Down the Pit – Coal Mining
Coal miners of the 19th and early 20th century worked below ground in difficult hot humid and cramped conditions, manually extracting coal from the seam which were often no higher than 3 – 4 ft high.
In this image, which is a re-creation of a 19/20th century pit, showing a coal miner ” shoring up” the roof of the mine, I have tried to create the dark and dank atmosphere of the working conditions that he endured, in order to feed and clothe his family. Additional information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining
This image was captured in total darkness, illuminated only by low level flash and processed in CS5
Down the Pit
The interior of a typical miner’s cottage showing the poor standard of living conditions compared with todays “comfortable” “hi-tech” environment.
Living Room
And of course the “communal” wash house, showing the coal fired boiler and the “mangle”
Wash House
All above images captured at Summerlee Heritage Park, Coatbridge. http://www.monklands.co.uk/summerlee/
jimreidphoto 