October Afternoon in Galena - Jack Carlson Photography

Former Illinois Central tracks curve toward Visitor Center.

Went to Galena, Illinois this week for a (very) short time. Walked down Main Street and was going to take pictures of store windows, but decided against it since they are mostly stuff filled with autumn/Halloween stuff all of us have seen at sometime. Continued walking around (former Illinois Central) railroad tracks.

Very warm welcome extended by staff at Visitor Center/President Grant museum.

Visitor Center/President Grant Museum

A partial interior view of the President Grant museum.

Bridge over tracks connects Civil War commemorative park with the retail district on Main Street.

Galena is a quaint old town that’s a thriving tourist mecca during the runup to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Located some 157 miles from where I live, it’s definitely too far for a bike ride, so you will need a car to get there.

An old town prefers that old visitors arrive in an old car. I didn’t.

Walking bridge over troubled train tracks.

Stairs leading to top of protective flood embankment.

Infra-red filter creates eerie snow effect.

Magnus, the faithful camera clubhouse cat, thoughtfully dropped a B+H gift card in my Christmas stocking. I used the card to order an Infrared (IR) filter which, as you will remember knocks out all wavelengths of light below the filter rating. In this case, all light below 930nm doesn’t make it through the filter, and the wavelengths that do make it require 2 1/2 minutes of exposure time. This filter is so dark red, the composing and focusing must be done before the filter is attached to the front of the lens. In addition to a tripod and ballhead, it helps to have gloves and a mug of some type of warm liquid to keep hands and insides warm while walking around behind the camera for those 150 seconds while the shutter is open.

IR filters come in varying strengths which affect the price. Mine wasn’t priced in the low-end promo department, but the effects it creates are both enjoyable and worth the price. Get one and see for yourself.

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