Britain gallery: Slate washing

Not sure what chunks of slate this size are used for, but here they are, being washed in a

simulated quarry operation in the Slate Museum in Llanberis, North Wales. This is a

fascinating museum, beautifully presented, displaying all aspects of mining in Wales including

engineering, transport, foundry work, the people involved in it from time immemorial, even

their canteen. Slate quarrying is a much-reduced industry now, but at least it survives - folk

still need slate for roofing, coasters, snooker tables, and to split open in the search for small

dinosaurs. This image may look like a black and white picture, but it's in full colour, the sort of

full colour you get with black slate and white water. I've slightly cropped the original image to

strengthen the composition (I didn't want to get too close with the camera with all that water

splashing about), and increased the contrast to heighten the dynamics of the picture (at the

small cost of detail in the front slate slab). Olympus E-30, 45mm, ISO 200, 1/20th sec at

f/16.

Not sure what chunks of slate this size are used for, but here they are, being washed in a

simulated quarry operation in the Slate Museum in Llanberis, North Wales. This is a fascinating

museum, beautifully presented, displaying all aspects of mining in Wales including engineering,

transport, foundry work, the people involved in it from time immemorial, even their canteen.

Slate quarrying is a much-reduced industry now, but at least it survives - folk still need slate for

roofing, coasters, snooker tables, and to split open in the search for small dinosaurs. This image

may look like a black and white picture, but it's in full colour, the sort of full colour you get with

black slate and white water. I've slightly cropped the original image to strengthen the composition

(I didn't want to get too close with the camera with all that water splashing about), and

increased the contrast to heighten the dynamics of the picture (at the small cost of detail in the

front slate slab). Olympus E-30, 45mm, ISO 200, 1/20th sec at f/16.

Slate washing, N Wales