SUMMARY
Rupert Allen, a student of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, has won the overall prize and Gold in the Portrait category at the AOP Student Awards. His series, 'Church of Coal,' uses 5x4in large format Ilford HP5 film to capture the landscapes and workers of the last operating drift colliery in Western Europe. Allen aims to document these subjects before they disappear, collaborating with the NUM and National Museum Wales to explore their stories and adaptation in the 21st century.
TAKEAWAYS
Rupert Allen won the AOP Student Awards overall and Gold in Portrait for his series 'Church of Coal'.
The project documents coal miners in the last working drift colliery in Western Europe.
Images were captured using 5x4in large format Ilford HP5 film.
Allen's work aims to preserve the stories of miners and their landscapes before they vanish.