Another waterfall located in Blackwater Falls State Park, Elakala Falls is actually a series of four waterfalls as Shay Run drops into Blackwater Canyon. The upper portion shown above, is visible from a bridge directly above the Falls. Getting to the bottom requires some effort. I also made it down to the second section but couldn’t find the trail to the sections below that. Based on the trail descriptions I’ve seen, getting to the lower two sections is very difficult.
Blackwater Falls is located in Blackwater State Park near Davis, West Virginia. The Falls occurs where the Blackwater River, named for its tannin darkened waters, drops into the Blackwater Gorge and is the largest of several in the park.
Cucumber Falls is located in Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania and is the result of Cucumber Run falling into the gorge carved by the Youghiogheny River. A staircase leads to the base of the Falls making it a popular location to photograph.
I had also hoped to visit Jonathan Run Falls and Sugar Run Falls while I was there, but the trails were closed due to the bridges being washed out. Hopefully they’ll be repaired soon. If time allows I may make another trip to Ohiopyle this fall.
The Klotz Throwing Company located in Western Maryland may be the last silk mill in America. The mill once employed 300 people, taking raw silk from Japan and spinning it into thread which was shipped to New England to become textiles. The mill closed in 1957 and has remained largely untouched since – one of those places where time truly stands still.
Herb Crawford purchased the mill in 1978 and continues to care for the factory to this day. Unfortunately the roof is badly deteriorated so it may be a loosing battle. Hopefully the mill will last long enough to be saved.
As I said in last Friday’s post, the Klotz Throwing Company has developed a wonderful patina and is full of wonderful photography opportunities. I enjoyed every minute spent at the mill and am looking forward to another trip this fall. Thanks again to Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America for arranging the tour and to Mr. Crawford for allowing us to visit.
While not a typical trip report, I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of my favorite photos from the recently closed Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World. The Great Movie Ride opened with Disney-MGM Studios on May 1, 1989 and was an incredibly detailed attraction that took you into the movies.
As the name suggested, each attraction scene featured animatronics of movie stars in their most famous roles. The Imagineers went to great lengths to make sure every detail was perfect from filling the scenes with props to dressing the animatronics in clothes actually worn by the star(s) represented in the scene. Photographically, I think the level of detail is what made The Great Movie Ride so much fun to shoot.
With the recent closing of the Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I thought I’d share one of my favorite photos of the ride. The cowboy scene was always impressive with the explosion and actual fire in the bank.
The Great Movie Ride was the last opening day attraction from the former Disney’s MGM studios which opened in 1989 and is one of my top 5 favorite Disney attractions.
I’ll do a longer “trip report” post with more favorite images on Tuesday.
As I mentioned in last week’s post, I recently attended a photo charter on the Locust Heights & Western Railroad in Clarksburg, WV. The LH&W RR is a “backyard” railroad built by the late Keith Mason along with his family and friends. Today the Mason Family and their dedicated team of volunteers keep Mr. Mason’s passion for railroading alive, operating most Wednesday evenings from June through October.
The LH&W RR has been on my photography “to do” list for several years, so I jumped at the opportunity to attend a photo charter, especially with the proceeds going toward the cost of recently completed boiler repairs. Charter organizers, Matt Wilson and Walter Scriptunas, put on a great combination of daytime runbys and a night photo session. The Mason Family and Railroad Volunteers even dressed the part, allowing the charter participants to make some timeless images.
The Flats:
First Crossing:
Lumberjacks:
The Woods:
Feeding the Fire:
Late night in the Yard:
Night Session Outtake:
Thanks again, to Matt, Walter, The Mason Family and the dedicated team of volunteers that keep this wonderful place running! I had a great time and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a photo charter at the Locust Heights & Western Railroad in Clarksburg West Virginia. The LH&WRR is a “backyard” railroad operated by the Mason Family and their team of dedicated volunteers. They typically only operate on Wednesday evenings, June through October so this photo excursion was a special opportunity.
Look for a trip report Tuesday.
Continuing on from Part 2, the next stop was Maroon Bells for sunrise. Located in the Snowmass Wilderness, this is a very popular sunrise photo location. Unfortunately a storm was blowing through so I didn’t get the alpine glow sunrise that you typically see here. Instead I got a nice pre-dawn shot (above) with some stars visible between the clouds and a late morning shot when the sun came out and the wind stopped just long enough to get a decent reflection in the lake.
From there I traveled south over Independence Pass, stopping at a couple of spots to take photos of the spectacular landscape before heading to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
The Ghost Town of Independence:
Roaring Fork River:
Snow Squall:
Twin Lakes:
I arrived at Great Sand Dunes in a windstorm, so I didn’t spend much time on the dune field. Clouds over the park with clear skies to the west provided some nice storm light on the Dunes.
Dune field from the Entrance Road:
High Dune Hikers:
Dunefield Storm Light:
Look for Part 4 covering the two railroad photo charters this trip was centered around in a couple of weeks.
Maroon Bells is a popular location to photograph sunrise in Colorado, especially in the fall when the aspen trees on both sides of the lake turn gold. A storm was blowing through the morning I was there, so we didn’t have the typical alpine sunrise reflected in the lake. There was a short break in the clouds after sunrise that allowed the photographers assembled at the lake to get a couple of photos before the clouds closed in again.
I’ll post Part 3 of my Colorado Fall Trip Report on Tuesday, covering Maroon Bells, Independence Pass and Great Sand Dunes National Park.