– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Delaplane Delaplane is a small rural community in Fauquier County, Virginia. The village came into being after the building of the Manassas Gap Railroad in 1852. Construction of the railroad began the previous year at the junction of the existing Orange and Alexandria Railroad at what became known as Manassas Junction. The railroad headed west towards Front Royal, through the Manassas Gap in the...
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Erosion as Art I have been reading Rick Sammon’s book “Creative Visualization for Photographers”. This book is not a technique guide in the standard form. It is designed to help the photographer produce better images through ideas that may lead to better vision. Basically, the aim is to give you a better eye for an image and then post-processing it to elevate the result from a snapshot to a great...
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Railroad Baggage Carts A couple of weeks ago we revisited the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, Maryland. Whilst I was waiting for the steam locomotive to arrive I wandered around the historic depot. No matter the main attraction that takes you to something like a tourist train station, it is always worth taking some time to slowly explore the surroundings. As I was walking along...
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Model A Ford 4-Door Convertible In the last post we took a look at creating a reasonable facsimile of the historic era represented by the preserved Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s Baldwin Consolidation 2-8-0 Locomotive. In that particular image patience was required to achieve the desired result. Today we see the how pure luck can also play a key role in finding and creating a great image...
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Isaiah Davenport House The Isaiah Davenport House is a historic house in Savannah, Georgia. It is located on the northwest corner of Columbia Square, one of six additional squares added to the original Oglethorpe Plan in the late 1790s. This federal-style home was built in 1820 by Isaiah Davenport for his growing household as well as a means of showing his considerable building skills. Details of...
Green Barn with Stables On the exit road from James Madison’s Montpelier, which we looked at back in December, were these wonderful green barns. Each was a stable on the ground level with storage above. The resultant image files have sat in my files for over two years with previous attempts at processing not doing these delightful structures justice. Having acquired...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Death Camas (Zigadenus leimanthoides) The Death Camas (Zigadenus leimanthoides) is a member of the liliaceae or lily family. Sometimes known as the Pine Barrens Death Camas from the environment it which it is found, it also goes by Osceola’s plume, crowpoison, or black snakeroot. This wildflower is a erect...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Falls Church Presbyterian Church In the last post we visited Vale United Methodist Church in Oakton, Virginia. Today we move a few miles down the road to the historic town of Falls Church. The Falls Church after which the town of Falls Church, Virginia was named, was founded in 1734. This was an Episcopal...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Vale United Methodist Church For today’s and Wednesday’s posts we are going to take a look at two of the older churches close to where I live. We will start with with a historic white clapboard methodist church which remained unchanged for 60 years and then move on a couple of miles down the road to...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximim) The Great Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) is a member of the Ericaceae or Heath family. It is an erect woody shrub which can grow to more that 20-feet tall. The leaves are alternate, evergreen and leathery with a smooth upper surface and hairy beneath. They grow...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Philipsburg Manor In the last post we visited Washington Irving’s Sunnyside. The original farmhouse was part of Philipsburg Manor, which we will now take a look at. Frederick Philipse was born in Friesland, Holland in 1626 (his Dutch name was Vredryck Flypsen). He immigrated to New York, then New...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Washington Irving’s Sunnyside Over the last few weekends I have been reprocessing some of my older images using Lightroom 4. I am in awe at the additional details and amazing clarity that can be drawn from the original RAW files. Its not just the newer files which benefit from the wonderful processing...
Learn More
– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase – Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare) Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare), also known as blue devil, blue thistle or blueweed, is a member of the Boraginaceae or Forget-Me-Not family. The name comes from the use of the plant root in ancient times as a treatment for snake or viper bites. The wildflower is a...
Learn More
