I finally got a chance to investigate this abandoned paper mill, which I have been eyeing for some time.
Also, kinda of got pushed into it, but that is another story…
This is also my first exploration into Urban Exploration (Urbex) photography.
If you know of more places, please let me know!
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A series of Long Exposures taken of the Marsh Creek Spillway in Chester County, PA.
My first series of images using my new Triggertrap Mobile – Exposures ranging from 0.4-500 seconds, for HDR post capture processing using Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Nik Software – HDR Efex Pro 2.
13-Jan-07 – Image “120912 Marsh Creek Spillway bw 01” – Awarded “Best of Super Long Exposure” for 2012 by Triggertrap
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It has been very dry in Chester County for a while now, and when it did rain last night, I had thoughts of where to find some water to finally take pictures of in the area.
Early in the morning, I put my photography gear in the car, along with drinks and snacks and I was off.
By the time I finished my quick errands around town, it was overcast, 85°F+ with slightly high humidity, and I knew I really wanted to play with my new 10-stop neutral density filter, and I knew my first stop.
The Downingtown Dam, which is just west of the center of town, along Rt. 282/Creek Road was my first stop.
I parked in the little spot near the road, packed up my vest, grabbed my tripod, and was off along the little path through the woods.
Tech Note – The Downingtown Dam image is a HDR collection of (3) three images taken at 180 sec, 120 sec and 60 sec (f22 ISO100), combined in Photoshop, with Tone Mapping done with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.
I had been there a day or two earlier with my kids, when we took advantage of the swimming area just above the damn, and I also knew I could get a good measurement of what to expect further up-stream for possible later shoots.
The water level was definitely higher, my guest 2-3 inches, and most of the concrete on the damn was cover, with places blocked by small branches.
On the downside of the damn, it was still easy to cross the river with all the bare rocks still visible, and I quickly situated myself on the one large concrete slab near the middle.
As I setup, and looked around, I knew I was not going to get much, but I pushed on with the session.
During my time, I did finally get an exposure into the 4 minute range with the sun nearly right over head, but still not slow enough for somethings I want to do.
After about 45 minutes of shooting, I headed back to the car, and headed further upstream.
I stopped at several more places along Creek Road, checking the water levels. On several occasions, I had to deliberate, if it was worth the walk through thick poison ivy and oak, for a mediocre shoot.
When I reached the west side of Glenmoore, I turned around, and headed back on a GPS drive to my next adventure.
I first photographed the Sheeder-Hall Covered Bridge back in 2010, and lately, I have been reviewing my images, with a desire to try again.
In Chester County, there are many wonderful, scenic roads, and Pughtown Road, off of Rt 100 (Pottstown Pike) is one of them, and along the way, one will find Hollow Road, on which Sheeder-Hall Covered Bridge can be found. The best place to park, in the little area on French Creek Road.
Tech Note – A series of (5) shots ranging from 1/15th to 1 second (f25 ISO100), combined in Photoshop, with Tone Mapping done with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.
Once again, I got my vest and tripod out, and headed down one of the little paths that lead to the downstream side of the bridge.
I waded into the water, and took some more documentary style images, looking upstream, and then headed back to capture some more interior shoots.
Eventually, I crossed the bridge, took some more shoots and headed back, and as I did, I turned, and saw this view. The traffic was lite, so doing the required multiple exposures for HDR work was easy, and then I was done for this session.
Rapps Dam Covered Bridge in Phoenixville was another bridge that I photographed back in 2010, and since that time, Rapps has been restored, and I finally got a chance to visit to see the new construction!
Tech Note – The Underneath shoot was another series of (7) HDR shoots, taken between 1 second and 60 seconds at f22 ISO100. Combined in Photoshop and tweaked with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.
When one is walking near the bridge, you can still smell the fresh new wood, combined with a pitch smell as you walk underneath.
Tech Note – The Underneath shoot was another series of (6) HDR shoots, taken between 8 seconds and 180 seconds at f22 ISO100. Combined in Photoshop and tweaked with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.
It is very easy to see that the renovations that started on January 17 2011, were a success when the bridge reopened on Monday, November 21, 2011.
PennDOT took 10 months to replace the 4 steel support beams, remove and replace the cedar roof and redwood timber and siding, along the 106-foot span. The project cost $1,527,257, which was paid for by state funds, and was managed by Bi-State Construction of Easton, PA. The last time the bridge was reconstructed was in 1978.
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Apparently, an 18-wheeler decided to take on Rapps Dam… Guess who won…
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?section=news/local&id=9520568&photo=1
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It is very early in the morning, and I have finally finished my last edits and touch-ups of Week 2 of my sunset series taken that Shamona Creek elementary school.
It is been a couple of weeks since the last time I posted, mainly because the weather has been rather dry, and there have been very few clouds wandering the skies.
So without further ado, I offer up Days 8 through 14 of my continued series of sunsets:
What I find very spectacular about this particular photo is I was able to capture the crepuscular rays, which seems to be a theme for this week’s images!
The panoramic above, is actually a combination of four images that I took very quickly so that I did not have to worry about the cloud movement.
It also offers up a good overview of the location that I have been shooting from for the past two weeks.
This image captures the sunset fire of the back-lit weeds, growing amidst the cornfield, and also underscores my looking beyond the general sunsets for more elements within my images.
This is another two shot capture also shows some more crepuscular rays.
Technically, I should not be including this within my series, only because it was not taken in the same location as the rest of the collection, but it was taken on my way to the hillside where I have been doing my shooting.
The hardest part about this shot, was trying to figure out a way to accentuate the backlit dandelion seed heads, without losing the overall feel due to the brilliance of the setting sun.
In the shot you can see the newly installed garden planters!
Again the onslaught of the ever-present dandelion seed heads, which all kids love to pick and blow off the seeds, to the horror of every person that needs to maintain a lawn.
One of these days, I’m going to collect the required amount of dandelions and finally try to make some wine out of them!
There is very definitely turbulence in the air as you look at this image, along with more crepuscular rays.
I also struggled during processing not to overly emphasize the colors that are inherent when dealing with high dynamic range (HDR) images.
The final image of this week, goes back to the backlit weeds during the early evening sunset.
Every day I continue to look West as dusk approaches to see if it will be another chance to capture more images from the Shamona Creek elementary school hillside that I have spent so much time at during the past couple of months.
I hope you enjoyed my images from Week 2, and you will check back soon to see what I have added for Week 3!
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Some images taken during a Family Nature Walk at the ChesLen Preserve in Coatesville, Chester County PA.
This image was taken at the edge of one of the hedge rows, in the shade.
Looking at Power Line and newly plowed fields, which are now ready for planting.
