Pinholery in the Irish Hills

On Sunday, April 26, the entire world celebrated World Pinhole Photography Day (WPPD). Well, at least the small world of photographers using pinhole cameras did. Our world is sometimes a bit fuzzy, but everything is in focus, and we expect events to happen at a slow pace.

Mike Myers and I went down to the Irish Hills along US-12, in search of some suitable WPPD subjects, and found some decrepit places to shoot, such as the Irish Hills Fun Center as shown above. Formerly a place where one could race go-karts, play mini golf, and take a dip in a pool, it now looks abandoned. The one place I really wanted to see has all sorts of life-size dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals on the grounds, but it is ringed with "no trespassing" signs. Better to stay out and avoid a visit from the local police.

We finally ended up at McCourtie Park in Somerset. This place was built by a former concrete baron, who, in the 1930s, had artisans from Mexico construct a series of small concrete bridges across a meandering stream. You might think it wouldn't be interesting, but each bridge is different, and they fool your eye -- looking like rustic wood brdges, a rope bridge, and so on. What looks like bark with beetle holes is just concrete. You expect the rope bridge to sway, but of course, it's not really rope, it's concrete. Fun to visit, and quite photogenic.