up on a Navy base in California near China Lake," he said, referring to the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. "The desert there was punctuated with industrial complexes that afforded interesting visual images," Dunker said.

"Also, my dad was a serious amateur photographer. He loved to photograph these modern ruins, so there's a family interest there."

The 39-year-old photographer is also documenting changes in Cache County and Park City.

Dunker said the project was immensely interesting as the landscape changed from week to week.

"As buildings were removed, it opened up new views," he said. He also appropriated the use of what is called "rephotographic surveying," which is to photograph a scene years later from the same place.

Dunker has more than 1,000 images, all photographed on large-format sheet film.

He invested his own money in the project and doesn't like to think about how much he spent on film, time and gas.

"That's a scary figure for me to think about," he said.

He's not really expecting a financial return on his investment.

"The return will be in its integration into history," he said.

His Geneva work will be exhibited at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art beginning at the end of the week. He's pleased to be able to put his work on public display and realizes that for him, the accompanying publicity and interest in his photographs can boost his freelance career.

He's also satisfied with the overall result of his effort.

"Every day was like that, a 'Wow!' day," he said.