Ringwood Manor, located in northern New Jersey, is the site of a 19th century estate that was home to early developers of the iron industry in America.  Several nearby furnaces pioneered the extraction of iron from locally mined ore.  They provided iron for American weapons manufacture as early as the 18th century Revolutionary War, as well as for the Union Army during the Civil War.  The manor and surrounding grounds served as home to families of the owners of these industries.  Today it is a National Historic Landmark district administered by the NJ State Park Service.

            So why are these images "visions" of Ringwood Manor?  The attraction of visiting this historic site, or any historic site for that matter, is to try to imagine, in the mind's eye, what the remaining structures and facilities looked like in the relevant historical period.  For full appreciation a special skill is required of the visitor which involves the suspension of disbelief, a process much like that enjoyed during a stage performance in the theater.  My photographs and the way in which they were captured and processed aim to facilitate this experience.  They were all taken with a pinhole camera "lens" and further enhanced to look like prints from the 19th century's early days of photography.  

Technical Details: My Sony a7rII digital mirrorless camera was fitted with a body-cap with a thin copper insert in which a perfectly round hole exactly 0.2mm in diameter has been created using a laser.  All light rays cross at the pinhole and are not bent by any glass thus the focal length of this "lens" is 18mm, and the f-stop is f/90 (0.2=18/90).  This highly constricted aperture results in an almost infinite depth of field such that everything is brought close to focus. Unfortunately, the small size of the aperture also produces strong diffraction, so perfect sharpness is impossible.  Files were processed with Nik Silver Efex Pro to achieve the antique yellowed and faded look of old prints.

To see more “visions” check out my “Ringwood Manor” gallery.

For more about Ringwood Manor, visit ringwoodmanor.org