Gillette Castle is a photographers true HDR heaven indoors and out. The 24 room medieval style mansion built in 1919 by William Gillette, has over 47 wooden fortress like doors within the structure and no two are alike. The woodwork within the castle is hand-hewn southern white oak. The intricately carved door latches and light switches are amazing and a incredible display of some spectacular craftsmanship. Walls are covered with hand-woven squares of Prairie and Japanese grasses and their are many colorful light fixtures made of crushed and stained glass.
Outside on the grounds, Gillette’s influence is no less in evidence. The 184 acre grounds of the castle are gorgeous and the view of the Connecticut River Valley below is spectacular. The trails often follow over trestle and through tunnel and the actor’s three mile long narrow gauge railroad. Gillette’s own walking paths were constructed with near-vertical steps, stone-arch bridges, and wooded trestles spanning up to forty feet. Other outdoor attractions include a vegetable cellar, the railroad station (Grand Central), and Gillette’s goldfish pond.

William Gillette’s nieces bedroom – Used Phtomatix 4.0 to process this HDR image and to give it the soft sepia tone, I used Nik Silver Efex Pro

One of the 40 plus doors inside the castle – no two are alike – Notice the fixture with knobs under the light… those are the light switches for part of the castle’s lights

A view to Grand Central Station on the grounds of the Gillette Castle. Gillette had this built in order to take guests in his train around the 184 acre propety
Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your comments. Hope you can join us on this awesome HDR photography workshop. If you should have any questions please feel free to contact either Roman or myself.