Spring at the Old Mill

I have so many favorite places to see in the spring that it's hard to fit them all in, especially with the spring showers we've been having. Well, more than showers . . . downpours! A must see every spring is the Old Mill, but this year I had to dodge the rain and hope the blossoms had not been destroyed. 

A little history of the Old Mill. It is a historic re-creation of an 1880's water-powered grist mill. It's pretty famous. It was used in the opening credits of the 1939 movie "Gone With The Wind."

It's such a beautiful and relaxing place to take a stroll.

No matter what angle you view the mill from, It's breathtaking!

Friends of the Old Mill and the Pulaski County Master Gardeners do an excellent job of keeping it clean and pretty.

Sometimes the water is an icky reddish color, but with all the recent rains it was flowing clear and pretty.

If you look at the foreground of the picture below you can see a concrete bench created by Senor Dionico Rodriquez, a sculptor and artist of Mexico City. There are also concrete sculptures of toadstools, tree stumps, and tree branches entwined to form bridges.

There are some very pretty pathways to stroll along.

I was surprised to see something new at the mill. An unidentified carver had been at work carving an old tree trunk. He carved an amazing replica of the Old Mill and the letters N L R, which stands for North Little Rock where the mill is located in Arkansas.

The Mill has never failed to please in the springtime.

This year it was exceptional!

"The flowers appear on the earth;

the time of the singing of birds is come

and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

Song of Solomon 2:12

Down By The River

I'm participating in a project with a group of photography friends. We're working through David Duchemin's book The Visual Toolbox. The chapter we read this week was about isolating your subject and removing anything distracting from the image.

I went down by the river with my 50mm and my 75-300mm telephoto lens. I was looking for ways to isolate the subject that drew my attention by using these lens and my position. So many times what we find interesting gets lost in the clutter around it. For instance, in the picture above, in the upper right corner you can see a faint reflection. The reflection is of crews that are working on a bridge from the water. There was a tugboat running around, cranes, and workmen. By changing my position and using the telephoto lens I was able to avoid the cluttered background.

A telephoto lens also comes in handy when you spot things you just can't get close to like the cable above. The image below is of a cool mist area and splash pad. I wasn't able to get very close without getting my camera wet, so the telephoto was perfect.

I discovered as I walked around with my telephoto lens that I was looking up more and looking in the distance. I'm a person that looks right where I walk, so this was a new experience. The only time I really concentrate on looking up is when I'm around historical buildings. I'm fascinated with older architecture.

Check out these balloons that were hanging in a window on about the fifth floor. If I would have even seen them, I could never have gotten this shot with my 50mm lens.

One thing is for sure. The next time I'm out taking pictures of historical buildings, I'll be taking my telephoto lens with me to help me capture the details.

This tall sculpture,  Touch The Sky created by Jane DeDecker, has three children on top of a stump. It is right in the busy River Market district. No matter which way you turn there's something in the background causing clutter. There were buildings,  the river market, an amphitheater, traffic, and people.  Since it's  a tall sculpture I was able to zoom in and capture the child's face looking upward and the hands reaching for the sky. There's just something that touched me about the sculpture. I wonder, is she expressing joy, praise, or asking for help?

I've never been one to carry extra lens. I don't like the extra baggage, but I do see the benefits and I will be taking my telephoto lens with me on more of my wanderings.