Category: Location

Categories
Chester County Nature Photo Journal Photography Photostream Rivers

Aftermath of Tropical Storm Nicole at Hibernia Park

Wow it has RAINED!

Just when you thought it was ending, another wave of rain would hit!

It was doing this well into the late night and early morning for Friday, October 1st.

This article from CBS news, “Storm Drenches East Coast, Kills 6 People“, sums up the storm.

When we finally got up to start the new day, we were greeted with a phone message announcing that the Downingtown area Schools were to have a (2) hour Opening Delay, and the local television news reports were showing segments on Road Closures and Flooding Damage in the surrounding areas.

Needless to say, traffic was BAD!

By 11am, I had Madison on the bus and off to school, and Logan dropped off at Day Care.

I was on my own!

Now to my Daily “Online Check-In” to catch-up…

On the “Chester County, PA” Flickr group, I noticed Brian Cox’s photo that he had taken at Hibernia Park, which gave me the idea.

Fungi DOF by Brian Cox
Fungi DOF by Brian Cox

So I fired up Goggle Earth and Maps, and plotted my course into my GPS, and off I went…

I had NOT been to Hibernia Park since the “Animal Planet Expo” event back on August 18th, 2007!

I got there and tried to find a Trail Map, but was thwarted because there did not seem to be folks in the Offices, even though there were cars around. (When I got home, I was able to find a PDF Trail map)

Oh well… on with my adventure!

After watching some other cars drive by, I drove down a dirt road toward the “Old Dam” area, parked, and gathered my gear…

Shooting Vest, Lens, extra Memory cards, Tripod, etc…

I was off!

What struck me the moment I turned off the car, was the loud sound of water rushing!

Just by the loud sound, you could tell there had been some rain lately!

I looked around the “Old Dam” ruins, and saw some water, but nothing really worth photographing, and started down the “Forge Trail”, toward that sound.

As I got to the first opening on the trail, this is what I saw:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 038
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 038

Notice the the line of leaves on the right side of the image, to get an idea of how far up on land, the flood line is!

Walking a little further down the trail, and turning around, I got this the view, looking back up the creek:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 060
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 060

Again, notice how far up the leaves are on the left side!

And from this picture, you can CLEARLY see how high the water is from all the rain!

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 059
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 059

I raised the ISO to 1600, and was able to capture these images, trying to illustrate the movement of the water as it barreled down the creek.

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 207
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 207
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 146
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 146

You have to LOVE the ability to change ISO in mid “film”!

One funny moment during this shoot.

I was setting up my tripod to take a picture, and felt something hit my foot.

When I looked down, I saw several scared fresh water cray fish jumping around, and then they were off into the creek!

“Someone” was not happy I was there!

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 041
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 041

This actually happen twice!

On my trip down and then back up!

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 283
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 283

I continued my walk down creek, past the little pond in the “Lower Damn” area, following Lions Head Drive.

About midway between “Cottage #3” and “Cottage #2”, there is a little hill, that has a barbecue stand and a picnic table, and from the top of the hill, I was able to get this view point, and take this image:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 067
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 067

I then moved to in front of the tree to capture, these:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 086
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 086
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 163
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 163

My last capture before “Cottage #2”, was this tranquil little image:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 225
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 225

Looking at my watch, I started back to the “Old Dam” parking lot, and was able to take a few moments to capture these images:

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 291
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 291

and finally…

Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) - 315
Hibernia Park (10/1/2010) – 315

As you can see, there was allot of “action” on the river!

When I got to the Parking lot, there was another gentleman just getting ready to begin his adventure in photographing the creek!

Update – 5 Oct 10 – Turns out, the gentleman I met in the Parking lot was Anthony Leach, a fellow Flickr.com member, and he shared with me, his images from Hibernia Park via Photostream! Check them out!

I got home with about 15 minutes to spare before Madison got off the bus.

Yeah!

As she did her home work, I was able to begin processing the 318 images that I took.

Again, you have to LOVE the Digital Age!

Update – 4 Oct 10 – Since originally taking these images, I have managed to publish two (2) different galleries of digital pictures related to this adventure, and I invite you to take a take a look!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me!

Thanks for taking the time to read my Blog entry!

Come back soon to see what other adventures I have under taking!

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Categories
Chester County Downingtown

Raining… but we NEED it!

With the remains of Tropical Storm Nicole all around us, there have been many warnings of the flooding to come as the storm heads up the East Coast.

It has been raining ALL day, but I should not complain, we have needed it for over well over a month.

At least I have not had to mow the lawn lately…

But then again… I can still see the wheel tracks from the last time I mowed…

– Andrew
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Categories
Chester County Covered Bridges HDR Photo Journal Photography Projects

Kennedy Covered Bridge (1856)

Kimberton – Phoenixville, Chester County [38-15-13]

The temperature was warm, but not to bad, and the skies were a deep blue with a few puffy white clouds.

It was another beautiful day in Chester County.

I started today’s adventure near the intersection of Route 100 and Route 113.

From there I took Pike Springs Road North (Rt. 113) towards Phoenixville, and was able to find Hares Hill Road on my left.

Turn on to Hares Hill Road, I immediately began to see signs that indicated that there was a bridge out in front of me.

My heart began to sink, thinking that this was going to be a wasted trip.

I ventured forth, continuing to see bridge close signs, and finally made it to Mill Lane.

Turning down Mill Lane, which is a small bumpy unpaved back-road, I reached the end , and was delighted to see a small little parking area.

Once I was parked, I noticed that the Closed Bridge signs had disappeared.

I gathered my gear, and headed down West Seven Stars Rd. towards the bridge, and was very happy to see that there was no construction visible anywhere!

At the entrance to the bridge, I stopped and began to assess the traffic situation.

I could see the bridge sign, just inside, and knew that I was going to have to do my dance with the oncoming cars and trucks.

Kennedy Covered Bridge 001 (Sign)
Kennedy Covered Bridge 001 (Sign)

With some quick timing, I was able to capture some hand-held bridge images, shot at ISO 1600.

On the sign, one can read, that the bridge had been destroyed by fire in 1986, but was rehabilitated a year later.

From there I moved back outside and to the base wall of the bridge and began to set up my tripod for my first exterior images of the entrance.

I knew this was going to take a long time, because the traffic seem to be increasing.

As I sat there, waiting for the cars, it was interesting to note how people responded to me and my camera.

Some folks, just wanted to make sure they didn’t hit you and continued along very quickly. Others would smile and wave and occasionally you would get a beep of the horn as a sign of encouragement.

With the way the sun was hitting the bridge, I decided to walk through, and shoot back for my long interior capture, but in doing so, I had to set up my camera just at the edge of the traffic lane.

During my captures, I played a policeman with the ongoing traffic.

This was by far the most time-consuming image and nerve-racking of the day so far.

Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 02 (Long Intervior View)
Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 02 (Long Interior View)

I got my captures and begin to look for my next shot.

Seeing that there were no easy ways to get under the bridge from the school side, I crossed back over, and down the opposite side I had shot from earlier.

This was nice because there was a little grass area where I could easily set up my low angle view of the bridge.

From here I moved upstream and look for an easy entrance into the water.

I found a spot, and started in, finally finding a spot on the far side of the Creek.

This was going to be another timings shot.

As I was setting up, I noticed that the school was having the lawns cut and large red mower kept on moving in and out of the shot, all the long kicking up dust clouds.

Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 04 (Long Exterior View 01)
Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 04 (Long Exterior View 01)

From there, I moved back down the Creek, crossing over the middle again, and towards the underside of the bridge.

Climbing over some rocks and up into the concrete area of the undercarriage, I was able to see that the underside for the first time.

The bridge had a light tan paint which was going to help to illuminate the support structure, and there was a nice contrast between the tan iron beams and the dark wood of the bridge itself, but I had to wait as red lawnmower continued to move back and forth off to the right.

Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 05 (Underneath)
Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 05 (Underneath)

From the middle of the undercarriage I continued to my right and up the side of the bridge.

As I scrambled up, I looked back and saw this long low view of the bridge.

Kennedy Covered Bridge (Long Side-view)
Kennedy Covered Bridge (Long Side-view)

This was my shot of the day.

But again I had to wait for Mr. Red lawnmower and the dust clouds…

Finally finished with the shot, I headed back to where I had started about an hour ago.

I started to head back to my car, got there, and decided to walk up the Creek a little bit more looking for another long view shot.

Heading back to the Creek, I found another easy entrance to the water and searched around for an appropriate view.

Finding one, I was able to capture this final image of the Kennedy covered bridge.

Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 08 (Long Exterior View 02)
Kennedy Covered Bridge hdr 08 (Long Exterior View 02)

Tech Notes

During my processing of my images, especially HDR 07, I ran into a number of issues with ghosting and color aberrations.

Initially I posted to Flickr my first attempt of HDR 007, but after being too frustrated with what I was looking at, I re-released the image after spending some more time with it, and that is what is posted her. If you wish to see the original, it can be found on my Flickr PhotoStream.

– Andrew
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Images Featured In

Destination Travel Magazine (June 2011) – Covered Bridges of Lancaster County

Destination Travel Magazine (May 2011) – Covered Bridges of Chester County

Destination Travel Magazine (April 2011) – Covered Bridges of Chester County

Reference Material


View Covered Bridges – Photographed by Andrew Seymour in a larger map
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Cross Links

Categories
Chester County Covered Bridges Flickr Photo Journal Photography Photostream Projects

Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)

Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)

Hickory Hill, Chester County [38-15-01]

From the Linton-Stevens bridge, I headed across Hickory Hill and was easily able to find Camp Bonsai Road.

As I drove down the twisty road, and got to the bottom, and spotted Rudolph & Arthur in front of me. I slowed to a stop, looking for a place to shoot and also park my car.

Crossing the bridge from West to East, I parked on the side of the road, grabbed my gear, and headed back towards the bridge, all the while as a large dog barked in the background from a nearby house.

Rudolph & Arthur (1886) - East Entrance (HDR 01)
Rudolph & Arthur (1886) – East Entrance (HDR 01)

As I approach the bridge, I noticed the little shack on the other side of the road, so I set up in the middle-of-the-road framing the red shack in the center of my image.

Moving forward some more, and keeping in mind the red shack, I did my detailed interior view of the bridge.

Looking through Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)
Looking through Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)

Once my detail picture was completed, I started through the bridge looking for a sign or plaque, my eye was beginning to see some interesting tones deep within the bridge, which I made a mental note of and continued to the other side.

From the East side of the bridge I started upstream. After about 75 feet I looked over my shoulder and set up for the following shot.

The dog was still barking and I was surprised that nobody had surfaced to see what the dog was barking at. I could hear somebody inside crashing about which made it even more odd that no one had investigated.

Rudolph & Arthur (1886) South-side View, Full (HDR 08)
Rudolph & Arthur (1886) South-side View, Full (HDR 08)

I continued up the backside looking for a place to easily enter the water, and finally found a spot and carefully waded in. Towards the middle of the creek, there was a shallow sandbar and a place to set up for my next shot.

Rudolph & Arthur (1886) South-side View, Full (HDR 08)
Rudolph & Arthur (1886) South-side View, Full (HDR 08)

From my position in the center of the Creek, I moved downstream and towards the underside of the West entrance.

Once I finally got underneath the bridge, the water level had risen to about mid-thigh. I was able to set up my tripod and capture another undercarriage of a covered bridge.

Looking Underneath Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)
Looking Underneath Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (1886)

This underneath was in stark contrast to the previous bridge, Linton-Stevens. The dark brown undercarriage did not reflect nearly as much light, but with the angle of the sun, light was reflecting off the water and illumining some the structural details of the underside.

From here I continued downstream, looking to do an upstream shot of the full side but with the sun at the current angle I would have been shooting directly into it and decided against.

Crossing over the creek, I got up on the East side bank and back to my car, where I started to pack up.

After I had removed the camera from the tripod, I noticed my battery was dying, so I decided to do some hand-held shots, finishing off the battery.

When I was back inside the bridge, the sunlight was reflecting off the water and up into the bridge, giving the wood a very warm tone.

With the final few moments on my battery I was able to capture this final image.

Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (Interior)
Rudolph & Arthur Covered Bridge (Interior)

Now that my batteries were completely dead, and I had no extras with me, it was time to head home.

All in all, it was a good day of shooting.

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Cross Links

Updates

10/18/2012 – Notes from a talk given at the Citadel Credit Union about the Covered Bridges of the Oxford area.

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Categories
Chester County Covered Bridges Flickr Photo Journal Photography Photostream Projects

Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)

Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)

Hickory Hill, Chester County [38-15-03]

Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886) - Main Sign (HDR 01)
Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886) – Main Sign (HDR 01)

It was another beautiful day in Chester County.

I was able to get everybody out of the house early, so I could then spend down the road capturing more bridges.

This bridge is located in Hickory Hill, which is southwest of where I live, so I took Rt. 1 South and headed towards Oxford.

Once near Oxford, I let the GPS guide me through the various small back-roads as I wound myself towards the bridge.

As I started down a small little hill on Kings Row Road, I saw Linton Stevens in front of me.

About 100 feet above the bridge, I pulled off to the side of the road, parked and began to look for potential shots.

Grabbing my gear, I headed off in search of the main bridge sign to get further details.

I found the bridge plaque on the north side of the bridge.

Setting up my tripod, I took my first images.

From there, I remembered, that during my initial scouting and the walk towards the entrance, there was a shot I wanted to capture on the left side, so I moved the camera and tripod into position, and set up to do another series of HDR captures.

Long View of Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)
Long View of Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)

While I was setting up the shot, I noticed on the far side, an older woman out walking her dog. I waited until she and her dog had entered the bridge and started my first captures. It was easy to locate them in the bridge by the echoing sounds of the dogs claws hitting the wood floor. Once they were through, we exchanged “Good morning”‘s, and they continue their walk.

I moved closer to the bridge, where I could exaggerate the length and also capture the reflection in the water.

Linton Stevens - Side View (HDR 03)
Linton Stevens – Side View (HDR 03)

After that was done, I went back to my car and drove it through the bridge parking on the other side.

I setup my camera to do a long interior shot looking north. What surprised me at this stage of the game, was that some of my exposures were pushing 30 seconds, which seemed unusual for the brightness of the day.

Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886) - Interior View (HDR 05)
Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886) – Interior View (HDR 05)

Once I was done with the Interior shot, I moved around to the right side of the bridge to look for a way to crawl underneath, which was easy because of the small little path, that others had used before.

Looking Underneath Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)
Looking Underneath Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)

As I started my investigation, I was startled, to see a seemingly “fresh paint”  on the iron beams that supported the bridge.

The light sand color of the paint was going to help reflect light into this very dark scene.

I also noticed some very fresh red graffiti painted on the side of one of the main girders, but unfortunately, I did not have a wide enough angle lens to capture the whole scene, but I was able to move easily to the center and capture the following image. (I do have an additional shot trying to show the graffiti, and the artist that left their mark, also dated their artwork as 7/20/2011, just a mere two months ago.)

From here, I started moving downstream to get along side view of the bridge.

As I waded through the water, there was a line of rocks acting as a small dam, that had caught a branch and leaves that were now blocking water from floating freely. I move the branch out-of-the-way, and then there was a sudden rush of water.

I finally set up approximately 150 feet downstream, and captured my final full-length view of the bridge.

Looking Upstream at Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)
Looking Upstream at Linton Stevens Covered Bridge (1886)

I took a few more shots as I headed back upstream towards my car, where I collapsed my tripod, and headed off to the next bridge: Rudolph & Arthur (1886).

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Cross Links

Updates

10/18/2012 – Notes from a talk given at the Citadel Credit Union about the Covered Bridges of the Oxford area.

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