Carson Mansion Photo

Photographer’s Note

Here is my rendition of the beloved Carson Mansion in the interesting yet obscure coastal town of Eureka in Northern California.

Before today, there was nary a picture on TE of this fine California icon, at least none that I'm aware of. And now we have two in the same day. Peter Boehringer (pboehringer) and I got to talking today about how the great redwood forests of Northern California were logged extensively to build Victorian houses. The Carson Mansion, depending upon your tastes, is either one of the finest or perhaps one of the gaudiest examples of this architecture.

Peter is a fine photographer and a superb note writer. So I will defer the history of this site to his post

For the woodworkers out there, here's a closeup of some of the Victorian woodworking decorating the gables of the house.

The Carson Mansion by itself is not a great photo destination since the compositional possibilities are somewhat limited and you can't enter the grounds. But Eureka itself could be a good base to explore the Northern California coast. Directly to the south is Humboldt Redwoods State Park where the ancient, majestic redwoods truly take center stage. Ferndale, a more charming version of Eureka, with numerous Victorian style buildings is closeby. And a nice drive to the north is Redwood National Park.

My purpose for going to Eureka was to run a marathon that actually runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park called the Avenue of Giants. That my friends turned out to be a disaster, but at least I got this photo.

Regards,
Doug Arrasin

robertosalguero, Floydian, jwmunro, pboehringer, drago, jassy, stego has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Cormac (26449) 2006-10-25 1:04

Great shot of this old building. I'm not sure which one of you has the better photo - the other one is more classic, but with the light hitting this just right the details really stand out in this one. The sense of intricate and elaborate decoration really comes though in this - well done!

robertosalguero (110) 2006-10-25 2:05

Doug this an awesome looking castle! I like thc olors and the architectural design of your sibject. very good capture with the daylight accentuating the yellow tones of the paint. Good framing and excellent saturation of colors. Very nice work with this picture Doug :-)

Roberto

sebinho342 (18736) 2006-10-25 4:39

Hi Douglas, yes i saw too Peter's picture on this site.
What a beautiful mansion, it's almost magical ... sometimes human can build so beautiful things !
Thanks for the view, wonderful
Good :)

Floydian (30970) 2006-10-25 9:57

Hi Douglas,
I was in Eureka last month but did not know about this house till now...can you imagine that, i really missed something.
You picture is great, has fantastic light and an excellent pov.
I like it a lot..great work.
Regards, Henk

LaurentM (313) 2006-10-25 15:37

Nice shot, with a beautiful light

jwmunro (6571) 2006-10-25 17:36

Douglas -

Very nice afternoon light. The highlighting gives the old place an eerie feel to it. The day my wife and I were in Eureka it was not a good photography day with the low clouds so common on the coast. You are right about the redwoods - I believe one of the lumber baron's built and lived in this house. The one thing that your image reminds of is the Winchester house in San Jose. When I was at university I lived up the road from it and saw it in this kind of eerie light many times.

Well done, thanks for sharing

John

clic (4063) 2006-10-25 18:21

Hi Douglas
I presume this mansion would look quite terrifying at dusk with a few windows dimly enlighted!!
Nice presentation of an outstanding architecture so well framed by tree. Thanks for the perfect vertical perspective.
Take care.
Robert

pboehringer (770) 2006-10-25 20:47

Now that is good entertaining. It seems to me that going back to the drawing board was worth it. The details that you got here are excellent! Interesting to see how two people get it differently. Your picture was taken during late Spring, in the afternoon, with some fog hanging around, frontal view and vertical format. My version was taken during Autumn, early morning, clear and colortinged sky, side look and horizontal format.
If you don't mind I will copy your picture for my own, private album.
I hope you had fun, Peter

fallan (1840) 2006-10-26 16:13

You got it a a clear day? I've only had the (mis)fortune of foggy days. Very nice.

drago (4826) 2006-10-27 7:52

Hi Doug,a very impressive mansion indeed with unique architecture,in my opinion you handled very well the light conditions finally giving us a great result!Well done
Panagiotis

vbl (1402) 2006-10-29 18:35

Hi Doug:
very nice photo, i like very much colours and contrast of the castle.
The sky is perfect
Regards Vanessa

jassy (1065) 2006-10-30 16:58

Hi Doug,
I like this mansion a lot, and you have really done it justice (much better then I have ever been able to accomplish). It is very sharp and the light is great, as well as the framing with the tree and the clouds. Well done!
Regards, Jackie

Lore007 (211) 2006-10-30 17:42

Usually I'm not a huge fan of monument photo's cause they can be a bit static. This one however I like a lot. It looks very mysterious and a bit spooky. I like the intense light and saturated colours.

andreng (265) 2006-10-31 8:53

Douglas,
You have waited for the right time to capture the colors of the mansion that was brought up by the sun. A blue sky as the backgound complemented the picture. The lampost looks lighted up or it could be a reflection. If I were to take this shot I may take one more step to the right to 'isolate' the lampost from the house and have some blue between the lampost and the house. TFS Andre

sothy81 (8520) 2006-11-22 11:42

Hi Douglas, this is super sharp. Very good composition with vertical look. Great background light. And the building itself is already beautiful. Good work. Sothy. :) tomorrow.

gunbud (27789) 2006-11-22 15:16

Hi Doug,
You caught some very fine details to the wood carvings, windows and unique roofs. The yellow against the bule sky works beautifully. I been thinking of visiting northern California next year some time and will be sure to visit this incredible edifice.
Regards, Tom

baba_flies (7969) 2007-03-13 13:43

Hello Douglas! Glad to see that you are not "lost in space" ... Wonderful light you had while "shooting" this impressive piece of history. I stood there some years ago flying in from Chico Airport and if I would go through my slides I might find the proof :) Nice idea of including the tree above giving the depth needed. Excellent version. Barbara.

derek3755 (2341) 2007-05-31 7:39

Hi Douglas

great light has brought out all the fantastic detail of this Mansion, like the framing with the tree. i bet this looks reallt eerie at night!

Derek