Speakman #1 Covered Bridge (1881)
Coatesville, Chester County [38-15-05]
Driving south of Coatesville on Route 82, was definitely one of those days where you had the windows down and the stereo cranked up.
Initially I wanted to find Speakman #2 (Mary Ann Pyle CB), but when I got to the end of Highland Dairy Road, I encountered a local resident and asked about the bridge. He informed me that the bridge had been damaged in the recent storms back in June. He had not been there, but he had heard that the bridge had washed away.
I turned around and continued south on Route 82, which only took me deeper into the horse country of Chester County.
It was easy finding DuPont road which led to frog Hollow Road and I parked at the intersection.
This Burr bridge was built in 1881 by Menander & Ferdinand Wood, and is located in a very quiet and secluded area where one could only hear water running of the stream.
Unpacking my tripod and camera gear, I set out to do some interior shots of the bridge from the road.
There was some graffiti scrolled onto the dark walls of the interior which added some color.
I look for position where I could go full-sized shot of the bridge, but the weeds were very thick, and I decided to cross the bridge to the other side.
once on the other side, I found an easy path walking upstream, and was quickly able to find a dried area where I could set up to do my full-length shot.
It was a nice relief walking through the cool stream water because it was such a hot and humid day.
After taking my full-length shots, I started looking around at the beautiful scenery, and just swiveled the tripod head 180°, looking back up the stream, capturing the following image.
I spent a few more minutes letting my eyes take in the beauty, as I splashed cold water onto my head and neck helping to cool me off.
reluctantly I started back downstream and got to the edge of the bridge, where I set up to do my final detailed interior capture.
Here is another example, where I did not notice the lens flare on the cameras LCD screen, but did notice it when I was editing the images and Adobe Lightroom.
I crossed back over the bridge, put my gear into the car, selected my next bridge from the GPS, and headed off to Mercer Covered Bridge in Christiana.
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