Middletown Daily Photo: Pastel Posts

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Pastel Posts

4 comments:

cieldequimper said...: Beautiful shot and treatment.; March 29, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Lowell said...: I like! Very much!; March 29, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Andrew said...: What did you do to the photo? It looks like the photo is slightly out of focus or you moved when the shutter took the photo.; March 29, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Bernie said...: Thanks everybody!

Andrew - you're right, there was a little bit of motion blur in the original shot. I still liked the idea so I found an 'artistic' preset in Photoshop that enhanced the effect.; March 29, 2009 at 5:45 PM

About Middletown

Middletown, Maryland was founded in 1767 and is said to be named either for its position midway between South Mountain and the Catoctin Mountains or its central location between the larger Maryland cities of Frederick and Hagerstown. A few years earlier, a visiting surveyor and future “Father of our Country” George Washington referred to Middletown Valley as one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen.

The town was incorporated in 1833. After the Civil War battles of South Mountain and Antietam, Middletown churches served as hospitals for both Union and Confederate soldiers.

Today Middletown boasts a delicate balance of old and new. Instead of a Mayor, the town leader is a Burgess. Some of the buildings were built in the 1700s and 1800s. There are large Victorian homes as well as the typical cookie-cutter subdivisions that dot the edge of the Washington DC commuter exurbs.

The only franchise restaurant in town is a Subway; the only Starbucks is inside the Safeway.

If you really want to understand what small-town America feels like, visit Middletown during the Independence Day festivities and fireworks at Middletown Park, the Volunteer Fire Department’s annual mid-July Carnival or the Middletown Heritage Festival held in the fall.