Lonaconing Silk Mill Rerun

This past weekend I joined a group of photographers on Sunday at the Silk Mill with the purpose of capturing more images of the mill before it is no longer a viable place to capture images of a bygone era....and to have some fun with friends! It was very cold and a typical winter weekend with snow showers and high winds on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning the mill was bitter cold....a perfect temp to enhance the mood of the day. With each successive visit I make; there is further deterioration and more attempts by Herb the owner to shore up the roof with new supports. Thankfully we have not had a heavy snow winter, but the little bit of snow on Saturday melted off the roof forming icicles outside the tall mill windows. The shadows of the trees and icicles cast upon the tall mill windows felt ominous. The light in the mill is always dramatic because of these tall windows. The walls are shifting such that the windows are beginning to come out of their casings. The large wooden ceiling supports are showing signs of rot...it is sad to watch after many visits the deterioration...and see Herb, the owner, desperately trying to hang on to it or sell it off.

 This cart is a subject I have not shot before. I first saw Chuck Robinson shoot this on a prior visit just before we left and I had it on my shot list to get this visit. Repairs and maintenance to the silk machines must have kept several mechanics busy making repairs. This cart remains with the materials and tools just the way it was the day the mill closed in 1957.

These wooden parts of the spinning machines have fascinated me for their form and utility on past visits but I have not seen an opportunity to capture them in a composition I liked. This trip I worked hard to get a pleasing shot of these pieces. Working between the rows of machines is tight and the tripod legs are hard to maneuver, but I was satisfied with this shot of the spinning parts.
I put together a small You Tube colletion of images both DSLR and iPhone from this trip which can be viewed here:
Karen L Messick You Tube Silk Mill.