Jediah Hill Covered Bridge Photo Walk

Grab your camera and join us for a chill stroll capturing the historic Jediah Hill Covered Bridge and other unique scenes in the area!
About this Event

Your guide for this photo walk will be one or two of our instructors who will happily answer your photography questions throughout the photo walk. The instructor(s) will have photo opportunities planned as well as reviews/instructions for the location. Think of it as a fun, informal photography class that happens to be out in nature and DOESN'T have homework or tests! This location is popular for portrait photography, nature photography, wildlife and as the name implies photos of the covered bridge.

We have had a few photo walk participants and photography students at this location in the past who thought this location is a park or part of Winton Woods. The Jediah Hill covered bridge is a functioning bridge connecting Miles Rd. and Covered Bridge Rd. as well as being the only remaining covered bridge in use on a public road in Hamilton County. It is not a park nor is it part of nearby Winton Woods.

Built in 1850, the Jediah Hill Covered Bridge is a historic bridge (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) near Winton Woods in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is a one lane wooden bridge, although it has been updated to allow for automobile use, it does have the same visual appearance from most angles that it had in 1800s, except for some guard rail, a low clearance sign and streetlight that have been added. The bridge was designed by and named after architect Jediah Hill, who lived and worked in the greater Cincinnati area.

We will also visit 2 additional nearby locations in Winton Woods that are often good for wildlife and nature photography as well as portraits. For those who like walking/hiking, one of these locations is a on a trail that is approximately 1 mile long although we will not walk the entire length of the trail (we will use about 10% - 15% of the trail), you are welcome to walk/hike as much of the trail as you would like. The trail passes next to a sink hole that some students and photo walk attendees have found interesting. If you are attending a photo walk at this location and would like to visit the other two location please ask your instructor and if there is time and other interested participants, your instruct will be happy to take you to them.

There is no dedicated parking lot so students and Photo Walk participants will be parking on the street near the bridge, for this reason the number of student/photo walk attendees is limited. Anyone who has difficulty walking on unpaved and uneven surfaces should not attend as we will be walking down to the stream and photographing the bridge from the banks and/or large rocks in the water. The water is very shallow so this has never been a problem for photo walk participants or photography class and workshop students. If you have questions or concerns about attending this photo walk and its location please contact us.

Although you can photograph the bridge from the road but most students venture down to the creek to be able to see more of the bridge and "get a better angle". The stream may usually 18 inches or less deep, completely dry or anything in between. It there have been heavy rains, the stream can be a few feet deep. The water level has never been a problem at this location and it has always been possible to walk out into the water or on large rocks and pieces of concrete that are in the stream without getting wet. The hike down to the stream is short about 50 feet but it is downhill in a heavily overgrown area. Dress appropriately for these conditions plus the expected weather conditions.

Photo Opportunities May Include:

• The Jediah Hill Covered Bridge... OF COURSE!!!
• Nature photos, the bridge spans a stream with lots of large rocks in it, trees on the banks and more. There are also trails nearby that the instructor can give you directions to or possibly take you to if there are enough interested participants and time permitting.
• Wildlife, students have encountered and photographed blue heron, owls cardinals and other birds, fish, frogs, turtles, deer, to name a few. Like all wildlife, we have no idea what animals, if any will be there on any given day.
• People, this is a good location for portraits. IF YOU WISH TO BRING A MODEL ON THIS PHOTO WALK YOU MUST CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR AT LEAST 1 WEEK PRIOR TO THE PHOTO WALK FOR APPROVAL at [email protected]. Due to time constraints, the number of students/participants, parking limitations and the number of instructors available we usual have to limit the number of models permitted. Guests and "assistants" are not permitted at this location for the same reasons. If you are going to bring someone who is not approved as a model by the instructor, he/she must register and pay as participant.
• Sunrises have been good at this location when walks or photography classes are in the morning.
• Colorful and dramatic skies during sunset often happen in the evenings but the sun is rarely in the photos.

Recommended Equipment:

• Nothing is required except a camera (phones do not count) and lens.
• A dSLR (digital SLR) camera or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is best but point & shoot cameras are acceptable (please remember they are limited).
• Tripod, especially if you class is in the evening or during sunrise or sunset.
• At least one lens. Bringing multiple lenses is a great idea. We have had class and photo walk participants use lenses as long as 400mm, wide as 8mm and everything in between. The most common lenses range from 18mm to 120mm for this locations. We feel that you can create great photos with just about any lens on this photo walk but our recommendation is nothing longer than a 400mm for a full frame camera and 300mm for crop sensors. If you are attending a class at this location, your instructor will give a lens recommendation geared toward the class subject.
• A flash if you have one.
• Polarizing and/or graduated neutral density filter are helpful for making the sky pop.
• Flashlight if your walk is scheduled for evening/night.

Attire:

• Hiking shoes or boots are a good idea but many students and walk participants have worn tennis shoes and water shoes without any issues. Dress shoes and open toe shoes are a bad idea.
• Temperature permitting, we recommend long pants.

Meeting Location

• The meeting location will be emailed to you after you have registered for the photo walk.