St. Peter's/St. Paul's Church visits

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My photography meet-up group was able to visit and photograph two of the oldest and most historic churches in the city today.  St Peter's Catholic Church was founded in 1834, was the first Catholic church established in Richmond and is absolutely beautiful.  When you enter your immediately drawn to the beautiful alter and stained glass windows throughout.St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located across the street on one side from St. Peter's and the Virginia State Capital on the other. Over 150 years old, the church has a strong historical bound to the Civil War with both Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis as members of the parish. This church also has one of the largest Tiffany windows (10) displays and in use in the US. The window photos I took (and are posting) are not HDR edited, these are what they really look like. I am still blown away by the craftsmanship, detail and beauty.Both churches are on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.[envira-gallery id="12789"]

A Old Fashion Christmas at Maymont

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Last Sunday Guy and I decided to visit Maymont plantation as they were hosting a throw-back day to Christmas during. Maymont is a 100 acre plantation located in the heart of Richmond, VA and is gorgeous.  it is one of my favorite places to explore in the spring when all its gardens are in full bloom.   The main draw of the day was to explore the mansion as neither of us had ever been inside.  It certainly did not disappoint. A few of the exterior:
 Overall it was a great day.  I wish they had more decor and activities happening but its a newer event and I am sure will grow over time and we certainly will return,. 

Along I-81

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A few weeks ago we journey'd down to Radford, VA to visit Shelby (Guy's youngest daughter)for Parent's weekend.On the way we stopped in one of the small towns that is along I-81 (I wish I could remember the name) for breakfast and shot these as the fog was lifting over the James River.
   I love fall in Virginia, the landscape is ever changing.

Pocohontas State Park

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Guy and I decided we had to have one more camping trip before the season ended. Problem was that I was currently out of vacation days for the year as I was banking the balance I had to use for his upcoming surgery and the Christmas season and it is a lot of work to pack up and travel just for one night so we had decided we were done for the year UNTIL........A lightbulb went off and we decided to check our what state parks were within an hour or less of my office.  Our thinking was that Guy (and Riley) could drive the camper down to the Richmond area on a Thursday and set it up, I could come down after work, spend the night and then go to work on Friday, return to the campsite after work and we would stay through the weekend.  It was perfect!  Research showed us that there are actually several within an hour of my office and so we decided we would be stay at Pocohontas State Park, in Chesterfield, only 35 minutes from work.What we didn't plan on was the rain, and there was plenty of it.  It had rained for the two days leading up to the trip but the forecast was that on Thursday it was suppose to clear out so we decided to go ahead with our plans.  Nature had other plans though and it did clear out but instead came back with a vengeance on Friday and poured buckets throughout the day and night and then on and off all day Saturday.  Instead of going home we decided to just make the best of it so we hung out in the camper, watched movies (tank goodness for the DVD player) and ventured out around the park to see what we could see in between the showers.Overall we had fun together and that is what is important. With all the rain it was very hard to get a real feeling of the park since everything was soaking wet but we will definitely take a weekend next year for another try.Since it was so wet I wasn't able to use the camera(s) very much but did get a few shots in between the raindropsOur wet and soggy campsite:

Reflections

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I took this while riding over a bridge in the Northern Neck a few weeks ago. I just thought the clouds looked cool over the bridge.   It was just an ordinary shot though so I was wanting to try something new with it so I opened up the Lightroom 5 develop module, dropped the exposure and then activated the all new radial filter.  From there I brushed over the circular mirror to highlight the bridge and clouds and reset the expose in the circle to its original setting, then I set the feather to 65% to ensure a smooth transition and that was it.  It literally took less than one minute to make the adjustment.  I think it's such a cool effect.  Not something you can use all the time, but with the right shot it can be lots of fun.  Have a great day.