The Story Behind the Photographs - Hyde's Mill

Not another Hyde's Mill photo! That place is way over photographed.

Those are two things that I hear quite often. I'll admit, this place if photographed a lot, but it is these types of comments to photographs of the mill that drive me to return to this location over and over again. Not because I want to add to the deluge of Hyde's Mill photos out there, but because I want to create an image that really stands out from the crowd.

Hyde's Mill is located in a very small town in Iowa County Wisconsin, and is a staple in many local photographer portfolios. The mill and the stone damn that diverted the water flow to drive the water wheel were build in 1850, and are a classic reminder of the days gone bye.

One of the big challenges when it comes to creating a unique photograph of this location is the limited access. Almost all of the photos I have seen of this location are taken from one or two spots. The road, or the grassy area in front of the damn. The land around the mill, and the mill itself is privately owned (and for sale) so you are pretty much limited to these two shooting locations. So how do you make something unique with what seems like very few options?

The way I answer this question is to try something new, experiment and see what works and what doesn't. Add an interesting foreground element.

Isolate a smaller section of the scene.

Visit at a different time of day, or night.

Visit in a different season. Winter with fresh snow on the ground is my favorite time to photograph this location.

This is a location where you really do have to work the scene. If you open your mind, the options become limitless. You are still limited to a few locations to shoot from, but what you choose to photograph from those locations is up to you. Change things up a little bit and you can come home with a new photo from an old location.

When you have finished photographing the mill, don't forget to look around you. Right behind the mill is an old blacksmith shop. The access to the blacksmith shop is even more limited than the mill, so get creative.

Right in front of the area where you park is a display of some of the old grinding stones from the mill. They make a very compelling subject as well.

When you have exhausted your opportunities at Hyde's Mill, drive to the end of the road. Hyde's Chapel is another great subject to photograph that is all but forgotten by photographers. Most of them head to the mill, then return the same way them came and never even see the chapel.

1st Post - The Story Behind the Photographs - Bluebird

I have kicked around the idea of starting a blog for while now, and finally decided to get my feet wet.  I follow several photography blogs that provide great content, but most of them are missing something.  Most of them talk about the latest gear, or basic tips for improving your photography.  All of that is great and I enjoy reading that type of info, but there is something else that I like to read, but rarely find on the blogs I visit.  That missing piece is the story behind the image.

For my first step into the blogging world I thought it would be fun to document the story, and the process behind how and why I created a particular image.

With spring in the air, my mind drifts to spring migration, and the many birds that will be passing through and returning to the midwest.  Spring is the time I go out and clean my five nest boxes in preparation for the eastern bluebirds.  Of the five boxes, only one has anything living in it this year.  I'm happy to report that the occupants of this box are indeed eastern bluebirds and not house sparrows.

In the past, I have made some successful images by sitting a distance away from the nest boxes, and shooting the birds with a long lens.

That wasn't enough.  I wanted to get closer and really fill the frame with the brightly colored birds.  I built a 40' long cable release for my camera, and set it up on a tripod with a 100mm lens a short distance from box and waited.  It worked pretty well, but still wasn't what I was looking for.  With the narrow field of view from the 100mm lens, and not being able to adjust the composition from 40' away, I needed to try something else.  After the young fledged, I put the long release away, and forgot about it for a couple of years.

When the birds returned this spring, I decided to go a step beyond what I had done in the past and create something new.  I pulled the long cable release out of the closet.  I set my tripod even closer to the nest box.  Instead of being a few feet from the box, I set up a few inches from it.  I attached a 16mm fisheye lens to the camera, and waited.  With the close perspective and the wide angle view, I was able to capture an image that I hadn't even thought of in the past.

I have several images that I have created of these birds with a long lens, but they are all lacking something.  That something is the feeling of intimacy.  I like those images, but they don't capture that feeling that I was after.  This image does, at least for me.  This image tells a different story than the other images I created, and gives the viewer a unique perspective.

I am very happy with this image, but that doesn't mean I'm done using this technique.  Since I created this image, I have began to experiment with this same set up, but also including some fill flash.  Now that the chicks have hatched, the adult bluebirds are much more active at the nest and providing more opportunities to create more photographs.  All of those hungry mouths to feed means that they are coming and going much more often.  The additional element of having a meal ready for the chicks adds even more to the story.

This last image, isn't my final image, but another step in the evolution of creating a photograph.