Beverley Mill

Beverley Mill is one of the 'local' places that I have seen for years and years but never before explored. The mill was built in 1742. It was originally named Chapman's Mill after the father and son enterprise that built and ran the business. The mill has a rich history. One of the many uses of the mill was as a meat curing  and distribution center by the Confederates during the Civil War. The mill was burned by the Confederate Army while leaving the area after the First Battle of Manassas. By 1876, the Beverley family had restored the mill ruins to operational status and the mill was then known as Beverley Mill.

The mill was built in a stacked rock style and is seven stories tall. Beverley Mill is believed to be the tallest stone building in the United States. (I'm guessing the measure is of natural, uncut stone as there are plenty of buildings made of 'stone' that are taller.) The mill was in good general condition after a restoration effort in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A fire set by an arsonist in 1998 destroyed the majority of the wood in the mill structure.

 The remainder of the drive gears for the grind stone.

 An up close look at the 'stacked rock' building technique. 

 The power wheel. Not the original for sure as the builders would have used wood in 1742.

 This is a pulley situated over one of the doors used to load grain into the mill. Yes, that is a rock built into the stacked wall. And yes, the pulley is attached to the rock.

 In 2004, the first steps were taken to stabilize the ruin's walls. Exposure to water, vibrations from a nearby railroad track, and high winds threatened to bring the seven story walls down. The stabilization system uses internal bracing bolted through the stone work to keep everything standing. For now.

 Beverley Mill stands within 150 feet of I-66. Thousands of motorists speed past the mill each day. For many years I also passed by the mill and always wanted to explore the site. Usually the gate is closed and access restricted to the mill. I found this out today while talking to one of the caretakers. The gate was open so I drove up to the mill. Almost immediately after stopping the car I was startled by a knock on the driver's window. A man politely, but firmly asked me what I was doing there. I explained my desire to explore the site and take photographs of the mill. The caretaker explained that he had to lock the gate when he was done mowing and trimming the property, so he guessed "you have 20-30 minutes if you want 'em." I thanked the man, grabbed up my gear, and started shooting.

This little stone building is the Beverley Mill Store. The store is much newer than the mill, and now functions as a classroom of sorts for groups wishing to learn more of the Thoroughfare Gap area's history. The mill grounds are quite large and the group dedicated to the preservation of the Beverley Mill's ruins uses the property for educational and fund raising efforts.

Yikes!

I dislike HATE snakes. Indiana Jones is a snake lover when compared to me. So I was less than thrilled to spot this little guy swimming through the water at a local park. 

Thank goodness for the reach of a zoom lens!

Important Reminder to Self

This is a reminder to myself. While a recent rainstorm will make colors 'pop', I must remember to account for the difference in humidity from inside an air conditioned car vs the great outdoors. This was my view through the lens for a solid five minutes...

 This is the shot I was attempting to achieve. Once the condensation cleared from the lens the day became a bit more productive.

 As I was waiting for the fog to lift from my camera, I made a little friend.

How Many Does It Take?

Sometimes it takes a bit of work to get the photo you want.The shots below are four out of the twenty five I took. Sometimes things just don't go right!

 The wind blew at the exact moment I released the shutter. Wind = Blurry.

 Wind again. Moved the flower out of location just as I clicked.

Almost, but the right side of the frame is too blurry.

My favorite of the bunch. I can see areas that are out of focus, and the background is a little overexposed, but there's something about the way the flower and the wood grain turned out that I like.

More Dump Bin Rejects

Breaking the Rule

I recently read a quote by a very successful photographer that stated "Take photos of everything, but only publish the best." The idea being that you want to showcase your talent with quality photos. Well, I'm just beginning and I don't have a large election of 'great' shots yet, but there are photos I would like to share. 

So here is a collection of my "dump bin". These photos are shots I like but I am not happy with due to the composition, the focus, or some other reason. These are all taken at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area in Prince William County, Virginia. 

Editing

I usually don't like to edit images. I enjoy the challenge of trying to get a good photograph that can stand on it's own without any retouching. However, I'm not a purist that believes you shouldn't manipulate a photo to achieve the desired result. Sometimes a color correction or crop can save a not so hot picture. All of the photos that have appeared on this blog so far have been untouched - I simply downloaded the images off the camera onto the computer and then compressed the files to allow for quicker loading onto the 'net.

The below photograph is a decent shot I took one morning while searching for photo opps. I was visiting the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Va and noticed some hawk-like birds fishing. I moved up the river to get closer to the action but I was only able to get within 100 yards of the soaring and diving birds (I think the birds were ospreys). The largest zoom I have is a 300mm lens and while that lens can reach out and touch, it just can't pull off a great shot of moving birds 100 yards away.

After a bunch of patient waiting, I managed to snap a series of photos as one of the hawks hovered high above the river, picked his prey, and then closed his wings to dive straight down into the water. With the distance and inadequate lens, this is the result.

Not a very close shot. You can see the bird and you might be able to make out the fish clenched in the talons. I wasn't happy with the result after spending so much time sitting in the middle of a river on a cold rock, so I decided to play around with the image.
I cropped the original photo to remove a large amount of the unnecessary river and rocks. I adjusted the exposure to add a bit of light and tweaked the color. I'm still disappointed that I didn't get a sharp, bright, up close shot of one of these birds hauling a fish out of the water, but that's the beauty of photography - there's always another day to try again!