Dec 18 2013
Random Picture of the Week #8 – The Windsor Ruins
This week’s random picture is from a special trip I took while on my way to see my grandmother before she passed way. Although the place is peaceful and the architecture is beautiful, I’ve noticed that when the area gets very quiet, the creep factor does rise. Even then, the place is still special to me…
The Windsor Ruins
At one time the Windsor Plantation was over 2000 acres. The house was constructed by Smith Coffee Daniell II in 1859. However, in 1890, a guest left a lighted cigar on a balcony (it is also said that someone dropped a cigar or cigarette in a pile of wood chips left by carpenters working on the 3rd floor). The fire started on the top floor and burned itself out on the bottom floor. Because of the way the house burned, there was no way to save the house.
Today, there are 23 hauntingly beautiful columns that are in danger of collapsing. Along with the columns, the stairs and balustrade were used in the Alcorn State University Chapel (still need to visit the chapel to see it). The site is a historical marker and maintained by the state.
After I complete the editing for the Windsor Ruins, I will write a complete history on the site and post all my images to Flickr and a few to Instagram.
The Image
I won’t go into details about where the Windsor Ruins are, but I will tell you that its about 10 to 20 minutes outside of Port Gibson, MS off Rodney Rd. Its near Alcorn State University.
For me working on the Windsor Ruins images isn’t easy. I visited this site right before and after my grandmother (94 years old) passed away.Because that, these images remind me of her and her involvement with Mississippi Plantation historical society. But mostly its that I used these trips to take mind off why I was in the state in the first place. For me, taking a long road trip that leads to photography and little historical research helps puts me in a better place and takes my mind away from the stresses of every day life.
As for the image itself, this one was taken on my second trip there was to introduce my wife the Windsor Ruins. The original image I had planned to used for this article didn’t have the effect I was looking for. So I grabbed and image I took of the same column on my second trip.
On this trip it was early morning so the trees and the sun cast a ton of shadows everywhere. I really needed some reflective lighting to bounce the light in the right areas. Maybe next time.
What’s interesting about this shot is that during the day there weren’t very many clouds in the sky but when I took this shot, the clouds had decided to congregate over the site for a few minutes. So this images gives me that creepy feeling you when wondering through the deep woods or exploring an old abandoned structure.
I took this shot with my Sony Nex-3N with the pancake kit lens, then processed it with Adobe Lightroom and post processed the image with Topaz Labs Clarity to add more texture, remove shadows, boost brightness and contrast. I finished processing the image with some vignetting.
James
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