Weekly Photo and Travel Theme Challenges: Strength and Endurance – Industry
My photomontage this week is in honour of Industry in the UK. It comprises images of steel cables from the 19th Century Llanymynech Lime Quarry, the upper structures of The Shard building in London and a bronze sculpture entitled Help by artist and poet David Payntor.
The UK was the pioneering nation in the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th Centuries. As technological advances spread across nations, the World was brought closer and standards of living started to rise for many. This was a period of history that sparked a new era of evolution for us. We are still evolving as a species and evolving the industries that support humanity and our economies.
The landscape of the UK is a monument to the progress of industry; the enduring structures built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the great shipyards of the 19th and 20th Centuries, abandoned quarries and mines, the old steel works of Sheffield, the many docks on the Thames in London. Our industrial history is built on the back of metals, minerals and manpower. Current and future industry is driven by the development of new technologies and the legacy of engineering genius.
For a strong and enduring economy, led by industry, the people of the UK have had to adapt and embrace change again and again. In 2013 the UK was the 4th largest exporter in the world. The financial services industry is particularly important and London is the world’s largest financial centre! The British Aerospace and Pharmaceutical Industries play an important role in our economy.The automotive industry is also a major employer and exporter. Our Construction Industry continues to grow, employing over two million people. The largest current project in the UK is Crossrail, it’s the biggest construction project in all of Europe! Due to open in 2018, it will be a new railway line running east to west through London and into the surrounding countryside with a branch to Heathrow Airport. The main feature of the project is construction of 42 km (26 mi) of new tunnels connecting stations in Central London. Isambard Brunel would be proud!
This is a gallery of the images used to create the montage in Photoshop:
Taking One Day At A Time 