Fortress of Louisbourg 6

This is the last in the Fortress of Louisbourg series for a while. Today's photos show more people whom I saw near the end of the day. I really liked the indoor lighting on the first two photos. The men were relaxing outside and were probably glad their shift at the Fortress was nearly over for the day!

I would like to see more "living musuems" here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We have a rich history and I think tourists would like learning about our culture this way.

Fortress of Louisbourg 5

The photos yesterday showed soldiers firing muskets in a square and the first photo today is a view of that square from the opposite angle. For safety reasons, no visitors were allowed at this location when the ceremony was taking place. This image will give you an idea how large the the square and building are. The only photos I took inside this building was in the Chapel. It is located behind the big windows to the right of the image.

The gardens were interesting, but it wasn't until two years later when I was trying to figure out what to do with the septic field in my new yard that I decided to build a series of raised beds similar to those in the photo. The only difference is that I used rock borders instead of sod.

The lady in the third image posed for me and the natural light coming through a window provided plenty of light for the photo, in fact, the white blouse reflected too much light off her left arm. The gentleman with the pipe has a totally different costume than others and the last photo shows dishes and other glassware from the time period when the French inhabitated the Fortress of Louisbourg.

Fortress of Louisbourg 3

I really liked the lighting on the green chair shown in the first photo. While it doesn't look as comfortable as a modern-day lazy boy, it does look more comfortable than the wooden chair in the photos I shared yesterday.

I photographed a group of soldiers who were waiting for the start of a ceremony and another soldier posed for me in front of a stone wall. You can see that the uniforms are authentic looking and visiting the Fortress of Louisbourg is like stepping into the past.

The fourth image today is a view of the ornate chapel. I have more images of this chapel and will share them in the future. However, if you are interested, I have nine images of the chapel on line at: http://www.lanephotography.com/louisbourg/louisbourg%20chapel/louisbourg%20chapel%2001.htm

The last photo shows a lone soldier standing on guard in the large square outside the main building in the Fortress.

Fortress of Louisbourg 2

There are three main subjects to photograph at the Fortress of Louisbourg: people in period costumes, the reconstructed buildings, and the antique or reconstructed objects. The photos for this series are in the order I took them as I walked around the historic site making photographs.

I definitely wanted to make images of anybody I saw in period costumes. The guy in the first photo was standing at the entrance to the Fortress. How hot it must be standing around in heavy clothing all day long!

The person in the doorway caught my attention and I made a few images of her. This may have been a restaurant that served meals from the time when the Fortress was in its heyday.

I knew I didn't have time to go into each building so I peeked inside a few and made a few photos before moving on. The chair shown in the fourth photo was just inside one of the doors of a building.

Fortress of Louisbourg 1

I visited the Fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in the summer of 2005 and have shared a few images from that visit in the past. For the next few days I would like to share images of this National Historic Site which is the largest historical reconstruction in Canada. My apologies if I duplicate photos I sent before.

The Fortress of Louisbourg is huge and I was only there for 2.5 hours and have over 650 photos. I will visit again, for a longer period next time, because I didn't get the opportunity to photograph the inside of most buildings. To be honest, I think you would need at least a full day or two in order to see and photograph everything at the site.

The photos were taken in the first building on the site. The people dressed in period costumes spoke to us as though they were living in the past and showed us some of the everyday things they were using. Obviously, they are reproductions, antiques and artifacts, which I also enjoy photographing. I was busy taking photographs of the items on display using my wide angle lens with ISO 800 and hand-held without a flash.