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| United States Post Office, Thurmond, WVA. (click to enlarge) I believe it was still operating when I made this image in 2010. Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 24mm; 1/100th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200 |
In my last post I wrote about the mostly "ghost town" of Thurmond, West Virginia. You can find it here. I thought I would share a few more images for additional context and in case you had a bit of interest in the area. One thing I did not mention in my last post is that Thurmond is now a part of our newest national park—the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve—which gives it all of the benefits and protections of that organization.
The images of the waterfalls and the fisherman are from the creek I mentioned that parallels the only paved road in and out of Thurmond. It is called Dunloup Creek. If you are a landscape and/or nature photographer, there are many opportunities along the route to Thurmond which would make interesting photographs.
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| Looking NW toward "downtown" Thurmond, WVA (click to enlarge) The concrete structure on the left is the old coaling tower where coal was stored to refuel steam locomotives. Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm; 1/250th sec. @ f/11; ISO 200 |
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| National Bank of Thurmond. Really! (click to enlarge) Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 24mm; 1/125th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200 |
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| The station is still in use. It is now operated by the National Park Service. In my last post, the image at the top of that post was made from the second floor window on this end of the building. (click to enlarge) Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 48mm; 1/320th sec. @ f/1; ISO 200 |
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| This is one of several waterfalls in Dunloup Creek along WVA Route 25. (click to enlarge) Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 26mm; 0.8th sec. @ f/18; ISO 200 |
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| (click to enlarge) Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 31mm; 1/13th sec. @ f/22; ISO 200 |
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| Fly fishing in Dunloup Creek along WVA Route 25 near Thurmond. (click to enlarge) Nikon D700; 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 45mm; 1/125th sec. @ f/11; ISO 200 |
Now that you have browsed these images, I just wanted to remind you that they were made 11 years ago with a 12mp Nikon D700 camera and a three generations old 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikon lens. I don't know if you find fault with their technical quality (the artistic quality surely is debatable), but when I look at them I am hard pressed to think I need a 61mp camera with the latest and greatest features along with a $2500 US lens. For me, these hold up very well. Just sayin'.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
All content on this blog is © 2013-2021 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
Hello Dennis,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interesting posts about Thurmond - I came for the photography and stayed for the history!
After visiting the NPS website I spent some time Googling Thurmond, the New River Gorge area and the C&O railroad to get a better understanding of why such a remote town developed the way it did.
One site I visited described Thurmond as "the Dodge city of the East" and said that "the only difference between Hell and Thurmond is that a river runs through Thurmond". What a place it must have been in its heyday.
Cheers
Jeff
Jeff, thanks for your comments. Also, I’m happy that what I wrote whetted your appetite enough to find out more about the area. That makes me happy. Thanks again.
DeleteVery true about your 12-megapixel Nikon, Dennis. I used an original Canon 5D for eight years (I'm not much given to change!). Its 12-megapixel sensor gave me photographs that still hold up well today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave. Good to hear from you. I hope all is well with you and your wife and you are enjoying being ‘mobile.’
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