Two Looks for an Old Prison Chair in the Mansfield Reformatory

This photo is of an old recliner located in the Mansfield Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.  The Mansfield reformatory, also called the Ohio State Reformatory is an old decaying prison that is also rumored to be haunted.

The owners of the closed prison, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society feature the haunted reputation of the prison by sponsoring ghost walks and hunts in the prison, and a Halloween haunted house.  You will also find plenty of supposed ghost photos of the prison on the Internet.

Dark Contrast Filter

Given the prisons, decayed look and its haunted reputation, I wanted to give the chair an eerie or haunted feel.

How I took the shot of the Old Prison Chair

The photo was taken using a 3 exposure HDR sequence (+2, -1, -4).  The lighting was a little tricky as the chair was side lit with light from a window.  The HDR was processed using Google’s HDR Efex Pro 2 software.

I got down on my knees and used my tripod at its lowest level to give a low perspective to the shot.  The side lighting from the window produced a ghostly image on the wall behind and to the right of the chair.

Black Rose Filter in Topaz Adjust

Camera Settings for the Old Prison Chair Photograph

ISO:  200
Focal Length:  32mm
Aperature:  f/11

To give the photo a dark and eerie effect, I used the Dark Contrast filter in Google’s Color Efex Pro 4 in the first photo.  For the second image, I used the Black Rose filter from Topaz Adjust 5.

Related Posts
3 Techniques to turn your Photos to Paintings
Using the Oil Paint Filter in Photoshop CS6 for your Nature Photography
Using the Black Rose Filter in Topaz Adjust to Give your Photos a Dark, Gloomy Effect