Years ago when I told my mom I was going to shoot at a place she knew I had been before, she would say, “Haven’t you been there already?” My response, ” Well, yeah, but it’s different every time.” This was a standard two sentence opening to many conversations. After seeing a wide variety of images from our Loch Raven, she understood.

The obvious point here is that it’s a good practice to return to  favorite locations in all seasons. After a few visits, it becomes almost impossible to keep shooting the same scene or subject over and over again in the same way, necessitating either stopping going for a while, OR decide look deeper into the place.  That could mean using super wide lenses, shooting wide open with an 85, 1.4 or a 50 1.4, Lensbaby, creative software optimizations, different perspectives, B&W interpretations, and looking smaller (details). 

On this most recent trip to our often visited Eastern State Penitentiary and Coal Pier #18, I noticed that even after many visits, I still am finding different things to photograph and different ways to interpret the material in a more personal way, discovering that I’m starting to like a darker and less saturated look. I plan on returning at least once more this year.

Here’s a small gallery of images from our latest days at the Coal Pier #18 and at Eastern State Penitentiary utilizing long exposure movement, Fly Edges, Color Efex Pro – Detail Extractor, Silver Efex Pro, Joel Olives Textures, Nik’s Viveza, multiple applications of Darken/Lighten Center in Color Efex Pro, Nik’s HDR Efex Pro, Topaz Adjust, and layer masking. 

Software Discount Codes HERE 

A bunch of us are returning to another often photographed location, The Lonaconing Silk Mill, to record more images before it ceases to exist. This being my 7th visit, I look forward to seeing what I can come up with which is different from my previous visits.

Thanks for taking time to visit and we’ll see ya online!

Tony