So here in Western Mass we have all kinds of things to do. One of them is in the next town over in Holyoke. In a place called Heritage Park.

About Holyoke - Info taken from the site:
When Boston industrialists saw the water pouring over Hadley Falls, they were immediately impressed with its tremendous power and economic potential. 50 cotton mills and 4-1/2 miles of canals were soon constructed, making Holyoke an industrial giant in the middle of the 19th century. Immigrant workers flocked to the new city. Paper mills quickly overshadowed the original cotton mills, and soon Holyoke was manufacturing much of the world's fine writing paper. Water powered turbines, and the steam and electric machinery that replaced them pushed Holyoke to its peak around 1920. Today, the city offers a glimpse of another age in reclaimed mills, canals, workers' housing, and Victorian homes.

It is a rough area but this little park has a children's Museum, volleyball Hall of Fame, Visitors center and also home to The Holyoke Merry Go Round . This park is home to birthday parties at all locations. My son had one such party this Sunday. This gave me an hour or so to snap away. What a great place and I will try this again. All shot raw, converted tweaked a little USM and resized for posting.

All shot with Pentax K10 and a range of lenses. Comments and critiques welcomed.


Hand held with DA16-45mm, 1 second, F22, ISO 200, 16mm. I know it is crooked but it was the only way to get it all in the frame.


Outside the train tracks running along the cannel have not been used for a long, long time.


The Merry Go Round has doors that are opened in the spring and summer and closed for the harsh New England Winters.


This is one of my favorites from the day. Something about it I really enjoy. Hope someone else sees what I do.


Of course we needed a horse shot here.



I have more but think I may have over done it in this post. Hope you all enjoyed them and take a minute to check the links included above.

Thanks for looking and again comments welcomed.

[Heinrich Lohmann]

Hi Pat, very nice photos and thanks for explaining the history. # 2and 3 are especially nice photos, take care

Heinrich

[palmor]

Very nice.. its fun to see some fairly local shots!

[vievetrick]

Thanks guys.

[Peter Zack]

I like the story and series. Nice to have something to go with the pics. Thanks for the info and taking the time to write it.

I like your favourite shot as well. Somehow it reminds me of days as a kid.

i'm really impressed with number 2. I could never have held the camera steady for 1 sec and kept the non moving lines clear, with or without SR. the angle just adds a more dnamic view of the subject.

Nice series.

[roentarre]

A good series showing the theme very well.

The colour are nice and composition are to the point. A variety of shots with varying styles too. The 2nd and 3rd shots are my favorite

[vievetrick]

Thanks Pete & Roentarre. It was fun and hope to get more there in the spring.

[maxwell1295]

Very nice shots! I agree that #2 and #3 are spectacular...

[ddwibb]

The so called "unused train tracks".

PVRR Christmas Train photo - rparent photos at pbase.com

[gawan]

Hand held with DA16-45mm, 1 second, F22, ISO 200, 16mm. I know it is crooked but it was the only way to get it all in the frame.

Number two is my favourite, and the "crookedness" could well be intentional, if you ask me! It somehow belongs to the subject, you should get a spinning feeling when riding in a thing like that Very nice colours in movement!

[weatherwise2]

I remeber that park from my youth, we lived in East LongMeadow then so this was not too far. I do like the color blends and the motion on the Merry-go-round.