A Tree Grows In Valley Forge

Actually a lot of trees grow in Valley Forge. Some more special than others. And I cannot think of one more special than one referred to as the Valley Forge Witness Tree. Now I am over 40 years old and have lived in the same town my entire life. I have been visiting Valley Forge Park as long as can remember. Even when it was still a State Park and not a National Park. I thought I had seen every square inch of the park. Well I was wrong. I must admit I am actually a little embarrassed. 

The other day I was going through my Facebook Timeline and came across a picture on someones post of a massive tree. A tree estimated to be anywhere from 250 to 260+ years old. Alive and apparently doing very well. This tree was alive during the encampment of George Washington's troops during the American Revolution. Hence the title Witness Tree.

I can only imagine what this old Sycamore has "seen" and all it has survived. Storms alone could have taken it down. How many has it survived in over two centuries? Now I realize that there are trees elsewhere that are much older. But this region has seen an incredible amount of growth. Preservation often takes a back seat. This is very unfortunate reality.

Here is the tree.

It is located at Pawling's Farm. An area of the park that until Saturday morning I have never been to. Within this section of park it is in somewhat of a secluded area. Not as secluded as I have read about but sort of off the beaten path. In addition to that it is in an area that is not open to the public. A fact I did not know until after I spent about a half hour there shooting over one hundred frames. I don't think the Park Rangers would have given me a bad time about being there. I think this is just a precaution to try and keep people away and therefore protecting the tree.

Here are some more photos.

 

This may give you an idea of just how big this tree is.

Check out the lower branches.

I do plan on returning to try to get some other angles and different lighting. Of course I will be respectful of where I am and only photograph. I certainly hope others who are fortunate enough to find this beauty do the same.

I also shot a short video to try and show the entire tree.



Of course there is more at Pawling's Farm than just the Witness Tree. There is also the ruins of a few of the buildings that were once used there. 

This first one looks to me to be some kind of small factory or a very large barn. 

It has this stone at the top of one side near the roof arch.

The sign reads: Erected by Samual Wetherill 1826, Addition by John P. Wetherill 1845. Solomon Krieble, Carpenter. John Place, Mason".

This sign is on the fence surrounding the building.

Here are a few more pictures of the ruins.

Like I said I will return and do more photographing at a later date. I will also do some more research of the area and post my findings.

As always I thank you for taking your time to read my little blog and I hope you come back.

Until next time...

Longwood's New Meadow Garden

It is quite obvious from some of my other posts that Longwood Gardens is one of my favorite places to visit and is a terrific place to photograph. A couple of weekends ago Kim and I made a visit there to check out their new Meadow Garden. I am so glad we did. What a wonderful addition!

From what I understand the new area is actually an expansion of a meadow that was previously open to visitors but wasn't really that well developed. This expansion was made possible due to the relocation of PA Route 52. Land that was once roadbed is now covered over by nature. Unless you know this you would never guess there was once a highway there.

I got a few photos, of course, but not as many as I would like. Trying not to get too technical the Sun was too high in the sky for shots to my liking. Next time I'll either get there a bit earlier in the day or carry a darker filter for my camera.

I did get a few good ones though! Here they are.

This one is from one of the many bird houses set up throughout the meadow.

And this isn't the greatest image but I had to share it. At the beginning of the Meadow Garden there is a large pond (or small lake?). I saw this and had to get a shot. Unfortunately I didn't have my long lens attached and had to shoot quickly. It is a beaver carrying grass to either nest or build a dam. Here it is.

 Of course we also walked around the rest of the gardens. In the Conservatory there is a water lily display that is closed in the Wintertime. Well it is finally opened. Here are some shots.

And for good measure here is a catfish.

And because I am feeling a little artistic here is a shot of a staircase near the water garden in black and white.

That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed the photos of our trip to Longwood. Please check back soon and please fell free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Until next time...

A Visit To Cape May County Zoo

One of my favorite places to visit while near the Jersey Shore points is not a beach. It is a zoo. The Cape May County Zoo. Opened in 1978 and 85 acres in size the zoo is home to many wild animals from birds and reptiles to big cats and giraffes and everything in between.

Kim and I spent last weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey. On Sunday before we came home we made a visit to the zoo. Today I would like to share a few photos.

Duck

 I know a squirrel is not your typical zoo animal but they seem so much more tame there and easier to photograph.

 

 Squirrel

Giraffe

Leopard

Camel

 

Flamingo

Seagull

Cattle Egret

Bald Eagle

Cape May County Zoo is a wonderful place that I highly recommend you visit if you are in the area. Best of all admission is free so if you have a large family you can really take a load off of your wallet!

For more photos please take a look at my website. Please also check out more of my work at Flickr and 500px.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Back To Analog

I have somewhat of a collection of old cameras. My oldest is probably 70 to 80 years old. Many of these use 120 roll film which is not as hard to purchase as it is to get developed. At least locally. A good number of my collection use 35mm film which most except the youngest of us is familiar with. The good thing about 35mm is that although it has all but been taken over by digital it is still easily purchased and I can have it developed locally. In fact I still know a place that does it within one hour.

In my very first post I shared examples from my 1965 Zeiss Ikon Contessa LBE. It was built in Germany and I am not lying when I say you can feel how well built this camera is. Today however I am going to travel to Japan (metaphorically) and share some photos shot with my 1979 Minolta XG-SE.

Though not so much like the older German camera the newer Minolta has a good sturdy feel in my hands. The controls are logically placed and most important they all work. All I needed to do was replace two batteries and load the film and I was ready to go. Here are some photos I shot with this camera.

Rhododendron from our front yard

Pears on our Pear Tree

"Barn" shed in My Sister's Yard

Forklift in Warehouse

All of these were shot at 45mm using Fujifilm 400 ISO film. The same film that I used in my first experiment. One thing I noticed is that in my opinion these are not as sharp as the Zeiss. I don't know if it is the lens, the camera settings or the operator (me). Though technically the shots came out okay there is just something not right. 

Aside from the quality there is something I took notice to when shooting this roll of film. I seem to put a lot more thought into each frame than I do when shooting digital. I am not saying the results are better. I guess what I am saying is that when each frame costs money I and going to be more careful. This is not intentional either. It just kind of happens.

As fun as these experiments are (or maybe nostalgic?) I have really come to appreciate digital photography. Ten or so years ago I would never have said this. Digital is forgiving. When I frame a shot it is easy and practically free to take several shots just to make sure I get it right. I can easily bracket my shots to make sure the exposure is correct. It's just easier.

On the other hand learning photography with film taught me to be careful and put a lot of thought into each frame. For the most part what I shot is what I got. There was no Photoshop or any similar editing tools. There  was no "digital darkroom". If you get a chance take a careful look at the style of photography from the 70's or 80's or even earlier and compare it to modern photography. There really is a difference. This not necessarily bad thing either.

As I wrap this up I would like to ask for your opinions. Do you think digital has improved photography or do you long for the good old days of film? Do you shoot both?

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

George W. Childs Recreation Area

Sorry for the long delay between posts. Between work and getting the yard cleaned up for the summer it's been pretty busy around here.

Today I would like to wrap up our camping trip from last month by sharing some photos I shot at the George W. Childs Recreation Area along Dingmans Creek in the Pocono mountains. It is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Park and consists of a few sets of waterfalls.

Without further delay here are the pics!

Let's start at the park entrance.

And some scenery along the trail.

And of course the falls.

On the way out we passed this. There was a sign telling what it is but of course I forgot to take notes. I usually take a shot of the sign but I didn't do that either. Oh well, maybe next time?

We also saw this bug. If anyone knows what it is please let me know in the comments section.

And lastly there was this cool hand operated water pump. It has been converted into a water fountain. I tried it but it has been disabled. I thought it would look cool in black and white.

Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it. I have a lot ideas for future posts and I hope my next one comes quicker than this one did.

In the mean time please be sure to check out some more of my photos at these websites.

- lwmpix at Flickr

- lwment at 500px.com

- lwmpics.com (My main site)

Until next time...