Marie's Mill

If you've never been to The Palace of Versailles - Pack a bag and go now. The Palace is a truly amazing place. I spent a solid 8 hours there, and would have spent more had I not become exhausted from all the walking (The Palace and surrounding grounds cover about 37,000 acres!). In all, I probably shot about 1,500 - 2k photos in those 8 hours.

In 1783 The Queen's Hamlet was added to the Tranion for Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI. Marie used the Hamlet as a place for her to relax and pretend she wasn't the Queen. The Hamlet begins with a small pond, home to swans, frogs, fish, snakes, birds and other wildlife. Surrounding the pond are a series of small cottages,in particular, the Mill.

The Queen's Mill, with its thickly thatched roof, winding staircase and moving water wheel, is text book fairy tale material. And I'll be honest, there is something about a mill that screams, "Take my picture!" While I'm in an honest mood, I'll also say that I don't actually like this image all that much. I actually prefer another shot I took of the Mill because it has better composition, but it's B+W and not as dramatic.

Seadragon this image!











Location: The Queen's Hamlet, Palace at Versailles, Versailles, France
Season: Summer
f-stop: 4.5
Shutter speed: 1/500
Focal length: 28mm
ISO: 100