Hillcrest World
Hillcrest World
The last post featured Hillcrest B&B and in their garden they have this beautiful glass ball. I got this image with the surrounding landscape reflecting in it. I love the colours and the surreal look of it.
Doors Open Waterloo Region – Hillcrest House
Hillcrest House
Our 6th stop on the Doors Open Waterloo Region Tour was Hillcrest House. Built in 1882 by Theodore Bellinger this 130 year old house is lovingly cared for by the Schusters and operates as a unique Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Uptown Waterloo. Find out more about this B&B at their website http://www.hillcresthouse.ca
Next stop is another old building in Waterloo with an interesting manufacturing history. Stay tuned!
Click on a picture to see larger
-
- Hillcrest House Bedroom Suite
-
- Hillcrest House Fire Place
-
- Hillcrest House Dinning Room
-
- Hillcrest House Kitchen
-
- Hillcrest House Bay Window
-
- Hillcrest House
-
- Hillcrest House
Doors Open Waterloo Region – St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Waterloo
St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Sanctuary Altar
Our 5th stop on the Doors Open Waterloo Region tour was St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Willow Street in Waterloo. This church was build in 1962 after a devastating fire destroyed an earlier one. The congregation is well established in Waterloo, celebrating it’s 175th anniversary this year.
The church features a magnificent vaulted ceiling, many stain glass windows made from imported glass, and pipe organ.
The modern interior is a interesting contrast to the mid 20th century Gothic exterior.
-
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church Sanctuary Rear Loft
-
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church Sanctuary Altar
-
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church Sanctuary Altar
-
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church Exterior
-
- St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church Exterior
This beautiful church is well worth a visit if you get a chance.
Last time I said the next post was going to be a 130 year old house but I got ahead of myself on the tour as this church was our 5th stop. So now that we are back on track the next post will be the 130 year old house. Stay Tuned!
Doors Open Waterloo Region – Sun Life Financial
The Fourth stop on our Doors Open Waterloo Region was Sun Life Financial in Waterloo. Celebrating 100 years this building was a real treat to tour.
Sun Life Financial – Original main entrance
In the spring of 1912 24 men and 14 women – Employees of the the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Co. carried their files and papers from their old location through this magnificent entrance into the Great Hall inside. One employee is said to exclaim, “We will never fill it!”. Eight additions later and 2,600 people working in this location proved filling it was not a problem.
Sun Life Financial Great Hall
This shot taken from one of the balconies of the Great Hall is a panorama composed of 5 pictures. Great care has been taken to preserve the original features of the building.
Click on a picture to see them larger
-
- Sun Life Financial – Exterior
-
- Sun Life Financial – Atrium water feature
-
- Sun Life Financial – Pond in the atrium
-
- Sun Life Financial – Atrium
-
- Sun Life Financial – Wrought Iron Railings
-
- Sun Life Financial – Main Board Room Fire Place with first portrait of the president of the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company – Isaac Erb Bowman
-
- Sun Life Financial – Main Board Room Fire Place
-
- Sun Life Financial Great Hall
-
- Sun Life Financial – Original main entrance
This stop was well worth the time to see and learn about this significant Waterloo landmark and contributor to the economy.
Our next stop – A beautiful 130 year old home! Stay tuned!
Doors Open Waterloo Region – Wellesley Mill
Wellesley Mill – Village of Wellesley
Our third stop on the Doors Open Waterloo Region tour was in the Village of Wellesley. The Wellesley Mill was built in 1856 by the Doering Brothers as a flour mill. As described on their web site “The actual structure is composed of massive timbers, which are mortise-and-tenon-jointed together with brick infill (known as half-timbering), and is set on stone foundation walls 2 feet thick. As such, it is rather rare as most existing gristmills in south-western Ontario are constructed either of stone or brick.”
It was a real treat to be able to get down and see the massive stone walls and heavy post and beam structure. At one time the mill was apparently powered be a coil fired steam boiler which is still in the basement. There where also many interesting artifacts to be seen.
The rich textures lends itself to a more artistic and grungy approach to the processing of these pictures.
Click on a picture to bring up the Gallery
-
- Wellesley Mill
-
- Wellesley Mill Through the Barrel
-
- Wellesley Mill – Artifact
-
- Wellesley Mill – Shaft Pulley Impaso effect
-
- Wellesley Mill – Pulley Wheel
-
- Wellesley Mill Feed Water Pipe
-
- Wellesley Mill Coal Fired Boiler
-
- Wellesley Mill Foundation Wall
-
- Wellesley Mill Support Beams
-
- Wellesley Mill – Village of Wellesley
Wellesley Mill
By the time we finished looking around this site it was time for lunch so we ate at the restaurant and headed back to Waterloo for our next Doors Open site. The next site is very much the opposite of this one. Stay tuned!
Doors Open Waterloo Region – St. John Lutheran Church Wellesley Township
St. John Lutheran Church Wellesley Township
Our second stop on the Doors Open Waterloo Region tour was St. John Lutheran Church in Wellesley Township. Designated an historic site in 2003 this little church on a hill just north of the village of Bamberg was built in 1872.
St. John Lutheran Church – From the Choir Loft
There is quite a contrast between this and the first church we visited. There was a cozy peaceful atmosphere and the representatives of both congregations where equally grateful for their place of worship.
St. John Lutheran Church – Sanctuary
St. John Lutheran Church – Sanctuary
As the congregation grew older and the people moved away the congregation was no longer able to support a full time pastor and the members have joined neighbouring churches. The church has however remained open and since 1982, four special services are held every year.
St. John Lutheran Church – Harvest Home Service decorations
The next service will be their Christmas Service on December 16, 2012 at 7:00 pm and all are invited to come worship with them.
St. John Lutheran Church – Key to the Church
So after 14o years of worship the old key still operates the lock on the front door.
Our next stop takes us into the Village of Wellesley for a basement tour! Stay tuned.
Doors Open Waterloo Region – St. Clements Roman Catholic Church
Sept. 15, 2012 was the date for Doors Open Waterloo Region. Part of Doors Open Ontario it provides an opportunity to tour participating noteworthy buildings and heritage sites in Waterloo Region. This is the first year we took advantage of this and were able to visit 9 of the 37 available sites . It was hard to choose where to go so we decided to check out the villages in the townships and then head into Waterloo.
Our fist stop was St. Clements Roman Catholic Church.
St. Clement Roman Catholic Church – Front
St. Clement Roman Catholic Church – Back
From the outside it is a typical brick village church. I have driven by it many times without giving it much thought.
Inside is a different story. A visual feast of art.
St. Cement Roman Catholic Church – Interior
The walls and ceiling are covered by the intricate painting of the artist L. Scott Young. Young completed the work in 1948 and tragically died at the age of 38 in 1950 at Kitchener’s St. Mary’s Hospital following an operation for a ruptured appendix.
Depiction of the Last Supper
This depiction of the Last Supper was done on canvas and applied directly to the ceiling plaster. The ornately carved, painted, and gilt alters date from the nineteenth century and the Canadian made stain glass windows where installed between 1800 and 1900.
Statue of Christ and Mary and Stain Glass Windows
This photo shows some of the intricate painting Young achieved. The stone work around the statue and the windows is all painted on the flat walls. The mosaic tile work – all hand painted as well as the block work below. The 3D effect was quite amazing.
St. Clement Roman Catholic Church – Mary and Christ.
St. Clement Roman Catholic Church Mary and Christ
I not sure about the history behind the creation of this statue but it is a prominent feature on the side wall of the sanctuary.
This last picture is a view from the choir/organ loft.
St. Clement Roman Catholic Church – View from Choir/Organ loft.
This first stop on our tour was a pleasant surprise.
The next stop is also a church – but quite a bit different. Stay tuned!
Down on the Conestogo River
Down on the Conestogo River
There was a nice sunset the other evening so I joined the fishermen on the river and this is one that I caught.
Cambridge Mill
Cambridge Mill Restaurant
This is the second time I have posted a shot of the Cambridge Mill. This shot was taken when it was darker out and a slightly different angle. The previous one is here. https://villagephotographer.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/cambridge-mill-restaurant/
See Gull Falls
See Gull Falls
Couldn’t resist the pun! This was taken near the Templin Gardens in Fergus.
Started out as a colour HDR – converted to B&W in Lightroom
Templin Gardens
Templin Gardens, Fergus Ontario
Today we took a drive to my home town of Fergus. This is a shot of the Templin Gardens on the Grand River in downtown Fergus. Templin Gardens was built by John C. Templin as a gift for his wife, an avid gardener. Although the exact year is undetermined, it is believed that it was built in the 1920’s or 1930’s.
Over The Rainbow
Over The Rainbow
Backyard Rainbow
I was about to work on a picture to post tonight when the call came out that there was a Rainbow. I dashed out into the backyard and grabbed a few quick shots and then headed down to the bridge to see if the angle was good. The one half of the rainbow that I shot in the back yard was gone but the other half was reflecting beautifully in the river.
Back yard shot was adjusted in Lighroom. The river shot is a 3 exposure HDR, photomatix, photoshop, noiseware, topaz, lightroom.
Centennial Fountain
Centennial Fountain – Galt Cambridge Ontario
This is on of the photos from Wednesday’s photo walk in the Galt section of Cambridge. It is a fountain built for Canada’s Centennial in 1967. It is located in Queen’s Square.
3 exposure HDR, photomatix, noiseware, photoshop, topaz, Lightroom
Group of Four
Our Group of Four
The best way to improve you photography is to practice and there is no better motivation to practice than to share the experience. The four of us got back together after a busy summer and took some pictures of a classic car show and the architecture of down town Cambridge (Galt). We try to get out at least once a month. Anyone is welcome to join us. If you are in the Kitchener / Waterloo area send me an email and I will let you know when we are going out again.
I’m the only one without a camera in the shot since it is taking the picture on timer. This is actually a 3 exposure HDR. We all sat real still for the longest exposure which was 2.5 seconds.
Fall Flower
Fall Flower
Another beautiful long weekend for taking pictures. There are still lots of fall flowers blooming and this is one shot I thought turned out pretty good. Just did a little adjustment in Lightroom. This is also a good example of why you should take you camera of automatic or program mode. I shoot a lot of my shots in Aperture priority so I can control the depth of field. In this case to get the background out of focus.
Villagephotography 