Tag: Hopewell

I arrived on time. I've eaten and walked around Hopewell many times, so I assumed it would be easy to find the corner of Mercer and West Broad St. That's where the group had agreed to meet.

I parked on East Broad and walked toward the street's western end. I couldn't find the cross street, nor could the residents seated at the Boro Bean enjoying a mid-morning coffee. Someone suggested I continue heading west. Mercer St. might be near the end of Broad at the liquor store. I found the group headed in the other direction and crossed the street to introduce myself.

We walked back toward Model Street, which leads back toward an old railroad station, Hopewell Station.

Along Model Street, we discovered this home with a beautiful garden. When I left the car, I decided to take just my camera and one lens: my Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G. I wanted to have just the minimum needed. But with the 35mm, I was challenged to fit the house and garden in the frame.

I decided to shoot a set of images of the house and garden, and then later, I could stitch them together in Adobe Photoshop. So … that's what I did. I used a technique popularised by Ryan Brenziner. I'm still learning how to use it effectively.

Hopewell Station is on Greenwood Avenue. The station was built in 1876 by the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad and added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1984. It's not a large station, but many of the town's business leaders must have taken that train to New Brunswick or New York City in the past. We explored the outside of the building before walking back toward East Broad Street.

We walked along East Broad Street, stopping to look at some items for sale. A few residents had items out for a yard sale. As we walked along, two vintage fire trucks drove by headed to the playground for the Hopewell Harvest Festival.

The Hopewell Harvest Fair is a wonderful event, bringing together residents, businesses, and community organizations for a day of old-fashioned fun and entertainment.

Sports & Specialist Cars is on the corner of East Broad Street and Princeton Avenue. This beautiful vintage car was parked in the same lot as more modern sports cars from Lotus.

We stopped at The Brick Farm Market, where some of us bought lunch and cold drinks. The walk ground dispersed soon after that.