Anderson Mill

Earlier this year, the president of the Harrisburg Camera Club was looking for suggestions for photo field trips.  Before I could think, I opened my mouth and said that Annette and I had always wanted to spend some time at the Anderson Grist Mill.  He took that innocent comment to mean that I was volunteering to arrange for the photo shoot.  So, I did.

On October 9, 2011, Annette and I hosted the Harrisburg Camera Club at the Anderson Grist Mill.  Everyone seemed genuinely excited to see all of the fascinating, old-fashioned items in the mill.  There were so many things.  There were so many textures, shadows and patterns.

Because of the way the mill is squeezed between the creek and the road, it was difficult to get an overall view of the mill.  So we concentrated on getting details.  Here are a few detail shots of mine.

Shaker Gears

 I don't know the name of the machine that these gears were part of, but the vertical shaft going out of the top of the picture turned an eccentric wheel that shook the ground grain.  I assume it was some sort of sifter.

Chain Drive

Elevator Cup

 I innocently called a strap with cups that moves the grain in a vertical direction a conveyor.  I was quickly corrected.  To move the grain in a vertical direction an elevator is used.  To move it in a horizontal direction, a conveyor is used.  Even though they are both made from the same components and the only difference is their orientation!  Live and learn...

The Tool Room

 I played around in this room for quite a while.  I wanted to get the exposure such that I could see the scenery outside and the inside would look like it was lit by the window.  It was easier said than done.

First the window exposure had to be right.  The amount of light coming through the window can't be changed, so I dealt with it first.

Then light had to be added to the wall of tools.  That was tricky.  First I experimented with on-camera flash at various output levels and pointed in various directions.  Then I tried off-camera flash at various levels.  I even tried a reflector to reflect sunlight from the window behind the camera on to the tools.

Wooden Gear Teeth

 This is fascinating to me.  Wooden gear teeth!  How did they carry the load?  Why didn't they break?

But on the other hand...

• Wooden gear teeth are much quieter.  
• Wooden gear teeth can be replaced relatively easily.
• Wood was readily available.

The Side of the Mill

Another thing that truly fascinated me was the ingenuity that went in to the design of the building and the workings of the mill.  I assume that the men were faced with a lack of money, lack of steel components but were blessed with an abundance of wood.  All of the chutes and ladders and walls and structure of the mill were made from wood.  There were some steel or iron components, but they were only used where they had to be used.

I believe that each mill is unique.  Sure, the designer/builder could visit other mills to see how they were built, but each mill site has its own set of constraints.  The designer/builder would have to use his experience and intelligence to make the new mill the best it could be at the new site.

This is much like photography.  The photographer must use his experience, what he has observed in other photographs and his intelligence to make an image that is new and is the best it can be.

Get out there and shoot!

Assateague Sunrise

In the middle of September, Annette and I took my mother to Assateague, as we have a few times before.

One of the great things about the trip was that even though it was raining for the entire time back home, the weather in Assateague, Chincoteague and Ocean City was OK.  It was overcast but no rain that stopped us from doing anything.

Each of the two mornings we were there, Annette and I got out of bed early and headed to the beach for sunrise.  However, because of the aforementioned weather, the sunrises were not spectacular.  But we tried our best to make some worthwhile images.

Assateague Sunrise Panorama 

Notice the handicap accessible viewing platform on the right.  Mom was very interested in the platform because my sister's ex-husband had gotten married there just a few weeks earlier.  It is a beautiful setting.

Sunrise Beach Expanse

 This shot shows the emptiness of the beach at that hour of the day.  If you are looking for a picture without people, get up early!

Sunrise Beach Strollers

Well...You can't avoid people altogether!  However, this early-morning couple add a sense of scale to the image.

Expansive Sunrise Sky

In this image, the wide-angle lens helps gives a sense of wide open space that is textured by the clouds.

Boardwalk to the Sea

In all of these images, I was experimenting with the capabilities of Annette's new wide angle (10-22mm) lens.  Sometimes a new pieces of equipment will give you a new way of seeing.

Get out there and shoot!

Experimenting with Fall

Annette and I are in the midst of a long weekend.  We travelled to Bath County in Virginia to enoy the fall colors and to see how well we can capture them in photographs.

It turns out that we are not doing a very good job capturing the beauty of fall.  We see the beauty all around us, but when we view our images, it's just not the same.  Landscape photography is more difficult than it looks!

At one stop we made, we were trying to capture a barn in the valley against the backdrop of the fall colors on the mountain.  But, alas, we were five minutes too late.  The barn was in teh shadow of the mountain on the other side of the valley.  Still, I tried to take the picture, but in my haste, I didn't check my settings and the shutter speed was too slow.  I got a blurry mess!

But the next day, I was shooting from the deck of the house where we are staying and I remembered that.  This time I did it on purpose.  I made some abstracts of the fall colors.

Early morning fall abstract

Tree abstract in Fall

I found that the shutter speed is important.  The shutter was open for a longer period of time in the first image than in the second.  You can tell because the lines stretch farther and there is less detail.  There is obviously more detail in the trees of the second image, which was made with a shorter shutter speed.  Experiment until you find the speed that lets you obtain the image you have envisioned.

 If you want the trees to show up as an element in the image, you must move the camera in the same orientation as the trees.  In other words, I moved the camera up and down.

Another experiment, is to modify the colors in post production.  There are so many presets that you can experiment to your heart's content.

After you apply the preset, you can modify the image with the sliders  for saturation, blacks, exposure, etc.

Check out these weird images of the Humpback Covered Bridge near Covington, VA.

Humpback Bridge in Yellows with Blue Sky

Isn't it weird how the image still has a blue sky?

Humpback Bridge in Sepia

Old time sepia color for an old time bridge.

Some experiments work.  Some do not.  The important thing is that we get out there, use our imagination, make images and continue to grow!