A grand old house in black and white.
Charleston, South Carolina.
1808 – Black And WhiteThe original purpose of the visit was to photograph the grand free standing three story staircase. However I cannot walk into a piece of history without being in awe, and capturing everything in sight.
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A building that has not changed all that much, in 300+ years.
The residents have changed, from tavern, brothel, gallery, law office…
The color has always been the same too.
Known as the ‘Pink House’.
Yep, it is.
A different look at an old southern grand house. The Russel House built in 1809.
When we visit, and shoot these old homes there are many restrictions. No external lighting, tripods, or even where we can walk/stand. That said bring a few memory cards, different lens, and you can build a complete library of photographs.
I believe this was for the lady of the house, 1809.
I used various settings shooting here having no clue what would actually work.
The room was tall, and narrow making a wide shot difficult.
This room was shot using 18mm and 24mm lens.
The back door of a grand Charleston house brings you to the other quarters.
Not as elegant as the wealthy parts of the building.
Like many of the older Charleston homes the Nathaniel Russel House sits behind a high wall, hedges, and other buildings. Getting a full frontal image is usually not possible.
Once inside the gate here you can finally get a good view.
This is a tall building, and unique since it was built in 1809.
One of the important things about Charleston architecture is the small details. Plantations, and unfortunately the slave trade made people extremely wealthy. Each of the old homes in this town were as much art work as houses. World famous artisans worked here, the residents spent fortunes. Until the US Civil War, that changed everything.
These houses have almost all had heavy renovations, canon balls make big holes.
Only a fraction of the original homes remain now. After the war this town was empty and destroyed. Only the big buildings at the end of the peninsula were untouched, they were out of range of the ships guns.
Charleston was spared a complete burn, even though it had been ordered. Being the scene of the first state to secede and the first battle of the Civil War it was not a popular place with the Union military. The battles turned inland and rather than destroy the town it was occupied.
Images from the Nathaniel Russel House, Charleston, South Carolina.
The staircase is elliptical, giving it a graceful look as it rises throughout the buildings main core. It rises three stories. Built in 1809 makes it even more impressive.
The second floor windows over look The Scots First Presbyterian church yard.
With only small floor lamps around the base of these stairs the ambient light through the windows was used in these photographs.
This staircase is one of the main reasons the home was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
One of the main, first floor, rooms in this house.
The building itself in different in size compared many of the same time. Smaller in width, but taller. Three stories high even with the 20 foot ceilings.
Russel House, Meeting Street, Charleston.
