These small butterflies are very plentiful in our area but almost never sit long enough to get a good shot of them.

For more information about this species of butterfly, visit this page.

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Built in the 1870s, the Bell School housed students until 1953. It was given its name as the only school in Monroe county with a bell in the cupola on the roof. This historic one-room school is run by the Monroe County Historical Society. It is open for tours in July and August on Sundays from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. The typical one-room brick school houses a collection of books, artifacts and pictures, recreating the atmosphere of a small school in the late 1880s-early 1900s.

There is a great article available here that gives details on what it was like to attend the school as a child.

I shot this as seven RAW exposures at .7 stop variance and combined them into an HDR and tone mapped it using Photomatix Pro 4.0 beta.

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A double seat outhouse once used by school children in the late 1800s/early 1900s stands in disrepair in the back yard of the Werley’s Corner One-Room Schoolhouse. Located at the corner of Werley’s Corner Road and Carpet Road in Werley’s Corner, PA which is a remote suburb of Lehigh County, PA.

I shot this after work today. Seven RAW bracketed exposures at .7 stop variance. Combined into an HDR and tone mapped with Photomatix Pro 4 Beta.

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The history of the Cresco Station goes back to 1857 when a crude depot was built in Oakland Station (later named Cresco) for the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad that passed through.  Today it stands as a museum featuring relics of Railroad years past as well as artifacts focused around the history of the Cresco area.  The museum is open Sundays from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, from Memorial Day to Columbus Day with special events throughout that time.
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This historic, wooden one-room school is located on Neola Road in Saylorsburg, PA. I don’t know much about it and there was no sign indicating the actual school name or dates of operation. I’m going to continue to research this one. One of five historic one-room schools I shot on Saturday 8-28-2010.

I shot everything today with my new Sigma 10mm F2.8 Fisheye lens as a way of getting used to the lens for landscape shots. I’ve wanted a fisheye lens for landscape photography for a few years and this 10mm has a nice balance of sharpness and super wide angle without a lot of the lens distortion you find with a lot of fisheye lenses. I shot this as seven bracketed RAW frames at .7 stop increments and then combined them into an HDR with the new 4.0 Beta version of Photomatix Pro and finally, tone mapped that image. I’m not happy with the color of the sky on the right side of the image and I should have used a graduated neutral density filter but it was hard enough hauling around a Gitzo tripod, D300 camera body and lens while maneuvering with crutches.

From my trip to Kreidersville Covered Bridge back on Sunday 4-18-2010. I always seem to visit this particular bridge on days when it storms, or there are no leaves on the trees or there is muddy, slushy snow on the ground. I’ll keep going back to this place until I get some nice golden light with fall foliage surrounding it or die in the attempt ! LOL

The bridge was built in 1839 and spans the Hokendauqua Creek at a length of 96 feet. It is the only covered bridge in Northampton County. It utilizes a Burr truss design and is closed to all but pedestrian traffic. Each year, Allen Township holds several community events at the bridge including a Covered Bridge festival which will be held this year(2010) on June 5th and 6th. Santa Claus also shows up at the bridge each year during the Christmas holidays and the area kids all participate. Of all the bridges that I have personally seen so far in Pennsylvania, the Kreidersville Covered Bridge is perhaps the recipient of the best organized community involvement. The community has a web site (www.KreidersvilleCoveredBridge.org) which covers the bridge’s history, current news about landscaping and repair work, bridge festival news and other bridge information. On the bridge grounds, there are benches to sit on and a small parking area to pull into. The landscaping at the bridge is absolutely beautiful. The first time I was there in 2009 they were doing repainting and repairs on the portal areas of the bridge. They take maintenance of this bridge very seriously.

I shot this as five bracketed RAW frames at 1/3rd stop increments and then combined them into an HDR with Photomatix Pro and finally, tone mapped that image.

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The Rock Run Mill was built in 1794 by John Stump, a prosperous business man who owned several mills in Harford, Cecil, and Baltimore Counties in Maryland. The original Fitz Water Wheel measured thirty-two feet in diameter, two and one half feet wide with eighty-four buckets, it weighed about 12 tons. The current wheel, a large replica waterwheel of the original, about 18 inches wide and 18 feet in diameter and weighs 24,000 pounds but, it only takes 2 pounds of force to turn it, grinding grain using the French ‘buhrstones’.

The Mill is located within the Susquehanna State Park on Rock Run Road off of Stafford Road just north of Havre de Grace, MD. The three story mill, full of 19th century mill equipment and farming displays, is fully operational, being operated during the summer months in conjunction with visitor traffic through the mill displays.

I shot this during a very wet April 4th, 2010 trip which included this Mill along with the Garvine Mill up in York County, PA. Shot as seven RAW frames bracketed at .7 stop variance and processed into an HDR and tone mapped with the new Photomatix Pro 4.0 beta release.

Click photo to view large on black.

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A Bumble Bee visits one of the flowers in the back yard. While grabbing the nectar it seeks, it also unknowingly spreads the pollen from previously visited flowers, stuck to its legs, to this flower, ensuring the prosperity of the garden continues on.

For more information on bees, visit this page

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A Great Egret hangs onto a tree with a somewhat precarious footing. From my 7-6-2009 trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge outside of Smyrna, Delaware.

For more information on the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, visit their web site atwww.fws.gov/northeast/bombayhook/.

For more information on Great Egrets, visit the Cornelll Lab Of Ornithology.

I’ve been seeing more and more of these Silver Spotted Skipper Butterflies around the pond in the the past few weeks. They have been driving the frogs crazy. One frog ended up in the butterfly bush after leaping up out of the waterfall and missing his intended butterfly target. I haven’t seen a frog have any success with any of these lunchtime aquisition attempts so far. Shot this with the Sigma 50-500mm at just within the reach of its minimal focus distance. I’m definitely getting a dedicated macro lens for next Spring.

Health update: I went back to the Orthopedic Surgeon today for a follow-up evaluation on my leg. The doctor gave me clearance for 50% weight bearing on the leg and I can start twice a week physical therapy sessions which will go on for the next six weeks. He said I can attempt some short driving trips but nothing too strenuous. I go back on September 27th for a (hopefully) final evaluation where I should be approved for 100% weight bearing on the leg again. I want to thank everyone for their support in the last twelve weeks. This has been a real pain in the ass, having to watch my entire Summer of photography slip away before my eyes. I have a lot of catching up to do in October and November.

For more information about this species of butterfly, visit this page.

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Located at the intersection of Emmitsburg Road and West Confederate Avenue. Confederate forces of Hood’s division marched past this house and across the surrounding land during their attack on July 2, 1863.

A Mourning Dove flies back into his tree with building material for nest fortification. Shot in the backyard on 8-20-2010. Double bonus points to you if you know where the Route 2 in Weekapaug reference comes from :–)

For more information on Mourning Doves, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

Found this fellow in the back yard today while photographing birds. At first I thought it was just a really big Bumble Bee but after taking a closer look and observing the way it hovered in front of the flowers and not landing on them, I realized this is a Snowberry clearwing Hummingbird Moth. They are within the family known as Sphinx Moths. Much like Hummingbirds, they feed on nectar from flowers.

For more information on this Moth, visit this page.