Tweaking Tuesday: Maymont

In the late autumn of 2013 I went on a delightful road trip from Omaha to North Carolina and southern Virginia with CD and her sister to visit my brother and attend a relative’s wedding. We had great fun and many adventures along the way, more of which I will be sharing with you in the future, but on this chilly, drizzly morning I’d like to present a warming offering. One of the most memorable places we visited was the Maymont estate in Richmond, Virginia. It started in 1886 when Major James H. Dooley acquired a former dairy farm on the James River and converted it to an opulent mansion, which they completed in 1893; the family then developed the gardens over the next 30 years. Major Dooley died in 1922 and upon the death of his wife in 1925, the estate was bequeathed to the city of Richmond.  There were no heirs to parcel the land or distribute the contents of the mansion, and it was opened as a public park and museum, virtually intact, only six months later.  My favorite part of the entire estate, by far, was the Japanese garden.  There was a light rain and the sky was overcast, providing conditions I love for photography. For this post, I’ve tone-mapped the original image with Nik software, applieded a Photoshop filter, and added some color adjustments in Adobe Lightroom.