The mining town, a photo from Dalarna, Svealand

Photographer's Note

Before going on with more detail pictures from the old mining industry I like to give you an overview. This is the classical view of Falun taken from the upper side of the mine area. In the lower part you see a part of the the open pit tha was formed from a cave in 1687. The rock had then been caved out to an extent where it just couldn´t take it anymore.

The yellow building is today a mueum. It used to be an administrative building for the mine. In the valley behind is the central parts of this small town hidden, Falun has just about 37000 citizens. On the hill in the background is a skijump which is the modern landmark for Falun. The little town has in modern times made itself a centre in Sweden for championships in cross country skiing and skijumping.

The mine calls itself the oldest share holding company in the world. It was organized as a cooperative of landowners in the region and paperwork on the split of ownership dates back some 700 years. The mine was in its hayday the biggest copper mine in “the known world” and gave Sweden the finances to go into war with the rest of Europe. As my old history teacher put it: "- You need three things to go to war, money, money and money".

A few years ago the mining area was made a World Heritage site. I find that a bit ironic since the reason that the area looks the way it does is that this is one of the oldest man made environmental disasters in the world. There are descriptions from the 18th century how daylight never reached through the black smoke from the melting. And around the mine there is still areas where nothing grows on the ground.

For more information click the links “The mining area”, “The town of Falun” and “History” on the mine museums homepage:

http://www.visitfalun.se/varldsarvet/eng/index.htm

cmartos, taivo, nwoehnl, pamastro, Galeota, bertolucci, kajenn, Rinie_Hoff, avigur_11, Xalkida, annagrace, denisn72 trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

olli (2091) 2004-05-31 3:44

Very interesting town view with mine – or mine view with town. Well composed – I also like the square format. And I especially like the beautiful tones of the mine. Good note, too.
Very well done, ebbe.

yesterday (9833) 2004-05-31 4:11

WOW, what a place.

I is very beautiful the earth grond, so many color. Excellent composition, great perspective, excellent light and contrast.

I like the photo a lot.

maciekda (19895) 2004-05-31 4:30

hi Ebbe, what a place! really special. i like the way you captured the essence of this place, this huge mine occupiyng most of the frame. and this small stripe of blue works here really well. nice composition and very nice image

cmartos (242) 2004-05-31 5:25

Excellent and impressive view. Huge deepness one can feel very well and the town striped in only 1/4 of the frame. Strong reddish tones against green land. I'm not sure about the blue sky strip on top though. Very well composed anyway with a good depth and dimensions feeling. Very good note too.

Piotr (0) 2004-05-31 5:45

What a an interesting place! Excellent composition, very sharp and many geological details, well done!

lost (694) 2004-05-31 5:59 [Comment]

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taivo (1843) 2004-05-31 6:04

What a great composition. The top third is for the mining town while the rest is for the deep mining gap. The large photo suits the scene very well. The colours are nicely saturated with good contrast. Also the sharpness is amazing with so many details to look at.

nwoehnl (122) 2004-05-31 11:11

It's not too often that we get to see a wide angle shot with landscape from you, so I guess I better comment on it :o) The view you show has a very good depth, and a stunning range of well-saturated color. By letting the mine take two thirds of the frame, you clearly emphasize the important aspect of this site. The textures and colors in the mine area are particularly rich, and the square cropping of the photo was also well chosen. Good work, Ebbe.

pamastro (7290) 2004-05-31 14:12

Interesting shot. The town comes right to the edge of this like it continued on beyond over the hole in the ground. And because of that it seems like this part of town was just scooped up right out of the earth. Very neat. Though sad to see this destruction like this. Hopefully this reminds us to be more gentle in the future. Maybe that was the reason for making this a heritage site. Good job.

Galeota (10352) 2004-05-31 16:00

Impressive photograph. This "hole" between the viewer and the background is astonishing. The range of warm colors is wide and beautiful. The note is complete and interesting.

bertolucci (13366) 2004-05-31 17:15

I simply love this composition Ebbe, with the past and the present of this mining town spectacularly displayed in richly saturated colours and a fine sharpness.
All those details - a feast for the eyes - you even displayed the crack where the top of the cave gave way.
Somerimes you just have to show it all. Great job and great note - your telling us a complete saga !

kajenn (2454) 2004-05-31 17:56

I've been waiting for a picture of "Stora Stöten" [The Great Pit], Ebbe, and you produce an overwhelming one! It's almost as if you've been flying over the mining area, where the administration building is almost as big as the whole town, and managed to include the ski-jump. It's a fantastic view with all the colors of the open pit rightly displayed as the main object. The big format is well used for the overall view and to give justice to the real impression. This is big!

And it's a fascinating story to go with it. I've been there with my children many years ago and we still remember Fet-Mats [Fat Mats], the only one killed in the cave in, as it happened at the only work free day of the year. And how the gas inside the mine kept his body intact through the years until found.

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-05-31 17:58

This is great, Ebbe, all the different colours here are beautiful. Not only the colours of the mine, but also the colors in the background, great sharpness! and a good depth. It's hard to see almost what the scale is. Impressive shot of an impressive site.

avigur_11 (22535) 2004-06-01 12:36

WOW. This is amazing, Ebe, a hige hole, and it looks like the builing stands right on the edge. Beautiful warm colors and very good clarity and sharpness. very good shot.

Xalkida (11744) 2004-06-15 16:36

What colors! Very sharp and detailed photo! Excellent! Useful notes too!

annagrace (2469) 2006-01-23 21:45

Very interesting note and a beautiful photo, it looks like a watercolor. Well seen, thanks for sharing.

Alli

Andrzej_HHH (2480) 2007-01-20 19:21

Hello! Great POV and superb composition. Also very nice colors. Best regards! Andrzej

denisn72 (8314) 2007-10-03 17:53

Hello Ebbe Rozel
Nice picture of the town and its mine. Nice point of view. It is sharp and the colors are excellent. The note is useful too
Congratulations!
Thanks for sharing
Denis!