Big Hole Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

The Big Hole.

I was suprised that there are no picture from this interesing place on TE. The next days I would like to upload some picture of the historic Kimberley buildings that have been brought back to life and feature shops and food outlets open to the public.

The ligth was not perfect, it comes from the left frontside.

In the workshop a panorama view and a picture of the platform where I was standing on.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Hole
From 1866 to 1914 50,000 miners dug the hole with picks and shovels, yielding 2,722 kg of diamonds. The Big Hole has a surface of 17 hectares (42 acres) and is 463 metres wide. It was excavated to a depth of 240 m but then partially infilled with debris reducing its depth to about 215 m; since then it has accumulated water to a depth of 40 m leaving 175 m visible. The underground Kimberly Mine was mined to a depth of 1097 metres.

There is currently an effort in progress to register the Big Hole as a World Heritage Site.

besnard, pablominto, carper, pboehringer, papagolf21, Didier38, omerozden, Floydian, riclopes, lrw1966, josepmarin, kermit350, Jonas_Schmitt, Buin, Graal, Docarmo, jaywalker, patdeph, Didi, Jakab, pierrefonds, jafadabret has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

besnard (32042) 2008-10-12 23:49

Bonjour Achim
Une très belle vue plongeante sur ce cratère avec l'eau d'un bleu profond. On peut voir très nettement l'érosion sur la roche.
Merci pour le partage et bonne journée.
Nicole

nipunjotsoni (112) 2008-10-12 23:50 [Comment]

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Giorgio (8930) 2008-10-13 0:00

- Very impressive hole, Achim, impressive place for you also, I don't know if I would dare to lean me there, anyway, bravo and TFS.
Greetings.
giorgio

carper (67302) 2008-10-13 0:07

a fine one Achim.
the big hole is a fine shot, the light was not optimal but you made a fine composition, good one have anice day.
regard jaap

pboehringer (770) 2008-10-13 0:20

Achim,
the 'Big Hole' is certainly a perfect symbol of what humankind is able to do when it comes to make profit. The question is just who made the profit ... the ones that did the hole or those that were sitting in the offices on the surface. Something similar is also to be seen in the brazilian amazonic jungle with 'Serra Pelada'. The difference is just that this man made hole wasn't for diamonds but gold.
Difficult light conditions that you had to deal with and yet you came up with a fantastic documentation of this famous manmade hole.
Peter

papagolf21 (57785) 2008-10-13 0:59

Bonjour, cher ami Achim,
Pour un trou, c'est un trou, cela s'apparente à une sorte de puits sans fin !
Il n'en demeure pas moins que l'ensemble est beau avec cette crevasse garnie d'une eau turquoise.
Très bonnes photographies (celle publiée et en atelier).
Amitiés.
Philippe

snunney (37033) 2008-10-13 1:07

Hello Achim,
An amazing landscape feature created by man with his hands. Excellent plunging point of view with the hole well placed in the image and nicely framed by the surrounding vegetation. Very good colours and clarity.

pablominto (42522) 2008-10-13 1:17

Hello Achim,

An amazing natural phenomenon I thought, but then I read the note and realize this is manmade..!
No wonder diamonds are expensive....................
Good point of view and fine details, the varied light adds life!

Greetings,
Pablo -

omerozden (1191) 2008-10-13 1:51

hello achim,
that is what photography is about in some sense. we often/usually have to take photos of places where we cannot visit once more and the light or other conditions are sometımes not photographyfriendly.
wıth the conditions you told in the note you have captured a nice view.
regards,
omer

Miha2ou7 (4993) 2008-10-13 2:08

Hey Achim,

A big hole indeed. A neat point of view, would not want it any other way, nice technical execution. The lighting was pretty strong in the upper portion of the photo, but you managed well.

Anyway, how does one get out of this pool? :D

Best regards.

Budapestman (44737) 2008-10-13 2:11

Hi Achim,
What is a sight, beautiful one creating for the nature. The composition superb, the optic angle likewise. Great shot from this place. Have a nice week
George

Floydian (30970) 2008-10-13 3:01

Hallo Achim,
Some years a go i saw a documentary on tv about this mine and the surrounding area. Very interesting and impressive knowing that it is made by men. Although the light is terrible here, it's the place it self and your note what makes it an excellent contribution to TE..!!!
Regards, Henk

riclopes (33487) 2008-10-13 3:04

Amazing view. You didn't get the best light but the composition is excellent and both WS are good complementar images to show the place. It's great to see the town in WS1.
Best wishes,
ric

UnTrained (0) 2008-10-13 3:46

Hallo Achim,
das wird schwer, das Licht dort im richtigen Augenblick zu kriegen in diesem Loch. Es wirkt zwar leicht dunstig, aber eben sehr natürlich und dieses leichte Strahlen ist gut wiedergegeben. Reizvolle Tiefe.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

ahmetgedikli (22649) 2008-10-13 4:53

Great shot! Very nice colors, POV and beautiful details. Well done.
Greetings.
Ahmet

lrw1966 (1632) 2008-10-13 5:22

Achim Hi:

Splendid composition of amazing Narure. Very interesting with an
interesting note.

Congratulations, very nice
Larry
USA-tfs

josepmarin (35001) 2008-10-13 8:43

Hallo Achim,
An unpublished place here, and really impressive! Good setting from this POV that offers us a great effect of depth and height, almost dizzy.
Excellent work.
Best regards,
Josep

kermit350 (8994) 2008-10-13 10:55

Hello Achim, it there at places like that, however very beautiful and ever presented on TE, and fortunately that the ground is vast to discover much D `other sites quite as interesting, I is happy for you that you would be one dses rare photographer to present this place, to believe that many people suffer from the giddiness, the dimention of the hole very impressive, and are really malgrés the accumulation of water and the plants who pushed, your presentation of the building site is élocante, sincerely ...........Bonjour Achim, il y à des endroits comme ça, pourtant très beau et jamais présenté sur TE, et heureusement que la terre est vaste pour découvrir beaucoup d‘autres sites tout aussi intéressant, je suis heureux pour toi que tu sois l’un dses rare photographe à présenter cet endroit, à croire que beaucoup de gens souffre du vertige, les dimention du trou sont vraiment très impressionnante, et malgrés l’accumulation d’eau et les végétaux qui ont poussé, ta présentation du chantier est élocante, bien amicalement

Jonas_Schmitt (3074) 2008-10-13 11:54

Hallo Achim!
Tolles Bild von diesem "Big Hole" :)
Auch wenn es vom Licht her nicht ganz passt gefällt es mir sehr gut, beeindruckend ist es auch so!
Gute Position des Big Holes außerhalb des Zentrums und ein toller point of view.
Grüße,
Jonas

Fis2 (47675) 2008-10-13 12:17

Witaj Achim!
Wow fantasic place!
Super colours and light. Very impressive picture.
Regards
Krzysztof

Buin (39562) 2008-10-13 12:44

Hallo Achim!
Davon habe ich schon viel gehört! Das muss ja ein atemberaubender Anblick sein - und wenn man den Anlass für dieses "Loch" überdenkt, dann kommt noch das Gefühl von Ehrfurcht, Hochachtung vor denen, die es geschaffen haben...
Ein ungewöhnliches und äußerst eindrucksvolles Foto! Wegen der Qualität (sh. note) mach' Dir mal keine Sorgen! ;-)
Grüße aus dem sonnig-warmen Westfalen!
Frank

paura (40841) 2008-10-13 17:25

Achim,
Amazing! Excellent composition to show the more than interesting place.

abraço

Paulo

Graal (60312) 2008-10-13 23:24

Hi Achim,
unusual place, good POV and interesting presentation. Well quality of photo, nice light and colours. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

Nicou (47593) 2008-10-14 2:01

Hello,

quel trou, c'est vraiment impressionnant, , avec la belle eu bleue en fond, ces touffles d'herbes, en tout cas il faut glisser et tomber, car il doit être difficle d'en ressortir, superbe.

bravo et amitié

Nicou

Docarmo (8894) 2008-10-14 6:55

Hallo Achim,
Very impressive place, your post is nice to have a good idea of it. What a hole! You shot against light and managed it very well. Bravo! The reflections on water are beautiful, so colours are.
Thanks for sharing,
MCV

jaywalker (12853) 2008-10-14 14:18

Hi Achim, Your POV is perfect for us to view this massive hole, it is a great shot of amazing nature, kind regards Wilson.

brevbrev14 (372) 2008-10-14 16:11

Hi Achim, intersting picture well taken and with a very good note
the hole is really impressive!
intersting picture!
ciao!
Valeria

vinicio (22532) 2008-10-14 22:53

Impressive hole, I cannot imagine the work that has needed in order to made it, interesting place and very good images of it from you Achim, compliments.
Ciao
Vinicio

Angshu (34841) 2008-10-15 20:30

Hello Achim
Good to see you! I presume this hole was an open cast mine earlier...amazing view really! The light was harsh, but inside the hole falls well. Thanks for sharing this new place with us here on TE
Best Regards
Angshu

patdeph (19236) 2008-10-16 3:58

hello Achim
this place is totally incredible,difficult to think that this hole has been done by men!Really impressive!You are right,the light is not very beautiful,but the place is truly worth a picture!Superb!
Regards
Pascale

Didi (37199) 2008-10-16 11:13

Hello Mr President
We have a similar place in France who called Le Gouffre de l'oeil doux not far from Narbonne beach.
Your point of view is excellent with an interesting balance between shades and highlihts.
Cheers.

dvlazar (6492) 2008-10-17 4:17

John - Impressive sight! This would be a great sight to see - and thanks for capturing it so nicely and sharing it.

Good work,
Dave.

mikeo (12119) 2008-10-18 7:50

Hello Achim,

WOOOOOOWWW! What a hole! What a view!
This is absolutely amazing place and breath taking view...It has to be superb feeling to see it from the platform.

Great! Thanks for sharing!
Mikeo

Jakab (3622) 2008-10-19 13:11

Hallo Achim,
richtig, das Licht war nicht perfekt, aber wen stört es, wenn es sich um ein so interessantes Thema geht, wie hier! Man las einiges über die alten Diamantgruben von Südafrika, meine Vorstellungen waren aber ganz anders. (Ich stellte sie mir dem normalen Bergbau ähnlich vor.) Das Leben der Bergleute muss hier fürchterlich gewesen sein - das las ich auch.
Viele Grüße
Laszlo

clic (4065) 2008-10-20 13:20

Hallo Achim
An outstanding view of a gate towards Hell and a tribute to those hearty diamond seekers who dug it!
Side light provides appealing contrast on the verdoyant rim.
Very instructive photographic document.
Grusse.
Robert

atif_ge (686) 2008-10-21 3:53

Dear Achim,
You have captured a really amazing view. I wonder you would be standing at a dangerous place to take this shot. Very Impressive perspective and composition. Thanks for sharing,
Atif

pierrefonds (27438) 2008-10-25 6:53

Hi Achim,

A nice close-up image of the big hole full of water. the bushes are a natural frame to the hole. The details and colors of the different elements are clear and precise. The strong light from left to right is enhancing the green color of the bushes. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jmdias (20959) 2008-11-07 15:50

achim

it is a very beautiful and interesting view despite the light that wasn't perfect. anyway we can enjoy the place. In northern brazil we have an abandoned mine of gold that is this way too, covered with water in a giant hole

hugs

jorge

jafadabret (41625) 2008-11-15 2:34

Bonjour Achim.
Ce trou est des plus impressionnants surtout quand on pense que c'est l'homme qui en est à l'origine. La présence de l'eau embellit la photo avec ses couleurs et ses scintillements comme pour rappeler l'éclat des diamants.
Jacques

ajit_mediratta (6) 2008-11-25 22:18

Achim Fried
Thats really an insersting description of a very fine place....

Gud job...keep up the gud work.

Ajit

goutero (444) 2009-04-28 10:49

Amazing place

jtkitty (140) 2009-08-10 5:49

Wow...Spectacular photo! The color is a bit cold, seems like there is too much blue in the shadows and not enough yellow. This can be corrected with photoshop. Wonderful capture!

Cheers

RajGiraddi (20) 2010-01-26 16:49

Breathtaking...A marvelous picture