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The Crown Flour Mill, est.1892
The Crown Flour Mill, est.1892
Cory


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: HDR III (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Challenge Images
Camera: Canon EOS-50D
Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX Aspherical DG for Canon
Location: Socorro New Mexico
Date: Jun 5, 2010
Aperture: f/9.5
ISO: 100
Shutter: Up to 90 seconds
Galleries: Architecture, High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Date Uploaded: Jun 5, 2010

 This is a picture of the old Crown Flour Mill in Socorro New Mexico.. Taken as a 14 exposure set, then I selected the top six to merge and created this image..

I love this old mill, it's just magical..

Here's a picture of the outside of this place in HDR as well...



Here are 4 100% crops from this.

I've added these as a thank you to RayEthier for his very kind comment.










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History

The Crown Mill, a three-story brick mill, was built in 1892 by John Greenwald. The height of the mill allowed for the gravity processing method of milling. The mill processed wheat from the farms along the Rio Grande and imported wheat from Kansas to mill. Crown Mill flour was shipped all over the United States, but the majority was used in New Mexico and Arizona. There were times when the mill operated both day and
night to satisfy the high demand for flour.

[Jun. 10th, 2010 11:41:13 PM]

Wow, I'm sitting at nearly a 6.7 half-way through voting.. I'm quite pleased with everyone's comments, thanks to those who have commented, those are better than even the high votes!

[Jun. 11th, 2010 12:05:34 AM]

So, this place took just about a month to get access to, as it's pretty dangerous and the owner isn't too hot on the liability that is introduced by letting people in..

This image was taken on my second shoot at this location (I was too late on my start on the first shoot, but the place is big, and finding just the right place was a bit of a challenge.

This particular location is on the top floor of the old mill, and the week of this shoot the temperatures were busy breaking records across the state. I don't think it was much over 100 degrees outside, but upstairs, without any ventilation, and covered in metal, this particular spot was probably in excess of 120 degrees.. As you might imagine, I got very, very hot doing this...

Since my longest exposure was 90 seconds, and I have LENR on, you can quickly figure out that it took about seven minutes for a full set of HDR shots.. I setup and took six sets of shots upstairs, so that meant I was up there for just under an hour overall... I was extremely hot and quite well soaked in sweat by the time I finished this image (my last composition, and I knew it was "the one" as soon as I reviewed the set.

So, that's the story of what it took to get this shot, it was a labor of love, and the end result is amazing.

In the full resolution 15MP image, you can see many, many details in this image, from a bird's skeleton to reading every bit of print on the closest machine. There are bits of writing all over it, mostly numbers and codes, but the texture they add is amazing, especially considering I didn't notice them while I was shooting at the location.

I'm sure some of you will be curious as to what the machines are.. They are "Perfection Dust Collectors"..

I'm not 100% sure why they were on the top floor, nor what they did exactly, but I surmise they served to clean the flour dust out of the air, although I'm not in any way certain of that..

--

Here's an old photo of this in operation:


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Post challenge:

WOW Top ten?? Really? I'm honored!

Thanks for the kind votes and comments everyone.. I've really enjoyed this week! (poor little update button!)

Statistics
Place: 9 out of 161
Avg (all users): 6.7039
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.4342
Avg (non-participants): 6.9029
Views since voting: 5202
Views during voting: 414
Votes: 179
Comments: 27
Favorites: 5 (view)

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AuthorThread
 02/20/2014 12:43:09 PM
Cory: Great pictures. My ggrandfather, John Greenwald (1842-1923) built the mill in 1892. It stopped producing flour in the 30s. As a child I roamed all over the mill in the 40-50s. The family sold it in 1973 and the bottom floor plus much of the other floors were stripped. I am writing a book "The Greenwalds of Socorro." It will be published in limited quantities for family members and libraries/archives at no cost to the recipients. It includes many pictures of the mill dating back to 1893. May I have your permission to include your wonderful photos? How can I get better quality than off the website?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR
 05/12/2013 08:58:14 PM
Noticed this shot again in the perspective challenge and couldnt remember if it was you that done it previously. I like this shot a lot but I think the new one is much better POV. Either way good job on both. That is assuming your the only one that lives in NM with access to this mill :) (I'm hoping)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
 01/23/2013 01:21:55 PM
Greetings from the Comment Bomb Squad

Just wanted to drop you a note on one of my favorite shots from your portfolio.

I love the look of this with it's crisp and sharp HDR content bringing out all the lights and shadows to make the scene much more evenly lit. I think the detail is phenomenal and and I love all the lines and textures throughout! Wonderful subject and a great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Sony Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA
 06/19/2010 04:07:52 PM
Greetings from the Critique Club

Congrats on the PB & Top 10.

Not too much for me to say about this as I think the score and placing indicate this was clearly a well done HDR image.

My only observation, along the same lines as Bear Music, is that it is slightly flat. However, I see Bear has already provided you with a tip on how to overcome that.

The subject lends itself to hdr type treatment and I like that you have not "overcooked" it. It does not feel like a cartoon.

I do not believe I can add anything useful to you since this did so well anyway.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 G ED
 06/17/2010 12:59:07 PM
Congrats on your high finish and PB score, great image!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7R II
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon
 06/14/2010 06:17:25 PM
Great shot! congratulations on top 10 and new PB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D90
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
 06/14/2010 01:53:39 PM
Suweeeet! Congrats on a new PB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
 06/14/2010 01:32:41 PM
Nice! - one of the more interesting shots in this challenge. Really well balanced composition and a subject i haven't seen before.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 06/14/2010 10:36:54 AM
Look at you!!! Top 10!!! Great shot, I really like the ruggedness of it and it's not "overdone" by a long shot...excellent
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR
 06/14/2010 10:25:37 AM
Wonderfully done !!!! superb HDR IMO, congrats on the Top 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 06/14/2010 02:19:54 AM
Dude! Sweeet image and a great finish! Congrats on your new personal best!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-500 EVOLT
Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom
 06/14/2010 12:58:25 AM
This got an 8 from me. Awesome!

First thing it reminded me of was a room that I could come up on in the Myst series. I'm a serious adventure game junkie, and this could definitely be one of the puzzles to solve in a classic adventure game.

Makes my imagination soar.

Very nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Coolpix 2100
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
06/14/2010 12:54:57 AM
Woohoo 9th!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
 06/14/2010 12:39:44 AM
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Congrats on top 10. I was one of your 60 7's. The overall feel of this is a little flat for me. But it's very interesting regardless.

If you want to try an experiment, open this up, dupe the image, and change the layer mode to soft light, then adjust opacity :-)


Ahh, I do see what you mean... Damn. Thanks for the tip!
Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS
 06/14/2010 12:31:10 AM
Congrats on top 10. I was one of your 60 7's. The overall feel of this is a little flat for me. But it's very interesting regardless.

If you want to try an experiment, open this up, dupe the image, and change the layer mode to soft light, then adjust opacity :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
 06/14/2010 12:26:32 AM
Someone gave you a 1? Really?!

Great work Cory!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 06/14/2010 12:19:07 AM
Congrats on the top 10! I can see now why I was only in the running with you for a short time! One of my favorites in the challenge (I love old factories also).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
 06/14/2010 12:10:40 AM
Such a great shot. Congratulations on top 10 and a new PB! I was quite interested to read your notes, as I was wondering during the challenge how you got into the place to take this picture. A labor of love indeed!--and clearly well worth it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO
 06/14/2010 12:07:27 AM
Top 10. Whoo-Hooo! Way to go!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/14/2010 12:06:36 AM
Nice finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
 06/12/2010 09:35:32 AM
The processing has brought out some nice details.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7200
Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
 06/11/2010 12:54:18 PM
Nice job not overdoing it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
 06/10/2010 08:59:12 PM
Oh my... this is really, really nice. You have done a wonderful job with this one. A very well focused image that provides astounding details of the machinery and their environment. You are to be commended for this masterpiece.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 06/09/2010 05:41:23 PM
like this
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC for Canon
 06/07/2010 02:20:10 PM
great shot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,top,,,,,,work,,,,,,
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 12
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-135mm f/3.5-4.5
 06/07/2010 12:48:23 AM
Your image demonstrates good use of HDR.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/07/2010 12:14:48 AM
lovely light and colours
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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