Autumn Mills
Down the old dusty hollers of Appalachia, you will find old barns, homes built a century or more ago. As John Denver once said, “Life Is Old Here” it’s important to remember that these old dusty mountains hold memories of times long ago, take a moment to stop by and appreciate these now preserved and protected monuments to our ingenuity. Appreciate the world turning on, while it remains almost unchanging in the landscape. While this old grist Mill is being renovated, revitalized for future generations to appreciate, for every structure the park service saves, a hundred others fall into disrepair. Perhaps you should find the time to travel these old country roads and see what remains, or, like dust in the wind, it too will be gone.
This is the Rice Grist Mill near Norris Lake in Tennessee. A gorgeous location I stumbled upon after a long day working in a friends photo studio. I had seen it on my last visit, but had left my camera home. This is a gorgeous example of pre industrial processing, and while I am not as big a fan of how the park service maintains this one, I am still glad I had the moment to stop back by and recapture this scene with my own camera.
As far as the process here, this was another multi step situation. It began on scene, choosing the right focal length for the shot. I settled on my ultra wide, to cut out some of the unsightly signage along the path here [particularly egregious is that its nearly a 15 foot walk from the parking lot and signs were everywhere]. Next I opted to shoot this as a pixel shift image to give myself the most amount of detail I could. After that I began working on the lighting, we had a bit, the sun was setting behind a mountain just behind me, so I brought up those highlights while darkening the sky. Next I would begin detail each section I wanted to change. The wall, the Mill, the water wheel, the concrete, and even the wooden walkways. One at a time, adjusting the lighting first. Increasing and decreasing shadows and highlights until I was satisfied. Next we worked on the saturation, and color temperatures, then finally we brought a bit of pop out of the leaves. It was a long process, but one I enjoyed.
Until Next Time!
