I learned about Waterford, Virginia from a fellow photographer who described it to me. It sounded idyllic and pastoral.  I had a chance to see for myself on a recent road trip to northern Virginia.

Things are changing rapidly in that part of the world. Waterford has seen its share of changes.  Waterford was established around 1733 by Amos Janney.  Janney purchased 400 acres on the south fork of Catoctin Creek and established a grist mill and saw mill in the area in the 1740s. The Mill still stands at one end of town. And it’s clear that it was the center of town at that time.

Due to the success of the mills, the settlement originally became known as “Janney’s Mill”. The town grew quickly as a center of commerce for growers of grain and the name of village was changed to Waterford.  Waterford became a National Historic Landmark in 1970, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you live on the main street through town, you learn to live with traffic through town. I know why they drive through, though. Each home in Waterford has a history and a beautiful garden in the back. You want to take a leisurely ride through the town to enjoy the beauty.

I was privileged to be able to visit a friend who lives in Waterford and photograph some of the beautiful gardens in town. We timed our photo excursion to coincide with the setting sun.

We grabbed our tripods and cameras and caught the light warming the sides of barns and fences.

One technique that Schuyler used in the declining light was HDR and I made a promise that I would learn more about the technique which can pull beautiful scenes out of fading light situations.

It was a privilege to be able to spend time in their world.

And their dogs are pretty neat, too.