Brackens Pond - Colonial Parkway

As you drive down the road you never really know what events have happened there unless you have really done your homework on the area. Well, if you live in a historic area where there are numerous haunts, you tend to find them all out in a relative short amount of time.

The Colonial Parkway is a scenic drive that goes from Yorktown, Va through Williamsburg and all the way up to Jamestown Island. Its a beautiful drive and full of history itself. There are several pull offs that you can stop and take a walk to the waterfront of the James River and there are even areas that are no longer open to the public unless you park 5 miles down and walk into. (I will be doing that this summer when it's warm so we'll see what I get then). There are also several little swamps and ponds along the way. I took this picture at a pond that boasts a little bit of haunted history.




This is Brackens Pond and the photo was shot looking through some branches on the bank. (I think it kinda adds to the spookyness of the shot) It was then edited with a Daguerreotype finish to give it that deep black and white tone.

The Story:
A long time ago in the Colonial days when people used horse and carriage to get from place to place, this area used to be a well traveled path. Some say it was a dirt road while others say it was cobblestone that got replaced when they made the Parkway. Well, a group of people were traveling down this road one night and as they neared the pond, something spooked the horse. The horse bolted to the side of the road, lost its footing and fell into Brackens Pond taking the whole carriage along with the people into the pond. It was said that the people passing by couldn't get to them fast enough and when they finally was able to get to them, no one, not even the horse survived.

Now, if you drive by this pond, there is a pull off on the other side of the road where you can park your car and get out. If you come out at night and sit and listen, you can still hear the sound of the horses hooves on the road today. When they get to the side of the pond, they vanish...


*********************************DISCLAIMER****************************************
I am stating the obvious here... I am only retelling ONE of the NUMEROUS stories about this particular ghost story. This is in no way to be taken in any other way except for entertainment.

Leia Mais...

Leading Lines

I had a project in my Photography class that dealt with leading lines. This is a composition in which the photographer draws the eye to a subject by using lines such as a railroad track. The lines will begin very wide and draw you down as they get closer together. This got me to thinking... What would happen if you only used a single line to draw the same type of composition but getting a different perspective.

You can see my leading line photo:




This photo draws your eye down the road as you see the colors of the leaves as they are turning for the fall season. A very traditional leading line shot, to be quite honest. I could have added more depth even if I had a bicyclist on the road but this was the best I could do while standing in the middle of the road hoping that a car didn't run me over.

I wanted to shoot something that still used lines to draw attention but didn't have the traditional look of leading lines. So I went to Yorktown Beach and walked over to this pier. I shot some regular leading line shots and then I looked off to the side. That is where I got this idea and this photo is what came of that...




This is looking down the side of the pier with the beach in the foreground, the pier off to the side. I also chose to leave in the jut of the rocks on the right so that it added to the depth. The clouds add a bit of a surreal look as they rolled out. It was right after a storm so they added a bit of texture to the photo as they were not just solid white.

This is what happens when you push the limits of the traditional and make your own path. Sometimes it works and sometimes you crash and burn, but if you don't try, you'll never know. You have to fall a few times to learn. I have taken so many pictures that I just look at and then delete because they honestly look like crap. I have tried things that didn't work out but at least I know that now and I will try something different later on.

Leia Mais...