Dirty Collection (#38)

Pollution on the Moskva River
River pollution. A skim layer of oil seen on the waters of the Moskva River, Russia. Interference patterns in the oil show as a band of colours in the foreground. Photographed in Moscow, Russia

Slate mining. View of winding gear above the lift that takes workers down into a slate mine. Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that has very distinct cleavage planes

Hospital germs, conceptual artwork. Computer artwork of rows of hospital beds with smears and marks on them, representing the need to keep hospitals clean

Bacterial contamination, SEM
Bacterial contamination, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Escherichia coli bacteria in a cell culture. This contamination has come from an unclean water source

Coins of various ages
Ageing coins. Three British one pence coins of various ages, showing the change in their appearance with time. The coins get older from left to right

Large painted letters on ancient wall, with statue of the Virgin, and wood shutters, Old Aix, Aix en Provence, Provence, France, Europe

BUSN2A-00180
Coal miners emerging from the shaft after their nine hours of toil are ended, early 1900s. Hand-colored halftone of a photograph

Wild and Woolly Motocross multi multi 2008

Bowler Wildcat British

Weighing The morning s
Weighing The mornings truffle harvest at La Truffe de Ventoux truffle farm 740 grams, Vaucluse, Rhone, Provence, France

Indian Elephants crossing the track, Corbett National Park, India

Shadow drawing. C. H. Bennett, A Native
A Native of these islands. This scruffy, dirty looking but contented old character is apparently a stranger to soap and water, which is ironic as he casts the perfect shadow of a wash basin and jug

Gipsy woman with washing-up brush
A close-up of a gipsy woman sitting in the open air with a washing up brush in her hand

Haulier and horse in a South Wales mine
A haulier guides a horse, pulling a loaded dram (truck) along an underground track in a South Wales mine

Coalface workers, Baldwins Level, Pontypool, South Wales
Two coalface workers at Baldwins Level, near Pontypool, South Wales

Miners at Baldwins Level, Pontypool, South Wales
A group of miners from the morning shift pose for their photo in a coal seam at Baldwins Level, Pontypool, South Wales

Miners in shaft lift, Llanerch Colliery, South Wales
Miners standing in a shaft lift at Llanerch Colliery near Pontypool in South Wales

Female surface workers queueing, South Wales
A line of female surface workers queueing up at a mine in South Wales, probably for their wages

Miner working in Plas y Coed Level, South Wales
A miner working in the Plas y Coed Level, South Wales

Waifs and strays of London
A group of London waifs and strays or street arabs

Trench scene with soldiers asleep in dugouts
A trench scene during the First World War, with soldiers asleep in their dugouts

Gipsy girl in a bright blue jumper with a chicken
A gipsy girl wearing a bright blue knitted jumper puts her arm round a chicken

A London dust-yard
A pig rummages in a London dust-yard, while a man digs through the rubbish and women sieve the dust hoping to find things of value

Red-haired gipsy boy with a dog
A red-haired gipsy boy with a dog, at an encampment in the Newdigate area of Charlwood, Surrey

Smiling gipsy girl holding a chicken
A smiling gipsy girl holding a chicken, with a caravan in the background. Date: 1960s

Gipsy man and his pet dog
A gipsy man and his pet dog, at an encampment in Surrey. The man sits precariously on a crumpled red tin

Two gipsy girls in a wood in Surrey
Two gipsy girls, Janie and Daphne, walking through a wood in Charlwood, Surrey. Their dresses are very dirty, and the smaller girl is holding a feeding bottle in her mouth

Close-up of fishermans hands, mending a net
A close-up of a fishermans toil-worn hands, as he sits mending a net

Man holding two bunches of white grapes
A man in a vineyard, holding two large bunches of white grapes which he has just picked

Sorting Wool - Australia
Sheep Farming in Australia - sorting the wool in a warehouse in Sydney

Oiling up a locomotive
A railway maintenance worker oiling up the pistons of a steam locomotive. Date: 1957

Izmir (Smyrna) - Street Entertainer
A street entertainer with tamborine and trick-performing monkey. Basically a beggar using a monkey to do tricks and gain a few coins

Middle Serles Place
Getting rid of dirty old London - Middle Serles Place, demolished in 1866

Izmir, Turkey - Travelling ironmonger
A travelling itinerant ironmonger with his young assistant and some of his wares at Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey

Orphan in Bath 1925
A filthy Russian orphan is given a thorough bath

Gipsy Boys & Dog
Two scruffy little gipsy boys, one wearing an old school blazer and both wearing wellies. One of the boys strokes a dogs head and it laps up the affection

Dirty Street Kids
Working Class children sunbathing on dirty cushions on a London street

Fitting a Ladys Boot
Charmant paysage ! (delightful landscape) A shoemaker enjoys the view as he fits a customer with a new pair of boots

Call of the Wild / Hal / C20
Hal

Monsieur and Maid 1926
The master of the house takes advantage of a kitchen maid while she makes pastry dough: So Monsieur is fond of pastry... and on this evidence he certainly is

Partisan Group, Odessa
A group of cheerful Soviet Partisans at Odessa, on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine

Snowy London
A businessman with his briefcase walks alone across a Trafalgar Square in the dirty snow

Twin puppies burrow into rabbit hole
Twin puppies, Snip and Snap, try to make the rabbit hole bigger so that they can get through it

Spotted Hyena - adult female walking away from mud wallow - Masai Mara Conservancy - Kenya
SE-155 Spotted Hyena - adult female walking away from mud wallow Masai Mara Conservancy - Kenya Crocuta crocuta Suzi Eszterhas Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only

Southern elephant seal - cow in mud walllow
AUS-836 Southern elephant seal - cow in mud walllow. Sandell Bay on west coast, Macquarie Island, Tasmania, Australia Mirounga leonina Graham Robertson / Auscape / ardea.com Auscape Please note that

Boats, village at old harbour, Sunda Kelapa, Jakarta, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) mud bathing, Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, Africa

Bloody Beach Peleiu, Republic of Palau, Pacific

For sale as Licensed Images

Choose your image, Select your licence and Download the media

"Unearthing the Dirty Secrets: A Glimpse into Coal Miners' Lives in South Wales and Cornwall" Step back in time to witness the gritty reality of coal miners as they ascend from the depths of shaft lifts, their faces smeared with soot. In South Wales, these brave souls toiled tirelessly, risking their lives daily for a livelihood that sustained communities. Venture further into Folly Ditch at Jacobs Island, circa 1878, where an unknown creator captures a scene shrouded in mystery. The air thick with grime and uncertainty, this image hints at a world hidden beneath layers of dirt. At Geevor Tin Mine in Pendeen, Cornwall, a lone miner stands amidst rugged terrain. His weathered face tells tales of perseverance and determination against all odds. These men battled darkness and filth to extract precious minerals that fueled industries far and wide. The coalface was their battleground - blackened hands digging deep into the earth's core. In South Wales, miners worked relentlessly under treacherous conditions to meet the insatiable demand for coal during an era when energy needs knew no bounds. Travel across oceans to New Zealand through an antique map from 1873. As explorers navigated uncharted territories on distant shores, they encountered lands untouched by civilization's cleansing touch – raw beauty concealed beneath layers of untamed wilderness. In Sweden's Volvo 240 GL lies another tale entwined with dirt – not just physical but metaphorical too. This iconic vehicle symbolizes resilience; its sturdy frame defying weariness despite traversing rough terrains year after year. A Punch cartoon depicts Faraday offering his card to Father Thames – perhaps suggesting that even great minds recognize the inherent connection between science and nature's dirty secrets flowing within rivers' veins. But cleanliness is also elusive; it slips through our fingers like grains of sand as we strive for godliness.