Friday, October 9, 2009

Seguin Log Cabin

On the way back from San Antonio a while back, I stopped and took a few photos in Seguin. Going back through those photos this past weekend I found this shot of the Campbell-Hoermann Log Cabin (1850) that I hadn't posted yet. If you're interested in the history of the cabin please see the blurb about it from the Seguin Conservation Society website below the photo.

Title: "Seguin Log Cabin"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three hand-held images into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Virtual Photographer plugin for Sepia conversion

From the Sequin Conservation Society website:

Campbell-Hoermann Log Cabin (1850)
211 E. Live Oak St.
Conservator: Dr. Tom Raetzch 379-0074


Post-Civil War Texas was a land of opportunity due to a vast amount of farming and grazing land, coupled with the newly built railroads. Many immigrants came here to start a new and hopefully prosperous life. John Campbell, an immigrant from Ireland, built a one-room cabin that he later enlarged for his twenty-three family members when they came to Texas around 1850. Descendants of the Campbell family lived in the cabin until 1952. In the late 1970s, the Hoermann family donated it to the Conservation Society. In 1979 it was moved to its present location at 211 E. Live Oak Street. It houses numerous interesting artifacts, including a 145 year-old quilt and a 1908 icebox.

Kay Martin, the current SCS president, says her favorite thing about the cabin is the feeling she gets when she steps on the front porch. "It feels like you just stepped back in time; like you are at a home, not a museum." She also says that people should remember that the porch at the Log Cabin is a great place to take photos. "The trees and porch are quaint and rustic, and best of all, it's free!" she says.

3 comments:

Larry J. Patrick said...

I like a lot of what you have done with this photo, but I wish the log cabin would come forward more. Right now, it tends to blend into the trees. Not sure what to do about that.

Any suggestions from cyberspace?

Larry said...

I like the composition but to me the shot is too hot. The sky through the trees, the lower left cabin, and several spots of the chinking lack detail. How did the -2 shot in your HDR series look?

Barry Armer said...

Thanks Patrick and Larry!

I think both of your concerns can be fixed by some tweeking of my post-processing. I need to remember that the Sepia conversion I do with Virtual Photographer adds contast and that I need to make an adjustment to tone it back down a notch.

Cheers!
Barry