This was one of the most interesting shoots I've gotten to do. Also it was one of the most difficult with all the safety gear you are required to wear for a descent into a coal mine including emergency breathing apparatus and methane monitor, never mind the battery pack for your head lamp! There are not lights in the coal mine except for on your head, a few vehicles, A few special use niches and this longwall mining machine. This coal mine is using the one of the longest fully automated longwall systems in the world.
No I wasn't scared other than worrying about being in the way of what the miners needed to do but my guide was super knowledgable (he set up the system) and made sure all was just peachy. Did have to sit through an hour long video on what I was allowed to touch and not touch amongst other safety issues for a visitor. A special permit was necessary for taking pics.
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Place: 424 out of 684 Avg (all users): 5.4089 Avg (commenters): 5.8125 Avg (participants): 5.3418 Avg (non-participants): 5.6667 Views since voting: 2222 Views during voting: 338 Votes: 247 Comments: 18 Favorites: 1 (view)
Great shot Cristy, I only got to vote on about 54% of this challenge and didnt get to this one. The leading lines are great and the miner being small in the distance gives it a great sense of how long those tunnels are. I worked for a mining house in South Afica for 5 years (2 gold mines, one diamond, chrome and platinum) but never had the urge to go down one of them. What a great experience and a great picture under difficult conditions for people who would never get the opportunity themselves.
This is a lot different from the old copper mine I went to see a couple of weeks ago (it started in 1610 and closed operations in 1973). For a start, there's so much headroom!
This seems like a really good idea and an interesting topic, but there's a lot going on here, so it's kind of hard to know what I should be looking at. The lines lead to a miner, but he kind of blends in with his surroundings, which becomes a bit confusing.
I think this would have benefitted from a high aperature to get as much clarity throughout as possible. It's difficult to tell what, if anything, is supposed to be the subject since the foreground objects are soft and the figures in the distance as so small.
What a great view of something most of us will never see in person, in fact this is the first time I have seen a photo like this. Its a very interesting shot, that gives the viewer something to study. I really love the originality of your entry and wish you luck, my vote is a positive 10..
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