This weekend, I’m attending the 2017 edition of the Cass Fall Photography Workshop. While there isn’t a photo charter component this year, I’m happy that the night photo shoot will occur again this year. The photo above is from the night session at last year’s workshop. I can’t wait to see what Walter and Clayton have in store for us this year.
With any luck, I’ll post the photos from last year’s workshop in the next month.
Another from the archives. This is one of those luck favors the prepared kind of moments. A couple of years ago, Dad and I took a weekend photo trip to Colonial Williamsburg. While we were there we stumbled into a video shoot for an upcoming TV commercial, allowing us to photograph part of Duke of Gloucester Street without any non-colonial inhabitants.
Here’s one from the Archives. The Horse Pull at the Great Frederick Fair is a tradition the first Friday of the fair. While it is no longer held at the Grandstand, it is still a fun event. It is incredible seeing the excitement of the horses as they approach the sled. These workhorse breeds are impressive equine athletes.
Another waterfall located in Blackwater Falls State Park, Elakala Falls is actually a series of four waterfalls as Shay Run drops into Blackwater Canyon. The upper portion shown above, is visible from a bridge directly above the Falls. Getting to the bottom requires some effort. I also made it down to the second section but couldn’t find the trail to the sections below that. Based on the trail descriptions I’ve seen, getting to the lower two sections is very difficult.
Blackwater Falls is located in Blackwater State Park near Davis, West Virginia. The Falls occurs where the Blackwater River, named for its tannin darkened waters, drops into the Blackwater Gorge and is the largest of several in the park.
Cucumber Falls is located in Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania and is the result of Cucumber Run falling into the gorge carved by the Youghiogheny River. A staircase leads to the base of the Falls making it a popular location to photograph.
I had also hoped to visit Jonathan Run Falls and Sugar Run Falls while I was there, but the trails were closed due to the bridges being washed out. Hopefully they’ll be repaired soon. If time allows I may make another trip to Ohiopyle this fall.
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.
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.
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.
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.