Scenics Archives - James DeCamp Photography

SS Arthur M. Anderson

Events, Images, News, Photos, Places, Scenics, Things

A fully laden SS Arthur M. Anderson makes it way out of the Duluth Harbor Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

The Anderson is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with SS Edmund Fitzgerald before she sank on November 10, 1975. Arthur M. Anderson was also the first rescue ship on the scene in a vain search for Edmund Fitzgerald survivors. The Anderson came out of the drydock of the American Ship Building Company of Lorain, Ohio in 1952 and had a length of 647 feet (197 m), a 70-foot (21 m) beam, a 36-foot (11 m) depth, and a gross tonnage of roughly 20,000 tons. She was second of eight of the AAA class of lake freighters. During the winter of 1974–75, she was lengthened 120 feet by Fraser Shipyards, Superior, Wisconsin to an overall length of 767 feet. On the lakes for nearly 70 years, she received a five month long survey and refitting in 2019 before being returned to service. The vessel’s namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel, a member of its finance committee and vice chairman of J.P. Morgan & Co. at the time.

October 24, 2023/0 Comments/by James

RG Steel

Drone, Images, Photos, Places, Scenics

The former RG Steel plant in Martins Ferry, Ohio photographed Thursday, January 28, 2021 in Wheeling, West Virginia. The steel mill, once part of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., was known as a “pickling plant,” where acid was used in the steel finishing galvanizing process. Part of the plant now is occupied by fracking sludge recycler Austin Master Services. Ohio Coatings also stores steel coils there. At one time the plant employed more than 2,000 people. Wheeling businessman Quay Mull purchased the former mill for $2 million during RG Steel’s bankruptcy sale in 2012. RG Steel was formed when the Renco Group bought the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mills in Warren, Ohio, and Sparrows Point, Md., from Russia’s Severstal in 2011. Prior to Severstal, the Martins Ferry plant and other Wheeling-Pitt facilities were acquired by Esmark Inc. during a 2007 merger with Wheeling-Pitt.

$The former RG Steel plant in Martins Ferry, Ohio photographed Thursday, January 28, 2021 in Wheeling, West Virginia. The steel mill, once part of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., was known as a “pickling plant,” where acid was used in the steel finishing galvanizing process. Part of the plant now is occupied by fracking sludge recycler Austin Master Services. Ohio Coatings also stores steel coils there. At one time the plant employed more than 2,000 people. Wheeling businessman Quay Mull purchased the former mill for $2 million during RG Steel’s bankruptcy sale in 2012. RG Steel was formed when the Renco Group bought the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mills in Warren, Ohio, and Sparrows Point, Md., from Russia’s Severstal in 2011. Prior to Severstal, the Martins Ferry plant and other Wheeling-Pitt facilities were acquired by Esmark Inc. during a 2007 merger with Wheeling-Pitt. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)$

January 28, 2021/0 Comments/by James

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino and Racetrack

Images, Places, Scenics

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino and Racetrack photographed Thursday, January 28, 2021 in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Casino-Racetrack (formerly known as Wheeling Downs) is located on Wheeling Island in the middle of the Ohio River, and is owned by Delaware North. The Casino features slot machines, which are marketed under the term “video lottery” in West Virginia; live greyhound racing, and off-track betting for both greyhound and horse racing as well as table games including poker, blackjack, craps, and roulette. The facility has a “tropical” theme, and its logo features a palm tree and tropical colors. The casino is located on a low-lying area surrounded by the Ohio River and is prone to flooding. The casino floor is elevated ten-and-one-half feet above ground level, just above the hundred-year flood level. Wheeling Downs introduced greyhound racing in 1976, under the ownership of the Ogden Corporation, who bought the track in 1969. In 1988, Ogden sold Wheeling Downs to Delaware North. From 1994 to 2001, Delaware North co-owned Wheeling Downs with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The casino became the permanent location of the Wheeling Jamboree in the fall of 2012.

January 28, 2021/0 Comments/by James

Solar Eclipse

Events, Images, News, Scenics

We didn’t travel anywhere to photograph the eclipse – it seemed like would be a mad house where ever we decided to go, and mother nature always has a way of putting a damper on things, so we didn’t chance it. Besides, we had back to back assignments here in Columbus, which would have only added to the hectic pace if we went out of town. Sadly the clouds moved in right at totality .
The top image was about 45 minutes before totality and it was much clearer – you can even make out a couple of sunspots on the left limb of the sun with the wispiness due to cirrus high altitude clouds.
Photographed with a Canon 5D MkII, 300mm and B&W ND110 3.0 ND filter.

The 2017 Solar Eclipse photographed Monday, August 21, 2017 in Columbus Ohio. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

August 21, 2017/0 Comments/by James

State Auto Insurance Christmas Corner

Images, Places, Scenics, Things, Travel

State Auto Insurance Christmas Corner photographed Friday, December 16, 2016.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Robert Pein, founder of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co., gave Columbus a gigantic Christmas present – one that decades later still brings joy to the city each yuletide.

In 1931, as the nation struggled thru the great depression and unemployment was rampant, Pein had the State Auto Insurance’s building on E. Broad Street decorated with more than 1,000 blinking lights, Christmas trees on the roof and an electric sign proclaiming “Christmas Greetings.”

Pein, who grew up the third of seven children in an impoverished Cincinnati household, was intent on his spectacular Christmas decorations because he recalled that although his family had been poor, “Christmas was somehow Christmas.”

Pein, who died just before Christmas in 1956, called the display a “Christmas card to the community.”

No photos survive of the original display, but The Columbus Citizen newspaper noted on Dec. 25, 1931: “Trinity Episcopal Church boys sang Christmas carols in front of the State Automobile Insurance Co. building on Christmas Eve in the city’s only outdoor public observance.”

On Christmas Day that depression year, the display gave cheer to passers-by on their way to church, friends’ homes and family gatherings.

The next year, the display was back — with 1,000 more lights, four crosses, a star and 853 Christmas trees. “Eight electricians worked around the clock for a week to complete the spectacle,” the company reported.

The display disappeared during World War II years and was downsized during the postwar years while the company’s headquarters were remodeled and rebuilt.

The company’s entire E. Broad St. building, which was now five stories tall, was decked out for the 1954 display. In 1962, the display’s signature life-size Nativity figures were added.

For 50 years, Mary, Joseph and a changing array of Nativity figures have drawn crowds each Christmas season.

In 2009, the display was moved from a raised area in front of the building to a small park to the east, where families can walk among the statues as they follow the story of the birth of Jesus.

State Auto Insurance Christmas Corner photographed Friday, December 16, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

December 16, 2016/0 Comments/by James

Scioto Mile

Images, Scenics, Wild Art

A little different take on the traditional Columbus skyline image.

Featured in 614 Magazine as their ‘Big Picture’ for November 2016

Kayaking along the Scioto Mile photographed Saturday, November 5, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

November 5, 2016/0 Comments/by James

Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station

Images, Places, Scenics, Travel

The Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station photographed Sunday August 21, 2016.

The Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station is a decommissioned nuclear power plant built by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in Herald, California.

In 1966, SMUD purchased 2,100 acres (850 ha) in southeast Sacramento County for a nuclear power plant, which was built in Herald, 25 miles (40 km) south-east of downtown Sacramento.

In the early 1970s, a small pond was expanded to a 160-acre (65 ha) lake to serve as an emergency backup water supply for the station. The lake has always received its water from the Folsom South Canal and has no relationship with the power plant’s daily water supply. Surrounding the lake is 400 acres (160 ha) of recreational area originally operated by the County of Sacramento for day-use activities.

The 2,772 MWt Babcock & Wilcox pressurized water reactor (913 MWe) achieved initial criticality on 16 September 1974 and entered commercial operation on 17 April 1975.

On 20 March 1978 a failure of power supply for the plant’s non-nuclear instrumentation system led to steam generator dryout. (ref NRC LER 312/78-001). In an ongoing study of “precursors” that could lead to a nuclear disaster if additional failures were to have occurred, in 2005 the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded that this event at Rancho Seco was the third most serious safety-related occurrence in the United States (Behind the Three Mile Island accident and the cable tray fire at Browns Ferry).

The plant operated from April 1975 to June 1989 but had a lifetime capacity average of only 39%; it was closed by public vote on 7 June 1989 (despite the fact that its operating license did not expire until 11 October 2008) after multiple referendums.

Operation of the recreational area was assumed by SMUD in 1992. In cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, SMUD dedicated in June 2006 the Howard Ranch Nature Trail, a seven-mile (11 km) long trail that follows riparian and marsh habitat along Rancho Seco Lake and the adjoining Howard Ranch that once belonged to the owner of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit.

All power generating equipment has been removed from the plant and the now-empty cooling towers remain a prominent part of the local landscape. Also scattered throughout the area around the plant are abandoned air raid sirens that at one time would have warned people of a radioactivity release from the station. Additions to SMUD’s Rancho Seco property have included massive solar installations and, more recently, the natural gas-fired Cosumnes Power Plant, brought online in 2006.

On 23 October 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released the majority of the site for unrestricted public use, while approximately 11 acres (4.5 ha) of land including a storage building for low-level radioactive waste and a dry-cask spent fuel storage facility remain under NRC licenses. The plant cost $375 million when it was built in 1974 and it cost about $120 million (in 1974 dollars) to decommission according to the SMUD Rancho Seco Nuclear Education Center.

The Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station is a decommissioned nuclear power plant built by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in Herald, California photographed Sunday August 21, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

August 21, 2016/0 Comments/by James

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Images, Places, Scenics, Travel

Giant Sequoias photographed along the South Grove Loop at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest photographed Sunday August 21, 2016.

More images available in a gallery HERE.

Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, United States, preserving two groves of giant sequoiatrees. It is located 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada. It has been a major tourist attraction since 1852, when the existence of the trees was first widely reported, and is considered the longest continuously operated tourist facility in California.

The area was declared a state park in 1931 and now encompasses 6,498 acres (2,630 ha) in Calaveras and Tuolumnecounties.

Over the years other parcels of mixed conifer forests, including the much larger South Calaveras Grove of Giant Sequoias(purchased in 1954 for US $2.8 million, equivalent to US $25 million in 2017 dollars), have been added to the park to bring the total area to over 6,400 acres (2,600 ha). The North Grove contains about 100 mature giant sequoias; the South Grove, about 1,000. According to Naturalist John Muir the forest protected by the park is: “A flowering glade in the very heart of the woods, forming a fine center for the student, and a delicious resting place for the weary.”

The North Grove included the “Discovery Tree”, noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852 and felled in 1853, leaving a giant stump, the only remainder of the tree. It measured 25 feet in diameter at its base and was determined by ring count to be 1,244 years old when felled. At the time the grove was discovered by white explorers, the Discovery Tree was measured by Dowd and others as the largest tree, and it was cut down to advertise the tourist attraction. Today only a fire-blackened snag remains of the Mother of the Forest, and the Discovery Tree has been renamed the Big Stump; the largest tree in the North Grove today is the Empire State tree, which measures 30 feet at ground level and 23 feet at 6 feet above ground.

In addition to the popular North Grove, the park also now includes the South Grove, with a 5-mile (8.0 km) hiking trip into a grove of giant sequoias in their natural setting. The South Grove includes the Louis Agassiz tree, 250 feet (76 m) tall and more than 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter 6 feet (1.8 m) above ground, the largest tree in the Calaveras groves. It is named after zoologist Louis Agassiz (1807–1873).

Other attractions in the Park include the Stanislaus River, Beaver Creek, the Lava Bluff Trail, and Bradley Trail.

The park houses two main campgrounds with a total of 129 campsites, six picnic areas and hundreds of miles of established trails.

Giant Sequoias photographed along the South Grove Loop at the Calaveras Big Trees State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest photographed Sunday August 21, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

August 21, 2016/0 Comments/by James

Saint Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church

Images, Places, Religious, Scenics, Travel

The Saint Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Shiner, Texas, one of the Texas Painted Churches photographed Wednesday August 3, 2016.

More images available in a gallery HERE.

On June 17, 1890, Father John A. Forest of Halletsville met with a group Catholic men to plan the building of a church in Shiner. Two acres of land were purchased from Moritz Richter, and the home of the Catholic Church in Shiner was established just east of the railroad tracks. A. Harbers drew the plans for the first church and contracted for the building, a structure 85 feet x 40 feet with a steeple 112 feet high. Construction began January 2, 1891, and was completed May 31, 1891. Father J.A. Forest blessed and dedicated the church on May 7, 1891 under the name of SS. Cyril and Methodius.

Rapid growth of the parish necessitated the building of a larger church. Father Wolf and architect E. Wahrenberger supervised the construction contractors as Vincent Falbo and M. Deodati of San Antonio began building one of the most magnificent Gothic structures between San Antonio and Houston. The cornerstone was laid in 1920, and the present church was blessed by Bishop Drossaerts on July 7, 1921. The structure is still known as one of the most eye-catching landmarks in South Central Texas with visitors from around the world stopping regularly to photograph and tour the church. Its beauty is enchanted by six late stained glass windows and a huge mural of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane which overlooks the altar.

The Saint Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church in Shiner, Texas, one of the Texas Painted Churches photographed Wednesday August 3, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)

August 3, 2016/0 Comments/by James

Caldwell County Courthouse

Images, Places, Scenics, Travel

The Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart, Texas photographed Wednesday August 3, 2016.

The Caldwell County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located in Lockhart, Texas, United States. The courthouse was built in 1894 to replace the existing courthouse, which was too small for the growing county. The courthouse was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1976 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 3, 1978.

The courthouse was built in the Second Empire architectural style, with the design often attributed to Alfred Giles; however, recent research indicates the building was designed by Henry E.M. Guidon, who eventually became partners with Giles. The courthouse is nearly identical to the courthouse in Goliad County, Texas, as it was built from the same Guidon plans.

The exterior of the three-story courthouse is built with cream-colored limestone and red sandstone. The central clock tower houses a four-faced Seth Thomas Clock Company clock and a 900-pound bell. The mansard roof of the courthouse is characteristic of Second Empire design.

The Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart, Texas photographed Wednesday August 3, 2016. (© James D. DeCamp | http://www.JamesDeCamp.com | 614-367-6366)