Down To Shakertown

Commemorated another orbit of ol' Sol recently with a trip to the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, down in central Kentucky. While sorting out my gear for the adventure, I rediscovered my Holga lens, the plastic lens for a Nikon F mount that's supposed to approximate the Holga experience for DSLR users.

Seemed like the perfect occasion to dig out the old D5000, my first DSLR, and put the Holga lens on. My partner and I have been down to Shakertown several times in recent years, more than enough to be bored of taking the same photos of the same buildings, the Holga seemed perfect for myself to see things differently.

We keep coming back because there's a peacefulness, a slow quiet to the place that is soothing in its own way. There's 34 original buildings that date back to the 19th century, several of which you can stay in. Many feature exhibits explaining the history of the place and the story of the Shakers.

Once you've pretty well had your fill of exhibits and things start to feel a bit familiar, then there's nothing to do but slow down, go for a hike, and kick back and stare at goats. Well, maybe not quite to that extreme. There's usually an assortment of activities going on but doing nothing in particular is my favorite thing to do there.

There's a vibe to the place that's hard to explain, but the Holga lens does it better justice than something a bit more in focus could.

Maybe it's just that unstuck in time feeling. The restaurant in the Trustees' Building serves food grown in the field beside it, and although the last Shaker here died a century ago, they wouldn't have much trouble picking up where they left off if they were to suddenly return.

We'll likely be back before they are, working on seeing the place in all four seasons, or whatever passes for seasons these days.

It's currently tick season, and by that I mean it is hot and humid, with the occasional flash flood warning for variety. Still managed to get some hiking in, which in these rolling hills is something of a sweaty endeavor.

That just made chilling afterwards all the nicer.

On that note, it's time for my Holga to ride off into the sunset.