Monthly Archives: August 2017

Trip Report – Klotz Throwing Company

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Manufactured Reflections

The Klotz Throwing Company located in Western Maryland may be the last silk mill in America.  The mill once employed 300 people, taking raw silk from Japan and spinning it into thread which was shipped to New England to become textiles.  The mill closed in 1957 and has remained largely untouched since – one of those places where time truly stands still.

Herb Crawford purchased the mill in 1978 and continues to care for the factory to this day.  Unfortunately the roof is badly deteriorated so it may be a loosing battle.  Hopefully the mill will last long enough to be saved.

As I said in last Friday’s post, the Klotz Throwing Company has developed a wonderful patina and is full of wonderful photography opportunities.  I enjoyed every minute spent at the mill and am looking forward to another trip this fall.  Thanks again to Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America for arranging the tour and to Mr. Crawford for allowing us to visit.

Elevator Chair

Through The Lens 89 – Klotz Throwing Mill

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Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to attend a photography workshop at the Klotz Throwing Mill, an abandoned silk mill in Maryland.  Closed since 1957, the mill has developed a wonderful patina and is full of photography opportunities.

Look for the full trip report on Tuesday.

The Great Movie Ride

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Grauman's Chinese Theatre

While not a typical trip report, I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of my favorite photos from the recently closed Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World. The Great Movie Ride opened with Disney-MGM Studios on May 1, 1989 and was an incredibly detailed attraction that took you into the movies.

As the name suggested, each attraction scene featured animatronics of movie stars in their most famous roles. The Imagineers went to great lengths to make sure every detail was perfect from filling the scenes with props to dressing the animatronics in clothes actually worn by the star(s) represented in the scene.  Photographically, I think the level of detail is what made The Great Movie Ride so much fun to shoot.

Through The Lens 88 – The Great Movie Ride

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With the recent closing of the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I thought I’d share one of my favorite photos of the ride.  The cowboy scene was always impressive with the explosion and actual fire in the bank.

The Great Movie Ride was the last opening day attraction from the former Disney’s MGM studios which opened in 1989 and is one of my top 5 favorite Disney attractions.

I’ll do a longer “trip report” post with more favorite images on Tuesday.

Trip Report – Locust Heights & Western

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As I mentioned in last week’s post, I recently attended a photo charter on the Locust Heights & Western Railroad in Clarksburg, WV.  The LH&W RR is a “backyard” railroad built by the late Keith Mason along with his family and friends.  Today the Mason Family and their dedicated team of volunteers keep Mr. Mason’s passion for railroading alive, operating most Wednesday evenings from June through October.

The LH&W RR has been on my photography “to do” list for several years, so I jumped at the opportunity to attend a photo charter, especially with the proceeds going toward the cost of recently completed boiler repairs.  Charter organizers, Matt Wilson and Walter Scriptunas, put on a great combination of daytime runbys and a night photo session.  The Mason Family and Railroad Volunteers even dressed the part, allowing the charter participants to make some timeless images.

The Flats:

First Crossing:

Lumberjacks:

The Woods:

Feeding the Fire:

Late night in the Yard:

Night Session Outtake:

Thanks again, to Matt, Walter, The Mason Family and the dedicated team of volunteers that keep this wonderful place running!  I had a great time and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Through The Lens 87 – Locust Heights & Western

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Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a photo charter at the Locust Heights  & Western Railroad in Clarksburg West Virginia.  The LH&WRR is a “backyard” railroad operated by the Mason Family and their team of dedicated volunteers.  They typically only operate on Wednesday evenings, June through October so this photo excursion was a special opportunity.

Look for a trip report Tuesday.

Trip Report – Colorado Fall Color 2016 Part 3

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Continuing on from Part 2, the next stop was Maroon Bells for sunrise. Located in the Snowmass Wilderness, this is a very popular sunrise photo location. Unfortunately a storm was blowing through so I didn’t get the alpine glow sunrise that you typically see here. Instead I got a nice pre-dawn shot (above) with some stars visible between the clouds and a late morning shot when the sun came out and the wind stopped just long enough to get a decent reflection in the lake.
From there I traveled south over Independence Pass, stopping at a couple of spots to take photos of the spectacular landscape before heading to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

The Ghost Town of Independence:

Roaring Fork River:

Snow Squall:

Twin Lakes:

I arrived at Great Sand Dunes in a windstorm, so I didn’t spend much time on the dune field.  Clouds over the park with clear skies to the west provided some nice storm light on the Dunes.

Dune field from the Entrance Road:

Dunes from the Entrance Road

High Dune Hikers:

Dunefield Storm Light:

Look for Part 4 covering the two railroad photo charters this trip was centered around in a couple of weeks.

Through The Lens 86 – Maroon Bells

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Maroon Bells is a popular location to photograph sunrise in Colorado, especially in the fall when the aspen trees on both sides of the lake turn gold.  A storm was blowing through the morning I was there, so we didn’t have the typical alpine sunrise reflected in the lake. There was a short break in the clouds after sunrise that allowed the photographers assembled at the lake to get a couple of photos before the clouds closed in again.

I’ll post Part 3 of my Colorado Fall Trip Report on Tuesday, covering Maroon Bells, Independence Pass and Great Sand Dunes National Park.