St. David's

After looking back through my posts, I find that I left out a day.  And it was a beautiful day at a wonderful venue.

On Monday, we checked out of our accommodations in Saundersfoot, Wales and we drove to the town of St. David's to see one of the oldest churches in the UK, St. David's Cathedral.

This building has over 1000 years of history.  Just imagine what can happen in 1000 years.  How many generations have come and gone, each having their turn to be stewards of the church or to turn their backs on the church.

When we arrived in the town of St. David's we followed a sign for parking, which took us down a street that was wide enough for one car but was not one-way!  And then we found that the parking lot was full.  We circled it twice and found that it was still full!  So we drove back up into town and followed signs to a parking lot a little farther away and finally found, and paid for, parking.

The town was a little like a coastal vacation town in that it had many restaurants and souvenir shops all crowded together in the most popular area, which, of course, was the street leading to the cathedral.

The weather was very changeable the day that we were there.  When we were entering the cathedral, it was raining and dark.  When we came out we found that the sun was making an appearance!

On the way into the Cathedral
the sky was cloudy and
the day was wet.

On the way out of the Cathedral
The skies were clearing
The sun was shining

A dramatic difference from the first image
And after only two hours!

As we entered the cathedral, we were privileged to hear a part of a concert given by a young lady with a beautiful voice accompanied by a young man on the piano.  Just beautiful!

I grew up in churches with just the sanctuary and some Sunday School classrooms.  But this cathedral had so many rooms.  I could only guess at their purposes.  One room was called the "quire", which, if spoken, sounds just like "choir".  I wonder if that is a coincidence?

There was so much beauty in the architecture and the "decor" (for lack of a better word).  

The ceilings were works of art!  It is hard to imagine how they could make those designs in those times and up so high!  The next two pictures show some of this beauty and intricacy.

At first I though this was tapestry.
Upon closer examination I found them to be painted on the wood ceiling panels.

This intricate ceiling is in the main tower that you can see in the exterior images.

This next image is of the Lady Chapel.  I have no idea why they call it that.  The interesting thing to me is the plastering.  Many of these old stone buildings have fairly rough, uneven stones in the walls, but by all of the windows and doors they have smoother stones, such as you can see around this window.  I assume that this view is what they looked like when they were new.

The Lady Chapel at St. David's Cathedral

Most times when Annette and I are out shooting, I finish first and stand around waiting for her to finish.  (However, she is getting quicker with her camera work.)  On this day, the cathedral really spoke to me.  I had such a sense of awe and wonder as I walked around.  This day I was the last one to finish and Annette was outside waiting for me.

So with that in the back of my mind, I was hurrying through the remainder of the cathedral and I made this image of the organ's pipes.  I have looked through my files and there is only one image.  The image before this one was of a different subject and the image after was of a different subject.  This was a quick grab-shot.  But it turned out to be one of my favorite images of the trip!

I love the newness of the organ juxtapositioned with the oldness of the building.
I love the composition.
I love the lighting and how it highlights the new organ and puts the old components in shadow.
I love the arched window on the left and the way the light fills its alcove.
I wish I would have included the point at the bottom of the picture.

What do you think?  Is it OK or should I throw it on the trash heap?

Well, that's our trip.  It was wonderful, interesting and stressful and I'm glad for the opportunity.

Shem Creek

Shem Creek is a great little area near Charleston.  Annette and I went there for dinner and spent the rest of the evening taking images.

Shem Creek used to be a very active port for fishermen in the area.  However, as of late, the fishing industry is having its challenges and the fleet is shrinking.

There was a great pier/walkway that was built quite a ways out along Shem Creek.

The end of the pier.

Pier Light from below.

 I can't take credit for the concept for the Pier Light photo above.  I saw Annette taking the picture and had to have a picture of my own.

Two Fishing Boats in Daylight

Fishing Boats along Shem Creek

Fishing Boats on Shem Creek at Dusk

Fishing Boats on Shem Creek at Night

 

Fishing Boat on Shem Creek at Night

The Ravenel / Cooper River Bridge

If you ever go to Charleston, you will not miss the Cooper River Bridge.
It's huge.
It's unique.
And, it's in a very visible location.

Underneath the bridge is a very nice, well-maintained Memorial Park.  It has playground equipment for the kids and a beautiful setting for the adults.

One evening, Annette and I went to the park and hung out until dark.  We saw families, couples and an exercise class that was sitting on their butts, lifting their feet off of the ground and using both hands to swing a weight back and forth.  That should help the abdominal muscles!

Anyway, we waited until the sun set and the lights on the bridge came on.  These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset 

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset 

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge) at Sunset

Oh, yeah, by the way, we also walked the bridge during the daylight hours.  I had read somewhere that the bridge deck was 195 feet above the water surface!  I was OK until we got to the first tower.  At that point I could feel the bridge move with every car that went by.  I don't know much about the fatigue life of concrete on steel beams, so I was starting to freak out.  We turned around and went back!

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

The Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Cooper River Bridge)

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!

Harrisburg Parking Garage Tour

Annette and I did not know what to expect, but whatever vague notions we had in our minds did not match what happened.  We were not mentally prepared.

The Harrisburg Camera Club had a photo shoot today.  The description of the shoot just said Downtown Harrisburg and the meeting location.

So when Annette and I got out of the car, we didn't want to lug around all of our gear so we both agreed that we would just take our cameras with the short lenses.  I guess we thought we were going to walk around the streets and shoot people or architecture.

We saw the Camera Club Group starting to walk away from the meeting place, so we ran to catch up.  That was when we learned that we were going to the top of a parking garage!

So up we go.  But from that perspective, a wide angle lens is not what you need.  You need a telephoto lens to zoom in on details of buildings or on far away buildings and sights.  So the first parking garage was a little bit of a bust!  But, I left that vantage point early and went back to the car and got our long lenses and tripods, both of which came in very handy!

In total, we went to the top of four parking garages in downtown Harrisburg!

Here are some of the pictures that I took.

 In the picture above I liked the G for Garthwaite and I liked the lion/gargoyle.  Do you think I should get rid of that drain?

 I liked the strong lines of this building to the left and the contrast between the colors and the contrast between the straight and rectangular features of the building and the more chaotic features of the leaves.

Similarly, I liked the straight and angular aspects of the building contrasting with the organic shapes of the tree.  The black of the building helped the yellow leaves to "pop".

The two pictures to the left are two different pieces of the same parking garage.  This garage was actually the third one that we climbed.  We were late getting there because we had a little detour.

Annette, Clara and Cheryl and I got off of the elevator one floor too soon.  We ended up at the Starbucks at what I guess to be the back of the Whitaker Center.  The girls had to have a coffee.  Clara wanted to buy but couldn't because she left her purse at home!  But it's the thought that counts!

While we were there, one of the Whitaker Center employees saw me standing with Annette's camera and my camera.  She asked if we did weddings.  I said, "Yes."  She asked, "Do you charge a lot?"  I said, "Yes."  But she was still interested in talking to us about shooting her wedding.  So we gave her a card and told her to look at other weddings we had shot and see if she liked our work.  Maybe we will hear from her.  Maybe we won't.

 I was just a little too late for this shot to the right.  Earlier in the day the sun was creating more interesting shadows on this white wall.  So, the lesson for both me and you is this:  Shoot it when you see it!  Don't wait!

We stayed until almost 5:00 p.m.  It was dark enough at that point for cars to have their lights on and I was able to get this picture with the streaks of red lights from the tail and brake lights.

Oh, well.  That was enough for us.  We had been shooting for four hours and we were ready to go home.

But still, it was a great day.  The weather was beautiful and we had the company of fellow photographers!