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  • What would have been rather gloomy interiors of this old diamond mining town, the most beautiful shards of light from broken rooftops pierced the darkness and patterned the coloured walls. Wind howled at the windows and doors but there was relative calm within the sand-filled dilapidated rooms. It was slightly freaky imagining the conditions for the native workers at the height of the diamond boom there.
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  • Storm waves crash onto the imposing, rugged once tin mining cliffs at Pendeen, West Penwith, Cornwall. The last mine closed years ago, but numerous engine houses and chimneys mark the site of this once booming Cornish industry providing high grade tin.
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  • Ruins of tin mine workings in the Godolphin area of South West Cornwall. Mine shafts sink 1000ft into the depths of the earth just next to here. Looking at the beauty of nature quietly reclaiming this once massively busy mining locality it's hard to imagine just how different the place would have seemed back then, noise, commotion, danger, dusty, dirty landscapes and the increasing destruction of natural landscape in our quest for ore & minerals. I've always been fascinated by the forgotten world of dark shafts & tunnels lying beneath our feet in regions like this.
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  • Ding Dong Mine is a renowned Cornish mine thought to be the oldest in Cornwall. The last underground shift was on 7th July 1877. There was a massive decline in the demand for Cornish tin after the start of imports of cheap tin from Australia and the Malay Straits. In the three years before Ding Dong’s closure the number of mines in the Cornwall fell from 230 to 98. At its peak, Ding Dong provided a living for over 500 people but by November 1877 it was down to 64 and in January 1878 remaining workers were paid off & the mine closed.
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  • Honourable Mention in the 13th Black & White Spider Awards 2018<br />
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This is a deserted mining town in Western Namibia. In 1909 diamonds were found here and an industrial hamlet developed. Since then however diamonds are mostly found elsewhere and so this place went into decline. The small industrial complex is forever fighting to remain above the gale-blown desert sands but it’s still an incredible place to visit, as so little has changed at all since the early twentieth century. It’s quite eerie standing inside the large derelict buildings, the wind literally howling through the broken windows and doors, sand-dunes visibly creating within the broken interiors as you watch
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  • Nominated image in the 13th Black & White Spider Awards 2018<br />
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This is the deserted mining town of Kolmonskop in Western Namibia. In 1909 diamonds were found here and this industrial hamlet developed. The nearby harbour town of Lüderitz nearby also gained rapid prosperity.<br />
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Since then however diamonds are mostly found elsewhere and so these towns went into decline. This small industrial complex is forever fighting to remain above the gale-blown desert sands but this and Lüderitz are still incredible places to visit as so little has changed at all since the early twentieth century.<br />
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It’s quite eerie standing inside the large derelict buildings, the winds literally howling through the broken windows and doors and dunes almost visibly being created in front of your eyes.
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  • Nominated in 2022 International Colour Awards<br />
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Wonderful colours in this old & dilapidated diamond-mine building. The hole in the floor was a most surreal illusion.
    GD002290.jpg
  • My shadow is included to give some sense of scale to this huge area of industrially scarred landscape. This area has been mined for 4000 years, not 400 but 4000 years! It was once Britain's largest exporter for the precious metal Copper and was known as the copper kingdom. Hundreds of tall ships used nearby Amlwch Harbour to export the material. Now it is unused, though the quality of this ore is outstanding.
    GD000048.jpg
  • This is a huge area of industrially scarred landscape. This area has been mined for 4000 years, not 400 but 4000 years! It was once Britain's largest exporter for the precious metal Copper and was known as the copper kingdom. Hundreds of tall ships used nearby Amlwch Harbour to export the material. Now it is unused, though the quality of this ore is outstanding.
    GD000673.jpg
  • Traditional fields, white-washed roofs of Anglesey cottages, the ancient mine at Mynydd Parys in the middle distance and in the far distance, the high peaks of Tryfan and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon).  Shot from above the brick works at Porth Wen,
    GD001300.jpg
  • Our ancestors were collecting copper here 4000 years ago and below the surface there are huge caverns and miles of passageways hewn away by men with pick axes. The quarry saw it's most prolific excavation in the eighteenth century when the export of copper made this area very rich, The nearby port of Amlwch Harbour flourished as world demand for this fine grade copper increased. It was why the area became known as the Copper Kingdom.
    GD001183.jpg
  • Above one of the poorest areas in Cornwall, once a tin-mining heartland, stands a memorial to one of Cornwall's super rich - Francis Basset, 1st Baron de Dunstanville, a prominant politician who made his fortune in tin-mining but seemed mostly against any politcial reform as it would have have eroded his power & wealth in Cornwall. He was the fourth richest landowner in Cornwall. He never had an heir and his Barony is therefore extinct. The superb granite tors atop this hill, eroded over eons, preceeded humanity and will succeed humanity, thankfully.
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  • Trawsfynydd Power Station from the vast slate quarries of Blaenau ffestiniog.  <br />
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Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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  • Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station from the vast quarries of Blaenau Ffestiniog, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001212.jpg
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  • Our ancestors were collecting copper here 4000 years ago and below the surface there are huge caverns and miles of passageways hewn away by men with pick axes. The quarry saw it's most prolific excavation in the eighteenth century when the export of copper made this area very rich, The nearby port of Amlwch Harbour flourished as world demand for this fine grade copper increased. It was why the area became known as the Copper Kingdom.
    GD001181.jpg
  • It's hard to believe that our ancestors were collecting copper from here 4000 years ago, Beneath our feet there are huge caverns and miles of passageways hewn away by men and pick axes. The quarry saw it's most prolific excavation in the eighteenth century when the export of copper made this area very rich, The nearby port of Amlwch Harbour flourished as world demand for this fine grade copper increased. It was why the area became known as the Copper Kingdom.
    GD001180.jpg
  • It's hard to believe that our ancestors were collecting copper from here 4000 years ago, Beneath our feet there are huge caverns and miles of passageways hewn away by men and pick axes. The quarry saw it's most prolific excavation in the eighteenth century when the export of copper made this area very rich, The nearby port of Amlwch Harbour flourished as world demand for this fine grade copper increased. It was why the area became known as the Copper Kingdom.
    GD001182.jpg
  • The most incredible aerial erosion of granite over eons, forming huge molars of hard rock on the cliff & hill tops of Cornwall. They look so man made, gigantic Hepworth or Moore sculptures, but are completely naturally formed. the granite tors were 'bubbles' of lava that popped up through weaknesses in the earth's crust, and form many of the Cornish hilltops.
    GD002649.jpg
  • It was a surreal surprise to find a ram’s skull staring at us from the apex of a derelict tin mining power house. This area is littered with the remains of an historical tin mining industry; exploration shafts now just lush grass-covered conical depressions in the wet moorland. Once a noisy hive of activity and ore crushing, but now just the sounds of the wind through gaps in the walls. Likewise the bleating of sheep still echo across the open landscape, but this poor soul has long past, the bone bleached and dripping with hill fog. It’s strange but there is such peace now on the moors and even the saturating low cloud creates a sense of calm not panic, silence not noise. I felt a deep connection with history and the spirit of the place. Dartmoor is minimal and mesmerising.
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  • The huge open desert becomes a blank canvas for Daliesque surrealism when incongrous objects suddenly appear out of nowhere. There was noyhing behind me and nothing beyond except for distant hills. <br />
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To come across this derelict house, alongside a railway that stretches as far as the eye can see and on which we never saw a train, really did make us question ‘why’ and ‘who would have lived there’. Genuinely surreal and a taste of things to come in the deserted mining town miles ahead.
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  • I’ve wanted to go to this vast, deserted coastline since I was a child. In my late teens I saw a picture in National Geographic of a lion prowling along a sandy beach, with a shipwreck in the background and it just stuck within me, always vivid. <br />
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Of course those moments caught on film, are often rare and once in a lifetime, so it was perhaps no surprise that on my first visit to the incredible and weather-dramatic Skeleton Coast in January, I didn’t see my lion! However, the sheer scale of the coastline, the dense fogs that roll in from above the cold upwellings in the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes reducing visibility to a few feet, was awe-inspiring. Couple this with the numerous shipwrecks that strew this coastline and it really is surreal as well as exciting. Several of the major wrecks are within restricted diamond mining zones but a few are accessible to the visitor, such as this one here. I had to go early morning as crowds normal build up later in the day. <br />
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This ship has become a permanent roost for hundreds of cormorants and seabirds.
    GD002265.jpg
  • I’ve wanted to go to this vast, deserted coastline since I was a child. In my late teens I saw a picture in National Geographic of a lion prowling along a sandy beach, with a shipwreck in the background and it just stuck within me, always vivid.<br />
<br />
Of course those moments caught on film, are often rare and once in a lifetime, so it was perhaps no surprise that on my first visit to the incredible and weather-dramatic Skeleton Coast in January, I didn’t see my lion! However, the sheer scale of the coastline, the dense fogs that roll in from above the cold upwellings in the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes reducing visibility to a few feet, was awe-inspiring. Couple this with the numerous shipwrecks that strew this coastline and it really is surreal as well as exciting. Several of the major wrecks are within restricted diamond mining zones but a few are accessible to the visitor, such as this one here. I had to go early morning as crowds normal build up later in the day.<br />
This ship has become a permanent roost for hundreds of cormorants and seabirds.
    GD002266.jpg
  • In the early 19th Century, the capstone was rotated, and the uprights altered to support it. In the process the quoit was lowered considerably. It was said that originally a horse and rider could pass comfortably beneath it. It may originally have been as long as 60 feet in length and is estimated to have been erected in 2500 BC.  In the background stands the famous Ding Ding Mine, where Cornish miners toiled hard to extract tin for world export. It's ironic that whilst we were pulling out precious metals we were simultaneously sinking ancient monuments !
    GD000508.jpg
  • Having done a picture delivery in Northern Anglesey, I was on my way back down the A55 when I decided to turn for the coast, just to get some fresh air. I found myself on the Rhosneigr road and my heart was light. Mine was the only vehicle in the sand-dune car park and pools of rainwater transformed the normally gritty rutted surface into rather beautiful patches of bright sky.The wind was bitter, still blowing in from the North West and today I only had trainers on, so no risky teetering about on wave washed rocks for me.<br />
<br />
The recent gales and big tides had deposited tonnes of dead brown seaweed over most of the shelving beach, but the outgoing tide revealed a beautiful sandy stretch at low water mark. The waves had decreased considerably today but it was still choppy in the strong cold breeze and the waves though low, were still powerful enough to launch themselves explosively up the shingle. Yesterday in the blazing late afternoon light, there was a smoothness to the foam-covered beach but today, there was sharpness, a contrast and a new brooding weather front overhead. My fingers froze whenever I removed them from my shooters-mitts and I put two hoods on to keep my head warm. I negotiated my way up onto the reef via a series of bizarre-to watch, core-stabilised ballet movements, tripod over my shoulder and rucksack swaying heavily with each leap. I found somewhere I could stand securely and just watched the wave performance below me. <br />
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The sunshine remained clear and intense for quite a while, even though the cloud front appeared keen to obscure it, and the light danced on the waves in a bright avenue ahead of me. Soon though, the light subdued and the rain started so I made my way back to the van and on to the gallery to work. I really enjoy these spontaneous moments when you find yourself excited and stimulated by someone or something unexpected. I felt alive and captivated, if only for a brief hour.
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  • There is something truly spiritual and liberating about being completely alone in the mountains. I only saw one person all day and apart from him I was completely undisturbed. I was able to watch cloud shadows scudding across the landscape, blown by bitter Easterly winds. I bathed in beams of sunlight that were lucky enough to break beneath the dark skies. The hills felt like they were mine. The grasses waved at me and the weather offered itself as a theatrical performance for me alone. Every step I took and every breath I made in the clean air connected me more fully with the planet; every downhill slope made me smile and even the tiredness of my leg muscles was a welcome reminder that I was alive and that the world still has beautiful things to offer. Living so close to the mountains, and equally so close to the sea, is almost like living in paradise.
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  • Between 300 and 400 wagons of iron ore are pulled by up to eight locomotives in a huge behemoth of a train on this Ore Export Line. The train connects the iron ore mines near Sishen in the Northern Cape with the port at Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape. I’ve never seen such a long train ever. The total vehicle length stretches for over three miles and took an age to pass under the bridge below my feet. Everything about Africa is huge but this gigantic train really gave some emphasis to the vast distances between destinations here in South Africa.
    GD002169.jpg
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Glyn Davies, Professional Photographer and Gallery

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