I have never been to the Milford Road side of Marsh Creek before, so this is going to be very interesting.
As I entered the circle at the end of Milford Road, I saw a man standing at the trail-head dressed in orange and a gun on his shoulder.
I parked and as I got out the car, I asked the man if he had seen a lot of other people in the area, to which he said no, and then we started to chitchat.
After some time we introduced ourselves to one another, and as I read his card, I noticed that Joe Isaacs, was a drumming instructor, to which I said to him, that I had just posted earlier a video of some taiko drummers!
The two of us chatted for a little bit more than said our goodbyes, and I headed down the path to the rest of Milford Road.
Woodhenge/Pilings – South West
Crossing over a pile of rocks, I started to walk along the new shoreline, which was sandy at first, then turned darker the closer I got to the water.
One could definitely see several levels at which the water had receded.
My tripod and camera were still hanging from my neck as I walked along the beach, and slowly moved into a slightly muddier area looking at a potential shot.
In fine tuning my position, I took a half a step back and was soon sinking in mud!
Within a fraction of a second, I was thigh deep in mud, and stuck.
This was not good.
Office and Rental Complex w/pilings
I twisted myself so that I was facing where I had just come from, and I threw my tripod about 10 feet.
Somehow I had managed to keep my camera clean so far, as I tried to figure out a way to get back to safer ‘ground’.
Leaning forward, and on to my elbows, I started to slither back along my footsteps.
When I felt confident enough, I tried to stand up, which was easy enough to do, thankfully.
As I was standing there, re-assessing my situation, my cell phone began to ring.
I do not know why I answered the phone, but I did.
It was a customer wanting to schedule a meeting to drop off some photography that I had done for her.
Office and Rental Complex of point
I explained to her that I was not in front of my computer, but I could give her a call back at another time which she easily agreed to.
Wonder if my heavy breathing had something to do with her reaction.
Then it began to hit me.
The unique scent of fresh swamp mud…
Was I going to continue the day…
Looking into the shallows
I was definitely having second thoughts, but decided to trudge along for as far as I could.
If there still were any bugs that were thinking of me as a snack, I definitely had the ultimate repellent for the day, and each time I tried to find some place to wash off, I still feared sinking in again.
I walked along the various shallow inlets, and as I got further along the western coast line, it became dramatically steeper, and eventually came to a place where a newly fallen tree prevented me from going any further, so I turned around and headed back.
Returning to where I had started, I decided to continue on, heading east an into the small cove.
Looking back out
As I approached this end of the lake, on the other side I could see more pillars sticking out of the mud, along with several big rocks that dotted the mud flats in front of me.
Finally in the corner of the cove, coming out of the woods, was a small stream of clear water, which I happily stepped in to trying to clean my legs and shoes, but there was just not enough.
Looking at my watch, it is time to head back home and greet the kids, as they got off the bus and start the rest of the afternoon activities, including some good cleaning!
It has been 10 days since I’ve been out shooting any of the new shorelines along Marsh Creek Lake, so in my planning I wanted to explore an area that I kind of already knew.
Being a Google Maps junkie, I pulled up Marsh Creek State Park from my Favorites, and then the “The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE)” application to check the lighting, to help me to decide where to go on this day.
Looking South-West (Start)
Within minutes, I had decided on taking a look at the point where the main facilities for Marsh Creek are located on Park Road. I had walked some of these trails earlier in the summer with both kids, and remembered seeing some viewpoints that I wanted to revisit.
When one first enters the park and looks out over the lake, one cannot be but astonished by all the missing water and new shorelines.
Remains of an old traffic cone
The parking lot that extends out the point, was blocked off, and I was forced to park in the main lot, which is self, was halfway closed.
No matter, I was expecting to do some walking today anyways, so I packed up my gear and headed into the parking lot towards the eastern trails.
When I got to the end of what appeared to be the Park, I noticed a trail heading down the hill, and I decided to follow it.
Clouds Midway – (North-East) 01
After a few feet, it became apparent that during hurricane Sandy, this trail had become a rushing stream.
At the bottom of the hill, I continued along some animal trails, and eventually made it to the shoreline.
I walked along the northern shore heading West, and as I walked, I was greeted with many items of visual interest.
The shoreline itself was a darker mixture of sentiment, and depending how far in you went toward the water, it became easier to sink. the shoreline around the dam consisted more of real sand, then this thick molasses of lake mud.
Clouds Midway – (South-West) 01
While walking and looking, I made the observation that there seemed to be more human trash, than what I had seen in my walks around the dam. I saw a lot of plastic bottles of various sizes, along with a couple of shoes, a folding chair, and even a deteriorated orange safety cone base.
As I continued, the clouds began to coalesce into a show of formations that I had never seen before, and I had a hard time capturing the magnificent shapes within the evolving jet stream.
Wood squid on shoreline
At one point, there was this thin series of streams, that cut through the rest of the formation, and looks like a gigantic series of cloth folds, stretching from one horizon to the other. It was definitely one of those times when I wish I had a smaller wide-angle lens.
The shoreline steepen as I headed West, and I had to scamper up to the existing trail to the tip of the point. Eventually, I emerged to see a very rocky new shoreline, which I explored for trinkets and a shot or two.
Main concrete dock
I returned to the trail, and headed north searching for a new place to start another shoreline exploration.
The shoreline in this area was much wider than areas I have been in before, and is easily accessible because of the sand rock mixture. I also noticed many more tree stumps, which made for some interesting compositions.
it is very difficult to relay to anyone that has never been to these places, what a major change has occurred with this eight-foot drawdown.
Rental building
Once familiar places, now looks so surreal and primitive.
As I stood on the deck of the restaurant, I took a series of panoramic shots, that I still need to process, in hopes to further illustrate this tremendous change.
Looking at my watch, I started back up the hill towards the parking lot and my car.
At the maintenance gate for the pool complex, I stopped to capture the final image of the day.
Swimming Park
Winter has come…
Questions
Are there any local efforts to clean up the trash and debris while so much of it is easily accessible?
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.
A comparison of the spillway dam in Marsh Creek State Park. (Sep ’12 vs Nov ’12) – In the September picture, I am standing in about 4-6 inches of water. — at Marsh Creek State Park.
To get the FULL image, you may need to Zoom-In, 2-times, by Double-Clicking (1500×618).
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.
