Earlier in the morning, after getting the kids off to school, and checking in with the digital world, I looked out the window to see if I should make the trip back to the dam at Marsh Creek Lake.
I was not too convinced that it be a good day, but I did eventually made it up to the dam, where I had only been two days before, but this time with my tripod.
My goal was to start at the spillway gate, and head north along the shoreline as far as I could go, and maybe even get onto the concrete of the main emergency spillway.
Spillway Gate
Walking across the rugged rocks, I wondered to myself several times, if I should not head straight up the hill to the vehicle road, but decided against it, and was greeted with this view when I looked back at the spillway gate.
When I got there, surprised to see that what looked like a dock or morning from a distance, seem to be pilings randomly placed poles into the shoreline.
Lonely Cat o’nine tails
I walked around the point, and onto a dry area which would have normally been covered in several feet of water, and continued looking for a way, to further explore down in the spillway.
In the Marsh
It was difficult walking in the dried swamp grass and cat o’nine tails, but I could see animal tracks heading the direction I wanted to go.
Tt was very apparent that the creatures knew how to maneuver the terrain better than I could.
Eventually time was getting the best of me, and I had to head back to my car before my kids got home from school.
Earlier in the week, I had seen a posting on Facebook that mentioned the Chester County Water Resources Authority, and how they were going to be lowering the water level of Marsh Creek Lake by 8 feet, so I was more than a little interested in seeing what the effects would be, especially having seen the heavy water flow after hurricane Sandy just two weeks before.
Why is Marsh Creek Lake so low?
My niece, Katelyn, had spent the night on a sleep-over, and wanted to joined us on our family walk, especially since she had never been to the dam before.
We parked at the maintenance entrance along Dorlan Mill road, and walked down the long hill, and then onto the trails on the right, heading toward the main emergency spillway to the north.
It was fun watching the kids as they galloped along the trail, and it was easy to see that both Logan and Madison had been down this trail before, while Katelyn was being a little bit more cautious as we moved along the trails.
At the top of the clearing, near the concrete barrier, we got our first glimpses of the drawdown looking into the once marshy area.
Spillway gate and Safety sign
The full impact of the water loss did not hit us until we were walking across the maintenance road on top of the dam, looking down at 20-40+ feet of a new ‘shoreline’.
We walked down the bank alone side the spillway gate, and at the water’s edge, were very amused to see the safety signs above our heads.
As we walked along the western shoreline, the kids delighted in throwing rocks, and launching weather worn planks into the lake, only to have them come back ashore further down our walk.
During our walk, I ran into a gentlemen and his son, and as we talked, he mentioned that he had heard that at lake had covered up a whole township. I was very surprised to hear this, and having never heard this before, I knew I needed to look this up later.
I caught up with my kids again, and as we walking along the ‘beach’, we saw old worn wood docks and cinder blocks thrown all around.
The new shoreline of Marsh Creek Lake
With a careful eye, I also spotted fishing lures, old bottles, cans, hats, while the ‘rock-hound’ in me, also spotted many beautiful examples of layered sedimentary rocks, along with many of examples of quartz with a deep dull blue color.
The kids being kids, wanted to bring everything home, but we had to limit it to what you could carry home on your own…
I was very surprised, but we now have several new door stoppers in two homes!
[Update – History]
Question – Was there a township covered by Marsh Creek Lake?
Yes.
There are records dating back to the 1880s of a community known as Millford Mills, a farming village in the Marsh Creek Valley, which provided food, paper and other products to the Chester County area.
During the mid-1950s, the Chester County commissioners commissioned a survey on the Marsh Creek Valley and devised a plan to create a new reservoir to benefit the Uwchlan and surrounding area townships.
Between 1964-1978, the State of Pennsylvania acquired the land and relocated the residents of those remaining in Milford Mills.
Construction began in 1970, with the clearing of structures, trees and other obstacles.
By 1973, the Dam was completed, and then took another three years for the lake to fill.
The following is the Talk I gave about the covered bridges in the Oxford area of Chester County, PA.
The information on the history of the four bridges was done over the internet, and tries to be as accurate as possible.
Thank you’s
Good afternoon…
First, I would like to “Thank” the Folks here at the Oxford Branch of Citadel for hosting tonight’s events, and especially Gwen Smoker for coordinating all the various people.
Gwen first contacted me at the beginning of October about this event, and asked if I would be interested in Sharing some of my Covered Bridge images.
My immediate response was yes!
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been frantically opening two-year-old files, and regenerating new images based on new tools and techniques, gained over hundreds of hours of practice.
So who am I?
According to my Twitter @alseymour profile – “A Father, a Photographer and a Computer Geek in Chester County PA – #photography #restoration #science #physics #space”
I have lived in Chester County for over 35 years, and was introduced to photography as a young child, and have carried that interest ever since.
Over the years, I have been lucky enough to work in several industries, where I can use my love of photography and technology to their fullest.
With the maturing of both computers and cameras, the technology is readily available to use both to enhance what we see in daily life.
Technique
In my case, I am using a digital photographic technique known as High Dynamic Range Imaging or HDRI or HDR.
The basics of HDR photography are this –
you need to capture at least three separate images
each image needs a different exposure level
What this means, is that you take a middle image, and then one overexposed and another one underexposed.
Then on the computer, you combine the three images, creating a single file that contains the color range for all three images.
From there, there are many different software packages and techniques to create a final image that pushes the boundaries of today’s technology.
My First Bridge
I took my first digital photo of a Bartram covered bridge in Newtown Square, during the early Fall of 2009.
After processing the image, I posted it to my Flickr account for photo sharing and thought nothing more of it, until several months later I got a request to add it to a covered bridge group.
Shortly after submitting the image to the group, I began to get some wonderful comments, which only encouraged me to further investigate the other opportunities in Chester County.
Little did I realize what I was getting myself into…
During the summer and fall of 2010, I lived on Google Earth as I hunted down all the Chester County bridges, and then plugged the coordinates into my car’s GPS device.
With all this information, I was able to plan day trips to capture as many bridges as I could in what little free time that I had available to me.
Covered Bridges of Chester County & Oxford area
The first covered bridge in Pennsylvania is thought to have been built around 1807, and for the next 92 years, it is believed that there were over 1500 covered Bridges built.
Currently, there are about 220 covered bridges still left standing in Pennsylvania, with 15 of them residing in Chester County.
Of those 15, three of them are in Elk Township, the smallest Township in Chester County.
Today, I have been asked to tell you about the four covered bridges that surround the Oxford area, and they are:
The first Pine Grove Bridge was built some time in 1816, but was later destroyed by a storm.
In 1846, the bridge was rebuilt by Robert Russell and Joseph Elliott for just $1,494, but it was later swept away by ice.
In 1884, Elias McMellen, a former Captain in the Union Army, built the 198 feet long and 15 feet wide bridge, and added it to his list of 12 other bridges he built in eastern Pennsylvania.
(Mostly in Lancaster County, but I have also photographed Pool Forge, which is North of Oxford, in Caernarvon Township.
[Anyone have an idea of how much it cost?] – ($4295)
In 1988 it was restored, and 20 years later in 2008 it was refurbished.
Pine Grove is the longest bridge in Chester and Lancaster counties, and sits just below a waterfall that is next to the old pump-house of the Octoraro Water Company.
The pump-house was built in 1904 by the Chester Water Authority, and since 1953, they have been leasing space for meeting rooms and art studios to the Charles X. Carlson Octoraro Art Association (OAA).
On a personal note, this is one of the bridges that I got to photograph with my daughter, Madison.
She was such a trooper, even though she was usually bored out of her mind.
I did ask her to blog about her experience during the days adventure, and she has… Kudos to her…
Since this was the first time that she had seen me at work, my running around in the water, and up and down rocks was causing her to caution me continually.
It was hard to convince her that this was one of the easier bridges to photograph.
I did visit the bridge this past September, but there was a lot of construction going on, and finding a place to park was difficult, so unfortunately, I did not stop. [August 27, 2010] – Original Photo-Blog Posting
§ § § § §
Linton Stevens
Long View of Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)
From the information that I have found, this bridge was originally just a foot bridge across Big Elk Creek.
Then in 1875, an iron bridge was constructed, but only to be destroyed 9 years later in the flood of 1884.
In 1886, J. Denithorne & Son’s built the 102 foot long, 15 foot wide bridge we largely see today.
The bridge was named after a local landowner, who also served as the Postmaster for Hickory Hill, and ran the Post Office out of his General Store.
On December 10, 1980, Linton-Stevens Covered Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the spring of 1996, the bridge was closed down due to damaged underpinnings during a flood, but was reopened in August 1997.
[Pause to ask question? Anyone know the name of the Hurricane that hit the area in 1999?] – Hurricane Floyd
To me, some of the most memorable and interesting shots from Linton Stevens, are from underneath.
You see these massive, freshly painted, cream-colored girders running the full length, and then in between, colorful spray paintings of those that had visited the bridge.
Looking through Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)
From 1850 to 1909, the Rudolph family, along with Charles Arthur, ran a Paper Mill up-stream with the power generated by the water.
In 1880, the Randolph family, along with Charles Arthur, commissioned general contractor Menander Wood, to build the wood bridge, while Richard T Meredith supplied that masonry work
[Can anyone guess the cost?]
Wood Work – $1440
Stone/Mortar – $890
Total – $2330
This bridge is also built across Big Elk Creek, but is further downstream than Linton Stevens, and seems to be more prone to flood damage because of this.
There have been reports of flood damage in 1915, 1994, and again in 1999 with Hurricane Floyd.
Rudolph and Arthur covered bridge was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 1980.
What I really remember most about this particular bridge, was standing in the nice cool water on such a hot day.
What is also different it is that if you look at the under structure, and is much darker and more visually elaborate than Linton Stevens.
After returning to the bridge deck, I managed to get some detailed framework before my battery died signaling the end of the day of shooting.
Looking East (Down Creek) – Glen Hope Covered Bridge (1889)
Built in 1889 by Built by Menander Wood and George E. Jones for
[Who much do you think it cost?] – $1767
This 65 for long, 16 foot wide bridge also holds the distinction of being the Southernmost Covered Bridge in Pennsylvania, and in 1980 was listed National Register of Historic Places.
I photographed Glen Hope two years ago, and I still remember my conversations with Jamie Crouse of Elkton, Maryland, as he was kind enough to stop and chat with me for some time.
He and his family have lived in the area for several generations, and the stories he told me seem to roll right off his tongue, as if it was yesterday’s news.
As a young boy, Jamie remembered his father telling him the story of an overloaded cement truck crashing through the floorboards in 1967, and how new Steel Stringers were added by the end of 1968.
Jamie also told me the story of the arson fire that occurred during 1987.
Apparently a couple of local college boys, decided to take bales of hay, put them inside a bridge, and then doused them with gasoline, and setting them on fire.
He was able to point to dark indentations in the floorboards, where one can still see the outlines of where hay bales were set on fire.
There was a great deal of damage to the roof, and in 1991 a significant restoration effort was completed, including the recovery of the original Bongossi wood.
Bongossi wood is from Africa, and is very dark and dense and used heavily in construction and marine work.
I do not have any collaborating evidence on this but Jamie’s most humorous story was the following:
“During his teenage years, two local girls visited Glenn Hope and other local covered bridges in the area, and carved “Boobless Wonder Strikes Again” on the down-creek trusses and “Woogie” on the up-creek trusses.”
If anyone can confirm this…
Glen Hope was the last Chester County Covered Bridge that I photographed on October 21st, 2010, nearly a year to the day of when I started with Bartram on October 23, 2009.
In conclusion, the four covered bridges of the Oxford area are very unique to Chester County, and with the colors of fall starting to emerge, I encourage you and your family to take a trip to any one of these bridges and witness the beauty of the bridges and this coming fall season.
There are 4 computers set up, each with a different Slide Show, that features 2 more images of each bridge, and 5 images from the rest of my Portfolio.
I invite you to take a look…
Thank you…
Questions
Final Thank You’s
Citadel for Hosting…
Gwen for arranging everything…
And everyone for coming…
Slide Show
The following links where part of the slide show that were running on four (4) different computer screens during the Open House.
For several years now, I have been doing more and more photography work in High Dynamic Range (HDR), and I have been trying to find a way to make the required bracketing easier and more efficient.
The Canon XTi does allow for auto bracketing, but only over three exposures.
120912 Marsh Creek Spillway hdr 12
I have been able to figure out ways to make it easier to get nine stops, but after that, it is not as automatic.
Back in 2010, when I was doing my covered bridges, it was not uncommon for me to do exposure bracket of 13 to 15 stops, and I would do this by manually making the three clicks, per stop, on the camera dial, and then trigger the exposure with my Canon Remote Switch RS60 E3.
The biggest problem I ran into when doing this method, was the potential for both camera shake on the tripod or misalignment due to movement on the tripod head and the only real way to find out if this has occurred, is when you are back at the office, while evaluating the images on a big screen.
I have also detected blurred images due to the mirror in the camera going up and down during exposure. As far as I know, there is no way to lock the mirror “up” on the XTi.
Then in early August, while reading my Google+ page, I noticed one of my contacts had just received their “Trigger Happy Remote” and was excited to use it. I continued to read the comments, and someone also mentioned TriggerTrap.
In doing further investigation, I ended up writing the blog entry, “Searching for the Remote” in which I compare several different remote triggering devices.
After a couples of days, I was contacted by Haje Jan Kamps at Triggertrap.com, and was asked if I would be interested in doing a product review in exchange for a free set up.
I was all too happy to say Yes!
Equipment Used
Canon XTi (circa 2007)
iPod Touch / iOS 5.1.1
Bogen Model #3020 tripod
Tripodclamps.com RAP-B-121-UN7U Cell Phone Clamp
Connecting
When one does go to the Triggertrap.com website to purchase the dongle and cable, they will find a wizard that will walk them through the choice of a cable for their particular camera. In my case, a CL-E3 for the Canon XTi and iPod Touch.
While waiting for the cables to be delivered, you can download either the free or paid version of the software directly to your device, and begin to explore the application, and possibilities.
The website also offers several tutorial videos to help explain the various settings and modes available within the application. Some of the App screens may look a little different, and that is many due to the tutorials being done on an earlier version, but the concepts are the same.
Once you have the cables, you connect the dongle directly to your camera, and then the additional cabling directly into the iDevice/Android, and your ready to start!
Features & Testing
Needless to say, there are a lot of things that one can do with this system, and it is only really up to the imagination of the photographer, what they can do with it.
Here is a list of the Modes that are currently available, and I do plan to at least test all of them at some point, but there are definitely some that I do not see myself using.
Trigger Modes
Cable Release Mode (Free)
Works without issue, just make sure you are in Bulb mode
The cable release mode is by far the easiest mode to work with right out-of-the-box, and works just as you would expect it to.
Your iDevice can be used as a simple remote trigger, two different types of bulb triggers and program mode.
Long Exposure HDR Mode (Paid)
Abandoned Paper Mill hdr 05
This was the Mode that I really wanted to Test the most.
All you really need to do is to find your middle exposure, enter “it” into the App, select the number of Stops, and the EV value between the frames, and push the button, and sit back and relax.
There is no need to make the mental calculations or be present during the triggering operation!
Not having to stand at the tripod, allowed me to walk away, and scout for the next shoot!
Issues
When I first started to test this Mode in my office, I found that I was not getting the correct number of exposures within my requested bracket.
Doing some reading within the Triggertrap website, the issue seems to be related to the minimal exposure length supported on your camera in the Bulb setting.
Once I was in a situation where my minimal exposure length was greater than 1 second, I did not run into the issue again.
I do need to figure out a shooting workflow to get around this, and once I have, I’ll post it.
Motion Mode (Paid)
Tested
Undetermined at this time
When I first read about the various Modes available, this was another that piqued my interest.
The basic concept is that you register a base image into the iDevice, and if anything changes, trigger the camera.
Well, this did not work for me.
I could not get a preview, so I was unable to use this mode.
I did visit the support section of TriggerTrap, and really did not find anything that described my issue, and plan to post a question when I try again.
I do wonder, again, if it is the age of my equipment, so I am not writing off the whole mode. Maybe because the XTi does not support “Live View” could be the issue?
Time-lapse Mode (Free)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
I have ideas, but I’m not sure about letting my camera and equipment stay setup for that long.
Seismic Mode (Free)
Have Not Tested
Distance Lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Not likely to use
Eased Time-lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
LE HDR Time-lapse Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Tesla (magnetic sensor) Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Star Trail Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Peek-a-boo Mode (Paid)
Have Not Tested
Long Term testing
Bang (Sound Sensor) Mode (Paid)
Works
I have not really tested this Application to its fullest extent, but from my basic setting up the controls, I was able to trigger the camera when I snapped my figures or clapped my hands.
Conclusion
If you are doing HDR or Long Exposure photography, this iOS software application is well worth the look at, and it’s flexibility both in terms of Cameras and Modes makes it all the more interesting!
In terms of my favorite mode so far, the “Long Exposure HDR” Mode”, which to a HDR photographer, is almost as easy as ‘point-n-click’!
Tips and Tricks
If you really would like to make your life easier when working with iDevice and Tripod, I would strongly suggest that you take a look at the TripodClamps.com offerings.
In my case, I purchased a RAP-B-121-UN7U The RAM Universal X-Grip Cell Phone Holder, which at first I thought it was a little expensive, but after using the clamp with a TriggerTrap for a while, I found it well worth the worth the financial investment.
After reviewing the information, we exchanged a few more comments on Google+, about my concern for the iPod slipping from the four fingers of the clamp, and I was reassured that the rubber and the tension from the string grips would be sufficient.
So I ordered a unit, and several days later, my box arrived, and I quickly put the unit together and on my tripod for testing in my office.
Interestingly enough, I did allow my kids (8g & 6b) to play with the clamp and my iTouch, while connected to my camera, and I did not see any real reason to worry if the iTouch was slipping, even as my kids removed and replaced the iTouch, several times. I did this to try to judge the grip strength.
They could do it, but not easily.
Testing on Land – Completed and qualified
My next test was going to be over some water, on a little damn spillway near me.
This was my first time carrying my tripod while the clamp was attached, and it became quickly apparent, that it was there.
At first, there was now only one way I could carry the tripod on my shoulder, without the unit poking me in the head or shoulder, and while climbing through the brush, it was another item that did get caught in the branches as I walked around.
Another thing that I wanted to check, while over water, was how easy it was to trigger the camera from the iDevice, and not cause any additional movement further up the tripod.
Yes, I tried this on land, but there is something about being over water, and about to trigger a 15+ minute series of exposures.
One already has to worry about the water rushing around the tripod legs causing vibrations.
I was happy to find, that the clamp did not seem to transmit any additional moment, and the iDevice seems to be more sensitive than I had realized!
120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 – (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100Testing over Water – Completed and qualified
Conclusion
If you are interested in a way to attach your iTouch to a Tripod, I would definitely invite you to take a look at this TripodClamps.com offering.
I am also still looking for a water-proof case for my iTouch, and the Clamp seems to have enough extra ‘reach’ that I will not have to by another mount.
Even though I did run into some issues while first working with this Clamp, that seemed more about me, learning how to best work with new equipment, then the function of the clamp, and I offer the following “Notes to Self”…
Notes to self
Carry clamp in a vest pocket while walking/exploring
![120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 - (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100](https://i0.wp.com/www.aseymour.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/120912.Marsh_.Creek_.Spillway.bw_.07.01.jpg?resize=580%2C387 "120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 07 - (3) Stops [32-259 seconds] f22 ISO 100")