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Chester County Covered Bridges Filters HDR Long Exposure Nature Photo Journal Photography Rivers Streams Water

Looking for water

It has been very dry in Chester County for a while now, and when it did rain last night, I had thoughts of where to find some water to finally take pictures of in the area.

Early in the morning, I put my photography gear in the car, along with drinks and snacks and I was off.

By the time I finished my quick errands around town, it was overcast, 85°F+ with slightly high humidity, and I knew I really wanted to play with my new 10-stop neutral density filter, and I knew my first stop.

Downingtown Dam

The Downingtown Dam, which is just west of the center of town, along Rt. 282/Creek Road was my first stop.

I parked in the little spot near the road, packed up my vest, grabbed my tripod, and was off along the little path through the woods.

120727 Downingtown Damn HDR 06
120727 Downingtown Damn HDR 06

Tech Note – The Downingtown Dam image is a HDR collection of (3) three images taken at 180 sec, 120 sec and 60 sec (f22 ISO100), combined in Photoshop, with Tone Mapping done with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.

I had been there a day or two earlier with my kids, when we took advantage of the swimming area just above the damn, and I also knew I could get a good measurement of what to expect further up-stream for possible later shoots.

The water level was definitely higher, my guest 2-3 inches, and most of the concrete on the damn was cover, with places blocked by small branches.

On the downside of the damn, it was still easy to cross the river with all the bare rocks still visible, and I quickly situated myself on the one large concrete slab near the middle.

As I setup, and looked around, I knew I was not going to get much, but I pushed on with the session.

During my time, I did finally get an exposure into the 4 minute range with the sun nearly right over head, but still not slow enough for somethings I want to do.

After about 45 minutes of shooting, I headed back to the car, and headed further upstream.

I stopped at several more places along Creek Road, checking the water levels. On several occasions, I had to deliberate, if it was worth the walk through thick poison ivy and oak, for a mediocre shoot.

When I reached the west side of Glenmoore, I turned around, and headed back on a GPS drive to my next adventure.

Sheeder-Hall Covered Bridge

I first photographed the Sheeder-Hall Covered Bridge back in 2010, and lately, I have been reviewing my images, with a desire to try again.

In Chester County, there are many wonderful, scenic roads, and Pughtown Road, off of Rt 100 (Pottstown Pike) is one of them, and along the way, one will find Hollow Road, on which Sheeder-Hall Covered Bridge can be found. The best place to park, in the little area on French Creek Road.

Sheeder-Hall (1850) - Looking Downstream
Sheeder-Hall (1850) – Looking Downstream

Tech Note – A series of (5) shots ranging from 1/15th to 1 second (f25 ISO100), combined in Photoshop, with Tone Mapping done with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.

Once again, I got my vest and tripod out, and headed down one of the little paths that lead to the downstream side of the bridge.

I waded into the water, and took some more documentary style images, looking upstream, and then headed back to capture some more interior shoots.

Eventually, I crossed the bridge, took some more shoots and headed back, and as I did, I turned, and saw this view. The traffic was lite, so doing the required multiple exposures for HDR work was easy, and then I was done for this session.

Rapps Dam Covered Bridge

Rapps Dam Covered Bridge in Phoenixville was another bridge that I photographed back in 2010, and since that time, Rapps has been restored, and I finally got a chance to visit to see the new construction!

120727 Rapps Covered Bridge hdr 12 - Under the Bridge
Rapps Covered Bridge hdr 12 – Under the Bridge

Tech Note – The Underneath shoot was another series of (7) HDR shoots, taken between 1 second and 60 seconds at f22 ISO100. Combined in Photoshop and tweaked with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.

When one is walking near the bridge, you can still smell the fresh new wood, combined with a pitch smell as you walk underneath.

120727 Rapps Covered Bridge hdr 18
Rapps Dam Covered Bridge hdr 18 – Looking Upstream

Tech Note – The Underneath shoot was another series of (6) HDR shoots, taken between 8 seconds and 180 seconds at f22 ISO100. Combined in Photoshop and tweaked with Nik Software HDR Efex 2.

It is very easy to see that the renovations that started on January 17 2011, were a success when the bridge reopened on Monday, November 21, 2011.

PennDOT took 10 months to replace the 4 steel support beams, remove and replace the cedar roof and redwood timber and siding, along the 106-foot span. The project cost $1,527,257, which was paid for by state funds, and was managed by Bi-State Construction of Easton, PA. The last time the bridge was reconstructed was in 1978.

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Updates

2014 April 29

Apparently, an 18-wheeler decided to take on Rapps Dam… Guess who won…

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?section=news/local&id=9520568&photo=1

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Covered Bridges of Chester – Featured

Destinations Travel Magazine - April 2011
Destinations Travel Magazine – April 2011

Just got and email from the Editor/Publisher of Destinations Travel Magazine, that the April 2011 has been released, and my Photo Essay “The Covered Bridges of Chester County” has been included as the first of a planned three-part series of Photo essays!

Each photo essay is geared to be single 8 hour day trip.

Featured in this month issue (Day 1) are the following Covered Bridges:

Hope you enjoy them, and I would love to hear your feedback!

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Categories
Chester County Covered Bridges HDR Photo Journal Photography Projects

Rapps Covered Bridge (1866)

Rapps Covered Bridge (1866)

Phoenixville, Chester County [38-15-14]

Quick History

  • National Register of Historic Places
  • Built by Benjamin F. Hastman in 1866
  • Named for George Rapp, who ran the Snyder’s Mill in East Pikeland
  • Reconstructed in 1978 and 2011

Here again was an instance, where I had been over this bridge, many a times, while visiting a friend in that area and near gave it much thought.

I parked in the little lot to the right of the bridge, as you’re heading away from Phoenixville, and noticed a family of four, playing along the creek, enjoying the wonderful summer day.

Rapps Bridge (Main Sign) 065
Rapps Bridge (Main Sign) 065

Note – I did use Photoshop to make this read a little bit better…

From the Parking lot, I crossed the street, and setup to for this traditional long side shoot of the bridge.

Rapps Covered Bridge (Exterior Long View) 016
Rapps Covered Bridge (Exterior Long View) 016

Moving a little closer to capture some more detail of the construction.

The flow of the river has cut out the roots of a tree on the other side of the bridge, which can just be seen in this picture.

Rapps Covered Bridge (Side Detail) 028
Rapps Covered Bridge (Side Detail) 028

Then I walked under the bridge, and was captured by this view…

Rapps Covered Bridge (Underneath) HDR 043
Rapps Covered Bridge (Underneath) HDR 043

This was my first shoot taken under a covered bridge, and I have been doing them ever since!

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Tech Talk

Updates

July 27th 2012 – Got a chance to revisit Rapps Damn Covered Bridge after the 2011 Reconstruction.

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Categories
Chester County Photo Journal Photography

Three (3) bridges in an Afternoon!

After spending the morning at a clients, I was able to go out photographing in the afternoon, and I let the GPS lead the way!

I was able to visit:

with a quick stop at St. Matthew’s Church after seeing “it” from the road.

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Tech Talk

Updates

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