Monday, May 31, 2010

Vintage tabernacle, Mathews County VA

Here I sit in my living room with the curtains pulled, in front of the fan, amusing myself on a terribly hot and humid morning here in Maryland. I was thinking of grabbing a beach towel and going for a swim in the pool out back but then I remembered there was no pool out back.

Dang.

Yesterday I found a texture over at Shadowhouse Creations that I wanted to put to use. And so, sitting here cooling off in front of the fan after a long hike and a cold shower, I went about turning these photos into a vintage look, complete with old water stains and the like.

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This is an old tabernacle that I visited while at a little something called Blog Fest last summer. I loved it there. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine the people of long ago, filling up the long benches on a warm Sunday morning, the women in their good summer dresses, keeping cool with their fans while the minister preached a sermon warning them of the ravages of sin and the temptations of Satan.

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Even the sign looks old, covered in lichen. Please disregard those tiny little people behind the sign. You probably didn’t even notice them until I pointed them out, didja?

For the two photographs above, I ran different variations of Totally Rad’s Old Skool actions. Then I used this texture with the layer mode set to ‘multiply’ from Shadowhouse Creations.

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Old Skool used on this photo as well, but a different texture, also from Shadowhouse. It’s called Painted Canvas, found in this set (top row far right). If you download any of his textures, please thank Jerry. He creates these for free and only wants a simple thank you.

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Inside the tabernacle was quite dark, and I remember setting the ISO to 1250 and shooting away. I ran Old Skool on this one but used a texture I found on Flickr. If you haven’t visited les brumes textures yet, I suggest you do. I wish they were a little higher rez but hey, they’re free. And they’re really cool.

And now I’m off to WalMart where I plan to buy a kiddie pool and some floats. You think I’m kidding, don’t you?

Ok. I am.

Respectfully submitted,

Your grandparents may remember Memorial Day as Decoration Day, first established after the Civil War as a day set aside to honor the dead by decorating their graves with flowers. I remember what our nation’s soldiers did for our country. And for that, I am grateful.

18 comments:

Carolynn Anctil said...

Happy Memorial Day. It's been so humid here for the last month. I'm looking forward to some warmer, dryer, sunnier weather.

The photos are really great, although, they feel very melancholy.

I say, go for the wading pool! I'll bet George would love it.

Country Girl said...

A bit, perhaps. Not looking forward to the week, I guess . . .

~ C.G.

JacksDad said...

Remember, no swimming for an hour after you photograph! :)

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

BEAUTIFUL shots of the tabernacle. Won't be too long before we'll be blog festing once again.

Go for the baby pool!

I'm headed to Bud's Beach in about 5 minutes...

beth said...

these are great and look so perfectly old....wow !

i like jackdaddy's reminder :)

Mary Lou said...

Dip your feet in for me..No, dip your whole body!
You sure are a good connector, or linker, or explainer, or whatever is complimentary along those lines.
Thanks.
PS I like George's photo too. I love photos from the back.

altar ego said...

Awesome images. They remind me of a time I never knew but heard about!

abb said...

Stay cool!

Saw the Memorial Day Parade honoring our soldiers. Of course I was moved to tears...more than once.

Anonymous said...

These are fabulous. And no, I hadn't noticed the tiny little people in the photo!!

CJ xx

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

You are SO creative with the different textures! I haven't tried anything like that....thank you for inspiring me to do so! Have a great Memorial Day!

Anonymous said...

Really enjoyed the Tabernacle pictures! It's only a couple of miles from where I live. I also remember going to a service there with my grandmother when I was really little but what I remember most is how hot it was and sticking to the benches.

Country Girl said...

Wow. Someone who was actually there a long time ago as a child!

I imagined it would be like that in summer. Ughhhh.

~ C.G.

BB said...

You amaze me with your creativity. I would never think to do this, but it looks great!

Hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day.
:-)
BB

Deb said...

great photos...we buy a kiddie pool every summer...and spend alot of time beating the Texas heat in it....

mrs mediocrity said...

Love the look you achieved with these photos, perfect.
And yes, today, I reminded myself to be grateful, too.

Daryl said...

I see MPM and Meg ... I see them!

I somehow didnt see this post, maybe it was due to the shopping, cleaning and painting we did to get ready to welcome the new uber mattress ...

The JR said...

Hey, my friend bought herself a kiddy pool for this weekend!

Cloudia said...

that roof!