This is my favorite time of year for sunsets in the Mid-Atlantic region. We get this wonderful orange glow at the horizon that makes for some great photos.
Through The Lens 49 – Fall Sunsets
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Tag Archives: National Park
Through The Lens 42 – Spruce Flats Falls
Some fall color from the archives – Spruce Flats Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Book Review – Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks
The National Parks are some of America’s greatest treasures and photography has always played an important part in their history. Photos of Yosemite by Carleton E. Watkins and Yellowstone by William Henry Jackson helped convince Congress to preserve the earliest parks and it was photography that helped gain support to create the National Park Service in 1916. Now, in time for the Park Service’s 100th Anniversary, photographer Q.T. Luong has published a book showcasing the beauty of all 59 National Parks: Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks
I first became aware of Mr. Luong’s work while watching Ken Burn’s documentary, The National Parks – America’s Best Idea in 2009 where Mr. Luong was introduced as the first photographer to capture all 58 (at that time) National Parks with a large format camera. He is now close to completing a second trip through all 59! Since seeing the documentary, Mr. Luong’s work has served as an inspiration for my own quest to visit and photograph the parks and it is an incredible privilege to have been invited to review a pre-production copy of his latest book.
Treasured Lands: A Photographic Odyssey Through America’s National Parks is the culmination of a decades long odyssey to capture the beauty of the the parks utilizing large format cameras in the tradition of Ansel Adams and the early photographers of the parks. The result is an absolutely stunning 500+ image, 456 page masterpiece (If you don’t believe me, sample pages are available here). Along with an introduction to each park and technical information (size, location, number of annual visits), a map and location notes are included for each photo as well.
Whether you’re a photographer or a fan of our National Parks, you’ll want a copy of this book in your collection. I know my copy will serve as inspiration for many years to come.
The book is available directly from the author (autographed and limited edition copies are available) at treasuredlandsbook.com and from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Note: A 15% discount using coupon code PRELAUNCH is available on orders placed directly with the author prior to October 1st, 2016.
Through The Lens 40 – Antietam National Battlefield
Tomorrow is the 154th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, so I thought a shot I took a couple of years ago of the 20th New York Monument would be appropriate.
Note: Due to technical difficulties user error this posted late.
Trip Report – Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2015 – Part 3 – Cades Cove
For the final part of my Great Smoky Mountains 2015 Trip Report, we’ll visit my favorite place in the park – Cades Cove.
Cades Cove is home to several homesites, churches, and lots of wildlife, making it a great place for photography. Here’s a few of my favorites from last fall:
Cable Mill
Cades Cove Methodist Church
Hyatt Lane Sunrise
Becky Cable Home
Primitive Baptist Church Road
Tipton Barn
Sparks Lane Sunrise
Thanks for following along. If you missed the the first two parts you can find them here: Part 1 Part 2
Through The Lens 24 – Breakfast In Cades Cove
Momma Bear and her three cubs enjoy a breakfast of walnuts in Cades Cove. If I would have arrived a couple of minutes earlier I would have seen one of the cubs up in the tree shaking the branches to knock more walnuts off.
I knew black bears ate acorns, but had no idea about walnuts. Apparently that’s their go to food when the acorns aren’t plentiful.
Apologies for the unplanned hiatus. Stop by Tuesday for Part 3 of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park trip report.
Trip Report – Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2015 – Part 2 – Sunsets & Night Photography
The clear skies that made waterfall photography difficult did create opportunities for great sunset and night photography on Clingman’s Dome and along the Newfound Gap road.
Sunsets on Clingman’s Dome are fun to watch. On a clear day just before sunset a line of photographers appear along the edge of the parking lot to get the classic shot of the sun dropping behind the distant mountains. Stick around after the sun disappears and the colors turn from oranges and purples to pastel pinks and blues.
For a little different perspective, a climb to the top of the observation platform gets you above the tree tops. If you decide to make the climb, allow plenty of time. The path is steep and at high elevation.
Once it’s dark enough for the Milky Way to appear, the trees at Clingman’s Dome and the overlooks on Newfound Gap Road make interesting foregrounds.
Clingman’s Dome Trail:
Morton Overlook:
That’s it for Part 2. If you missed it, please have a look at Part 1 of the trip report. Check back in two weeks for Part 3 – Cades Cove.
Through The Lens 20 -Pine Tree
I had hoped to share a photo from this week’s railroad photo charters, but as usual I’m a little behind on processing. I promise I’ll have one ready next week. In the meantime, this week’s photo was one of those happy accidents. As I was walking back from the Upper Falls Viewpoint in Yellowstone, this little pine tree was just standing there in perfect light. It stopped several of us in our tracks.
Trip Report – Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2015 – Part 1 – Waterfalls & Cascades
Following the Cass Fall Photography Workshop, I made the trip down to Pigeon Forge to see the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time. My two priorities for the trip were spending time in Cades Cove and shooting as many waterfalls as possible. While I was successful on the first goal, sunny weather all week made waterfall photography a challenge. But the sunny weather brought great sunsets and clear night skies on Clingman’s Dome so like all photography adventures, it was just a matter of chasing the light.
To keep the length reasonable, I’m going to split the trip report into three sections: Waterfalls & Cascades, Sunsets & Night Photography and Cades Cove.
First up is Waterfalls. As I mentioned earlier, many of the waterfalls are difficult to shoot on bright sunny days. Dappled light and harsh shadows make for a difficult exposure, so instead of hiking the waterfalls back to back as I planned, getting decent waterfall shots became a game of shooting in the shadows. After some quick research on the topography surrounding the waterfalls, I was able to guess when the surrounding hills would leave them in shadow, making for an easier exposure.
Big Creek Cascades
Midnight Hole
Midnight Hole Cascades
Mouse Creek Falls
Baskins Creek Falls
Grotto Falls
Laurel Falls
Lynn Camp Cascades
Spruce Flats Falls
All things considered, I’m happy with the waterfall shots I was able to get and since I didn’t get them all, I guess I’ll have to go back!
Check back in two weeks for Part 2 – Sunset & Night Photography.
Through The Lens 15 – Great Falls
Winter has finally arrived after an unusually warm start. Let’s take a look back at a cold snap from last year at Great Falls along the Potomac River. It had been very cold for about a week so I thought I’d try shooting sunrise at the falls hoping for some ice buildup on the rocks. I ended up going twice since the first sunrise didn’t amount to much due to clouds forming minutes before sunrise.