On my way to the Pine Creek area, I made a quick stop in Columbia County to view the Kramer Covered Bridge. I had somehow missed photographing this bridge, even though it is near where my relatives live. Showing signs of Autumn ... A stop at Kitchens Cemerery where my grandparents are buried. The Kramer Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that is located in Greenwood Township.

The targets for the Hubble Telescope 35th Anniversary Challenge were a diverse range of objects. The first up is my favorite planetary nebula - the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63). Although not quite as easy to photograph as the Dumbbell Nebula, I like the circular form and range of colors in the Helix. The object is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius.

A qucik trip into Lancaster County proved to a source a frustration. A higher level of traffic and lighting challenges did not yield the photographs I had hoped for. However, I took the opportunity to check out the rebuilt Smorgasbord and Restaurant at the Hershey Farm Resort. I had a very nice meal, and I am glad to see the business back in operation after a fire. Here are some views of eastern Lancaster County in September.

A trip into Bucks County led me to several covered bridges. Near the Cabin Run Covered Bridge is Tohickon Valley Park, a pleasnt spot with parking, picnic tables and fishing access to the Tohickon Creek. It is close to several other county parks. The 612-acre Tohickon park also has playgrounds,hiking, ball fields, and a swimming pool in season. Overnight stays include group and family camping and cabins on 22 campsites.

As you begin to learn anything about photogrpaphy, the concept of "golden hour" (the hour right before sunset or after sunrise) will certainly come up. It is considered to be an ideal time to photograph because of the attractive soft light.In fact, you will often find advice that takeing photos any other time is "wrong" and that you shouldn't bother. I find that taking photos at this time to be quite tricky and that it doesn't necessarily lead to better results.

The September Hubble 35th Anniversary Challenge offered a large number of targets, and I was able to capture them all. More information about the Challenge can be found here. The targets were a diverse mix of nebulae, star clusters and a galaxy, and the list includes some famous objects. My favorite target this month was the Dumbbell Nebula, Messier 27.

The Paper Mill Museum is a historic three story stone building along Darby Creek in Newtown Township, Delaware County that contains an 1850’s era general store, and three levels of a local history museum containing artifacts representing the history of Newtown Township. The original building was constructed in 1828 to house four families that worked at the local mills along the Darby Creek.

Rushton Woods Preserve is an 86-acre owned by the Willistown Conservation Trust. The preserve has an impressive complex of meadows, wetlands, and mature woodland for visitors to explore. You can h…

Today's post takes us back to the area of the Octoraro watershed in southern Chester and Lancaster counties, with a focus on some of the farms and animals of the area.

The Willows Park Preserve in northwestern Delware Country has been a popular spot for birding, fishing, picnicking and walking for decades. Built in 1910, the Willows Mansion is surrounded by 47.5 acres of public park with breathtaking water, meadow, woodland and garden views. Closed for nearly a decade, the deteriorating mansion sits idle while park-life carries on. However, efforts to restore the Mansion are ongoing.

The area around the Octoraro Reservoir and watershed in southern Lancaster and Chester Counties is particularly scenic. The buggies were out in force one Saturday in May. I don’t have much t…

So do these photos look unusable to you? (rhetorical question) I recently got a mirror lens - the Tamron 55BB 500mm F8 - to be exact. Many dislike mirror lenses because they can be finicky to work with due to the fixed F8 focal ratio, shallow depth of field, and long focal length. All of which makes getting focus and capturing sharp images challenging.

The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art has a branch in Ligonier. The grounds feature some beautiful statuary while indoors the featured exhibit focused on the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece…

After a few months filled with globular clusters, large, colorful nebulas are returning to the night sky. This month's targets for the Hubble 35th Anniversary Challenge (see The Night Sky page for more information) are a good representation of these objects. The Lagoon Nebula (catalogued as Messier 8, M8 or NGC 6523) is a giant emission nebula with an H II region located in the constellation Sagittarius.

Powdermill Nature Reserve is an environmental research center that is operated by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.Established in 1956, Powdermill serves as a field station for long-term studies of natural populations, and now forms the core of the museum's Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystems. The reserve encompasses 928.17 hectares, which includes forests, fields, developed land, and ponds and streams.

One of my favorite day trips is to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, a near 6,000 acre  tract managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission primarily for waterfowl, grassland nesting birds, and wetland dependent species. The facility hosts an interactive visitor center, seasonal wildlife driving tour, and over twenty miles of hiking trails. There are other recreational activities available such as wildlife viewing, boating, special hunts, and picnicking. 

Laughlintown is located in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County. It is located on U.S. Route 30, 3 miles southeast of Ligonier. The town is named after Robert Laughlin. The Compass Inn, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located here, as are the Rolling Rock Club and The Washington Furnace Inn. However, I think for many the notable landmark is this bakery:

Lake Somerset is a 253-acre impoundment just north of Somerset (duh). It is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and managed by the Fish and Boat Commission for public fishing and boating. The Commission's Southwest Region Office  is located at the lake. I stopped on a previous trip and couldn't resist a return visit. It was great spot for some more Spring birding.