Chris made a welcome return to Cambridge Camera Club and presented on his major social documentary project recording the closure of Thoresby Colliery, then Nottinghamshire’s last coal mine, which had opened on the outskirts of Edwinstowe village in 1925. Initially, he was invited to 'take a few photos, before the mine closed', but the more time Chris spent in the location and with the miners as they worked, the more involved he became and the project developed.  He admitted that this was a project that was outside his comfort zone initially, but it was clear from Chris' masterful delivery, that he became totally involved with the place and the people and this historic event.  In 2015 spent over 9 months documenting the site, the buildings and the people and created an archive of images recording the pit in its final days.  Realising the importance to the people of Nottinghamshire, Chris self-published a book of the images, with words from the miners themselves, and held two exhibitions.  Two issues of the book have sold out.

It was a rare opportunity to enjoy social documentary photography and Chris' professional delivery made for a totally engaging evening.  His wonderful images depicted not only the characters he had come to know, their roles, their working environment, but their emotions as they approached a life-changing event for them and their community.  He was also as generous as usual, with detail of how to shoot a project and technical detail of his image capture process.

https://www.chrisuptonphotography.com/