An Old Country Church, a photo from Wisconsin, Midwest

Photographer's Note

This is the Salem United Methodist Church in the rural township of El Dorado, pop. 1,447. The North El Dorado cemetery dates back to at least the 1850s, and some of those buried there were born as early as the 1810s.

I haven't been able to trace much history of this church online, but there are hard-copy resources, including:

** Ruth Shaw Worthing, The History of Fond du Lac County, as told by its Place-Names, 1976.
** The History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880.
** Portrait and Biographical Album of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Acme Publishing Company, 1889.
** A. T. Glaze, Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond du Lac from Early Times to the Present, Fond du Lac: P. B. Haber Printing Company, 1905.
** Maurice McKenna, ed., History of Fond du Lac County, Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1912.
** Wisconsin Volunteers: War of the Rebellion 1861-1865
** Plat Book of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, C. M. Foote & Co. 1893

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Critiques | Translate

kristofk (791) 2007-11-18 12:42

Hello,
a nice, early autumn view, tranquil composition with nice trees and grass.

Though in my opinion the colours look somewhat strange. It seems there is an excess of blue in respect to yellow and red. So, I thought to make a workshop, hopefully you don't mind, trying to bring out more warm colours.

Best regards, Kristof

[workshop] [compare] +

pamastro (7218) 2007-11-22 12:31

There is definitely something very Midwest about this scene. There's a simplicity to the scene. Even I might say a wholesomeness that is often associate with the Midwest. I'd agree about the blue or faded look I guess I could call it, too. I think a scene like this would be great really warm, even if it wasn't. Just dial up that WB to give it that warm look or use a warming filter. That might add to that "Midwestness" even.

gunbud (34052) 2007-11-22 18:39

Hello Jim,
Excellent autumn image with the impressive wooden church against the vibrant Oct. sky. The afternoon shadows falling over the gravestones goes well with your historic theme. The colors very clear with good details and excellent sharpness.
Regards, Tom

gracious (20025) 2008-01-06 16:24

Hello Jim,
Very good pov with nicely use of the sun direction to brings perfect exposure and focus in this shot!
I loved how you included the big tree with the church, looks perfect!
well done indeed
wishing you well
Tony

rbcy1974 (20758) 2008-01-11 4:33

Hello Jim
It looks like the setting for this church is quite lovely, but I think you could have done a better job conveying it to us. Usually the main part of a church is its bell tower, which remains hidden here. Also the direction of the light is not quite on your favour. What I would suggest in such a situation, is to do a walk around the site to find the best point of view both from the lighting as well as from the compositional perspective.
Regards
Daniel

waggs (609) 2008-02-03 7:33

Great crisp shot, I love it, the picture really captures a great moment, it's fresh and clear. well done!! I love this time of year shown on the photo. Best for photographs I think. well done!