From the monthly archives:
This is the view downstream of Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township, Columbia County Pennsylvania as seen through one of the windows in the West Paden Covered Bridge. From my Sunday 10-11-2009 trip through Columbia County.
I shot this as seven bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro then applied some treatments with Topaz Adjust and onOne Software Photo Tools.
I made my fourth covered bridge trip up to Columbia County on Sunday 10-11-2009, this time hoping for a good amount of Fall foliage around the six bridges that I was targeting. It was sort of odd in that I didn’t find much Fall color changes directly around any of the bridges I stopped at but I did see a fantastic array of colors on the way up PA route 61 especially through the Centralia area and also on some of the single lane back roads that my GPS was favoring. There were bridge sightseers by the dozens today. The twin bridges of East and West Paden seemed especially busy. I have to hand it to Columbia County and those that work to preserve these bridges. They do a wonderful job of making each and every bridge a place that you want to take friends and family to go visit again and again.
The beautiful bridge above is the Kramer Covered Bridge which spans Mud Run in Columbia County Pennsylvania just outside of the town of Rohrsburg on Turkey Path Road. Built in 1881 by C.W. Eves, it has a Queen Post design design and is 50 feet in length. It was completely refurbished in 2007-2008 by Columbia County, who owns and maintains the bridge. There were several great angles you could shoot this particular bridge from including a little peninsula that the creek meanders around on the opposite side of the bridge. The WGCB # is 38-19-23.
There is an excellent covered bridge tour map in the form of a printable PDF offering two loops that cover all 25 covered bridges in Columbia and Montour countiess available here.
I shot this as nine bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro with some extra work done in Topaz Adjust.
While driving around photographing old Covered Bridges and Fall foliage in Columbia County, Pennsylvania on Sunday 10-11-2009, I stumbled upon this giant satellite dish array. I had no idea this thing existed and it was massive and after having just spent the better part of the day photographing 150 year old bridges, to see something so giant and modern was a bit of a shock. There doesn’t appear to be a lot of information about this installation other than that it is an AT&T Earth Station and somehow involved with satellite based cellular service on the East Coast. There were no signs that I could see naming the facility but a dozen different searches on Google finally showed some boy scout troop photos taken back in 1983 showing a visit to the installation by the scouts.
I’ve probably said too much already. I half expect a knock on my door by dark sunglasses wearing men in dark suits holding memory erasing pens…
I shot this as seven hand held bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro.
This is the underside of the Manassas Guth Bridge which crosses 108 feet over the Jordan creek in Lehigh County Pennsylvania. It is one of several covered bridges that span that creek and one of two located in “Covered Bridge Park”. The bridge was built in 1868 and is currently open to vehicular traffic.
I took this on 9-15-2009, shot as seven bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro with some extra work done in Topaz Adjust.
I know the hotshoe bubble level I had on the camera indicated that the camera was completely level when I shot this so my only assumption is that the bridge is somewhat crooked, at least on the underside.
One of several Inca Terns found at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA. They are in the Wetlands Free-Flight room and based upon several experiences there, if you end up getting “blessed” by birds in that room, it is most likely the Inca Terns doing it. They inhabit coastal land, offshore waters, rivers and marshes in South America and their population is threatened. They feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and leeches. From trip to the Aviary on Sunday 8-23-2009. I used the SB-800n flash with the Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere on this flight shot.
For more information on the National Aviary and how you can help support this great oasis for birds please visit www.aviary.org
Adult Bald Eagle goes into a dive towards the river and his target of fresh fish. Shot over the Susquehanna River in Maryland on Sunday afternoon 10-4-2009.
I blended two background textures from the following Flickr members who have graciously allowed us to use their work as background textures. Thanks folks !
Scratched Caramel by pareeerica
Ocean Sky by Alicepopkorn
For more information on Bald Eagles, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.
Great Egret takes some time off from her busy preening session to enjoy the late afternoon breeze. From my 7-11-2009 trip to Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ.
For more information on the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, visit their web site at www.fws.gov/northeast/forsythe/.
For more information on Great Egrets, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.
Adult Bald Eagle yanks a fish out of the Susquehanna River in Maryland on Sunday afternoon 10-4-2009.
For more information on Bald Eagles, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.
he Pool Forge Covered Bridge resides within the historic Pool Forge park in Caenarvon Township, a rural area within Lancaster County’s famous Amish countryside. Built by Levi Fink and Elias McMellen in 1859 at the cost of $1219, it spans the Conestoga Creek for 99 feet. It was also known as Yohn’s Mill Bridge. It’s design utilizes a single span, wooden, double Burr arch truss with the addition of steel hanger rods. It is painted entirely red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges on the outside. The inside of the bridge is not painted. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in red without any of the traditional white paint.
Historical records indicate that this was the place where James Buchanan met his fiance before becoming president, but she died before they could be married and he became our country’s only bachelor president.
For more information on historic Pool Forge, visit their web site.
This was shot as seven bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro with some extra work done in Topaz Adjust to bring out the wood and stone texture.
This adult Bald Eagle gave us a few pretty close fishing shot opportunities today. Here she has the landing gear down and is in full dive towards a fish in the river below. Shot over the Susquehanna River in Maryland on Sunday afternoon 10-4-2009.
This is a bit of a heavy crop. One day I’ll hit the lottery and be able to get that Sigma 300-800mm lens. One day…. :–)
For more information on Bald Eagles, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.
32 foot diameter water wheel on grounds of the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site located in Elverson, PA. Iron production at Hopewell Furnace required a blast of air to bring the heat of the furnace above 2800 degrees (Fahrenheit). The water wheel supplied the power for this air blast by pumping a pair of pistons inside two blowing tubs. Compressed air moved from the blowing tubs into a receiving box between the tubs, and then through a long pipe to enter the furnace through the tuyere, a cone-shaped nozzle attached to the end of the pipe. The water wheel at Hopewell Furnace has a long sorted history which you can read about on this page.
From my Monday, 9-7-2009 trip to Hopewell National Historic Site.
For more information on visiting Hopewell Furnace, please visit their web site
This was shot as nine bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro with some extra work done in Topaz Adjust to bring out the wood texture.
“The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” ~Douglas Adams (author), Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Adult Bald Eagle flies off over Susquehanna River in Maryland.
Free texture “fields” from darkwood67 applied as background layer.
For more information on Bald Eagles, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.
From my Monday, 9-7-2009 trip to Hopewell National Historic Site.
For more information on visiting Hopewell Furnace, please visit their web site
This was shot as five bracketed RAW frames then combined into an HDR and tone mapped in Photomatix Pro.