The Hedley Trading Post

Tucked away in the mountains on the banks of the Similkameen River in south central BC, Canada is the old gold mining town of Hedley, made famous for the discovery of gold in 1897. Gold mining declined in the mid fifties and it is now a mainly tourist town.  What a strange, funky, eccentric, and quaint little town it is.

I like the way you have composed the shot with the converging mountains framing the building. It is an interesting building too, with lots of great detail, I particularly like the "people" looking out of the upper windows. Is this a HDR?  The sky has that HDR look about it, but its easy to get a  more natural looking sky if thats the kind of finish you desire. Maybe a slight increase in contrast for the background too. A great little treasure you found here and captured so well. Nice work Linda!

Best Regards

Alf

I like how the colors seem to jump out, very painted up, like a shabby Victorian lady in the middle of nowhere.

I think that between the area of interest , e.g. architecture, the colours which are bright but muted and the work of HD the total compostion comes together so well. The work you have done here and the low lighting with just a hint of sun to the right facing the viewer make for great interest.  I think it is a nice image and one for a mark of times gone by... Well done.. MJ

Wow! You made this up! Nothing on earth can have such a perfect setting!! Seriously, the photo is superb. I love the balance between the building and the hills behind it. No question the trading post is the subject but the hills add so much to the overall ambiance of the setting! Great colors, somewhat understated, as not to divert attention from the overall scene. It just doesn't get any better than this. Beautiful work, Linda!

Hi Linda!!  Wow, really nicely done!! And your info is great too!! It is such beautiful country up there.... I remember fishing on a Hedley Lake when I was a kid... Is there a Lake not far from this Trading Post??

Playing with HDR Linda? Good, not very noticeable, I may only suggest another playing with brightness/contrast stuff because I think the picture would look much better with a little bit more contrast added!

Best regards!

PDE

Thank you everyone.

Alf, yes, I have been experimenting with bracketing and HDR. I am not sure if I like the HDR effect or not. It seems to improve the look of nearly all photos without to do the work myself. It also doesn’t look natural when it is overdone, but then I do like the unatural look in some photos. I like to have the control of layering the exposures and adjusting the transparency myself.  I find that bracketing is a good idea when you aren’t sure about the exposure, you get three exposures to cover the bases. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.  

Jeff, what a great description, I love it. This exactly how it looks. Thanks for making me laugh.

MJ it was a dark, cloudy day with the sunshine peeking through the clouds now and then. This little town seems the same as it must always have been. It hasn’t had any major development yet. I am sure it will sometime in the future.  

Warren, I don’t do the building or the setting justice. We didn’t even get to see the most interesting part of this area, the abandoned gold mine. The road had been washed out by mud slides.  

Bobby, thank you. It’s nice to hear from you.

Andrea, there is the Similkameen River, I don’t know about a lake, but there probably are lakes all around there. The river was boiling from spring run off and rain. The locals said they had never seen it so high, and furious. There were huge rapids, white caps, it was wild and frightening in places.

Pierre, yes, I have been trying out Photomatix. I am just experimenting and appreciate your feedback. I will try adding more contrast, you could be right.

I appreciate your comments.

Best wishes,

Linda

Great HDR rendering, Linda. Excellent DOF and good clarity.

Thank you!

A fantastic presentation with great colors and texture! The mauntains are amazing.

Thanks so much, glad you like it.

Thanks for the background info on this jewel of a place. I'm finally getting into HDR but am not near as far along as you. So much to learn, so little time. Look forward to seeing more of your hdr work. GJ

I like this a lot. This could be a print for a postcard. It is so well done.

Very well done Linda! and what a 'cool' little Gift shop nestled amongst the mountains. Your editing is just wonderful. Love the colors against the 'moody' sky.

Kind regards, Gail

 Thanks everyone. I'm happy you like it.

What a fun and interesting shot!  The building (and I suppose the inside) has some kitschy elements to it, but retains some sense of taste.  Like the mural.....I wish I could see what it's of....did you get a picture of it?  But the brilliance of this shot is the positioning of the building.  It's hard to imagine a more scenic location for it.  Nicely done!  (What is that pink thing on the roof on the left side?)  :-)

Linda,   From your list of followers, I'm a bit late in responding to this image.  It is a wonderful whimsical slice of life and tourist commerce.  Great placement of the store framed by the mountains - just great.

I envy you having all of BC to capture any time you like.  It's always a pleasure connecting with you.   Larry