The English Explorer Captain John Smith came ashore in what is now Fort Monroe in 1607. Just two years later a small group of settlers built a wooden structure that would hold 7 mounted cannon. We can appreciate how very early on this site was valued for its strategic defensive location. By 1619 the area had become a landing place for slaves arriving from Africa. This location is steeped in some of the most significant events of our nation's history. The fort was named in honor of President James Monroe.
If you were to visit the National Park Service website dedicated to Fort Monroe you would see an aerial photograph of the 7 sided star stone fort. It is the largest stone fort built in the United States. The moat still surrounds the stone structure.
The National Monument includes 565 acres that, in addition to the actual Fort, include beautiful homes, bike and hiking paths, an elegant senior living 'hotel', a marina and more.
These historic homes were once occupied by Admirals and Generals. Now they are most often privately owned. The flags were out in force on this July 4th.
We have seen many, many instances where two flags are flown at equal height. This is the only one that included a British flag. Usually we see the United States and the Confederate flags flying together.
One of the real advantages of our current nomadic lifestyle is that we often are presented with new information that we simply do not understand. An example of this is the very common representation of both the United States flag and the Confederate flag flying side by side. We sought to understand what it meant. The best I can offer comes from a collection of explanations I have gotten. For one thing it represents the importance of history to a people that live in this state, especially in rural areas where families have owned their land since before the Confederate War. They are proud of their heritage, whether they supported succession or not. Secondly, this is a very conservative area of the country and people believe strongly in preserving, recognizing, and honoring their past, a past that includes for many families, a horrific Civil War. Much more could be said, but suffice it to write that the two flags, as they fly them, do not represent defiance or an act of treason.
Owen, my nephew, and I wanted to step out and get a shot of this building. We could not tell from the back what the building was used for but we thought it would make a cool black and white image. It did! Black coal, white steam, overcast sky, a repetitive geometry in the fence, reflections off the water . . . We had a lot of fun talking about contrast and its importance in black and white images.
The barracks part of the fort (inside the stone walls) is really seeing the effects of time and neglect. A few areas are slowly being restored, but for now it offers a stark contrast to the beautiful homes, some of them just across the street.
Another candidate for some black and white photography.
These are not the old cannons! At one time Fort Monroe was the site of the US Artillery School.
This is the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse, built in 1802.
At one time the building in the back was an elegant hotel. It now houses very upscale senior living accommodations.
From the well traveled walkway one can look across the bay and see Navy ships. This aircraft carrier is one of three in the harbor at this time. We were told that it is not typical to have so many in port. This photograph was taken through strong haze across the bay.
We saw this Coast Guard Vessel several times as it patrolled up and down the port. Ordinary citizens can use the harbor but there are some restrictions on how close they can get to the Navy ships.
A very interesting old ship moored along the road out of Fort Monroe.
We stopped along the way. I know you are shocked by that! My high key interpretation. I kinda liked it! It was pretty amazing to see how quickly Owen, who is just a beginning photographer at age 10, caught on to how light is captured and the notion that one needs to watch their histogram for clues about how one metering.
Owen showed he could do it with 'normal' key. He is going to mature into a great photographer.
Tom always prefers the darker images. We had quite the fun time at this stop.
Celebrating July 4th.
Tom was playing around with his fisheye lens.
From the car going over the James River Bridge and looking some distance to the shipyards.
Image captured while driving across the James River Bridge.