Wissahickon Trail Gateway to Stairs

Along the Wissahickon Creek, Forbidden Drive, and Rex Ave. at some point you will come to a stone bridge. The bridge has a uniquely ancient stone gateway and winding staircase that leads up to a trail....

I haven't gone through the whole trail yet, but I am told there is a statue of an Indian Chief (Native American) of the Leni Lanape Nation there. But, Pennsylvania is so thick with foliage growth in summer that it couldn't be seen unless you took the trail. 

It was so hot, and I didn't want to drop my camera equipment off the cliff, so I haven't braved the trail yet. 

 If you google "Wissahickon gate" you will find any number of things, not just this. So, I don't even know what it's called. I figure it must have a name since our ancient ancestors liked naming everything, especially if they spend so much time building it.

This spot seems to be an especially popular landmark to photograph. I've found SO many blogs, and photos of it posted on Flickr, often with poems of fantasy themes or captions. It really captures people' imagination! It's especially a popular subject for HDR fans.

 This spot is at the foot of the bridge that crosses the creek. You will find benches to sit on also.

 Off to the left is the actual bridge, but this walled part leads to other trails, and to the bank of the creek.

The edge of a wall

 The ancient stairs winding upwards....

This is what you'll see at the top of the stairs...

The view from atop the stairs, looking down

The trail on the cliff above atop the stairs... 

Side Angle: Wissahickon Magarge Creek Waterfalls

Just a few side angle shots of the waterfalls from one of the bench cliff perspectives.

What's great about this park is the many areas to view the sights & landmarks!

If you would like to see more photos of the waterfalls or of Wissakickon, check all my posts for August 2012.

Wissahickon Magarge Waterfall: "Tv" Photo Effect

費城!
This is what the DSLR manual will call "more advanced techniques".
*shrugs*
Well, I don't know anything about that. But, it's tricky, and I'm still learning it.
It's a setting on the DSLR (Canon Rebel XS) called "Tv".

Generally, the manual instructs users to try this with running water, like water fountains and waterfalls, and I often see this effect on running water to give it a foamy look. But, the manual says it can be used for motion blurs on stuff like running children, or whatever.

The trouble with it is that it has a tendency to white wash everything, especially in direct sunlight. So, I haven't quite figured it out entirely when programming the camera. My only trickity-lil-trick so far is to just shoot in ambient daylight, like cloudy or partly cloudy when a cloud blocks the sun. Unless I figure out a better way to program it. (Still learning.)

I still haven't tried it at night yet, either. But, I would like to. So, these are all just experimental for me.

To give you an example of just what exactly this is, I'll show a comparison:

Without "Tv" With "TV"

Hopefully this explains it better than words. But, you can also tell how much brighter the "Tv" makes it. Since I shot these when a giant cloud blocked the sun for a while! Also, it MUST be shot on a tripod with a remote. Mine is an old vintage tripod, so it's wobbly! So, I have to stand there, brace the tripod, and shoot several frames in order to get it something right. Anyways, like I said: I'm still learning....

Sunlight with cast shadows/shade

Cloud blocking sunlight ambient light

Foamy swirls

If you would like to see more photos of the waterfalls or of Wissakickon, check all my posts for August 2012.

Wissahickon Creek Magarge Dam Waterfall: Fog Filter

費城!  Wissahickon Valley Park, Chestnut Hill West, Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Forbidden Drive
Magarge Dam Waterfall

Here are the frames I shot with the fog filter.
I didn't get as many because I filled up my memory card very fast!

If you would like to see more photos of the waterfalls or of Wissakickon, check all my posts for August 2012.