This week’s piece for auction at eBay is a picture of the waterfall above, taken last fall at Gatineau Park in Quebec, one of Canada’s national parks.
My husband and I spent a weekend with his sister and brother-in-law in Ottawa, Ontario. They are big hikers and birdwatchers and we decided to take a walk at nearby Gatineau Park. It was a gorgeous autumn day.
During the walk, we came upon this waterfall and the ruins of the “Carbide Mill,” a great spot for picture taking. There is a book of historical walks through Gatineau Park by Katherine Fletcher and I found this page which outlined a walk similar to ours.
Here is what it had to say about the mill.
“By 1904, Thomas “Carbide” Willson had purchased 460 acres at Meech Lake (home of the Canadian Prime Minister’s retreat). There he built his summer residence, but it is the ruins of the dam, generating station and acid condensation tower that you see today. The super-phosphate fertilizer plant was the first of its kind in the world. In fact, Patrick Farrell had already built a dam here at the start of Meech Creek for his sawmill.
Today, the electrical generating plant stands, its windows and roof victim to time and vandalism. The large cylindrical tube which funnelled water into the station is all but gone: you can see where it once lay, and can appreciate why the NCC fenced off its mouth. On the opposite side of Meech Creek, only the base of the acid condensation tower is left: the rest was destroyed by fire.”
Seeing the waterfall brought back memories of the entire wonderful day – the gorgeous fall colors, the crispness in the air, the surprise in coming upon the mill and the waterfall.
An image can do that.
But, as I write, this thought also occurred to me. The waterfall has probably been around much longer than the mill. Yet, it was still very much alive, powerful, and raging. The mill (human-made) was still and very much disintegrating.
Never underestimate nature.
Note: Last week’s auction for the Lotus Bloom photograph will end at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, March 11, 2010.
I can’t look at that piccy without my eyes bouncing down the steps of the waterfall and ending up in the pond. Great composition, and I love the softness of the water. A little longer exposure perhaps? (ooh, I sound technical…the only reason I know about extended exposure is because that’s what happens to me when I’m shooting in the dark on auto without a tripod
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You got me thinking about the differences between hiking in Canada and hiking around the bush here. I have to go overseas one day just to do that…walk in a forest with no eucalypts. Could be scary
Lovely work as always.
Nutty
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(who has pretty much decided to change her name…ironically I’m such an honest blabbermouth, my name is the only thing I haven’t let on online
Nutty, I hope you can swim! Yes, I used a longish shutter speed so that there was some movement in the water. Thanks for visiting!