Tag Archives: Travel

Trip Report – Reading & Northern 2016

Posted on by
3

As I mentioned last week, Lerro Productions hosted a two day photo charter in February on the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern featuring their steam locomotive, Reading & Northern 425.  This was the railroad’s first real photo charter and by all accounts, it was a very successful trip.  The first day featured snowy weather and took us from Port Clinton to the Lehigh Gorge and then back to Jim Thorpe for a night session.  The second day started in Lehigh Gorge and then back to Port Clinton.  While it rained almost the entire second day, the rain hitting the snow created an awesome ground fog which made for some interesting photos.  Here’s a few of my favorites:

Glen Onoko Rock Cut

Independence Bridge

Tamaqua Tunnel

Independence Signals
Lehigh Gorge - Independence Signals

Jim Thorpe Station

Hunter Street Tunnel

King Coal

As always, the Lerro Productions crew put on a great event and the railroad put on a great show. Hopefully this is the first of many charters on the Reading & Northern.

Through The Lens 25 – Photography Lesson

Posted on by
Reply

While killing time before the night session on the Reading & Northern photo charter I attended in February, my friend Matthew challenged me with a photography lesson. His instructions were to “take an interesting blurry photo.”  After struggling for a bit I came up with this – an out of focus train with snow flow streaks in focus. Both parts blurry but in a different way.  I think it works pretty well. Thanks again for the lesson, Matthew!

Stop by Tuesday for the Reading & Northern trip report.

Trip Report – Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2015 – Part 3 – Cades Cove

Posted on by
4

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

Cable Mill

Cades Cove Methodist Church

Cades Cove Methodist Church

Hyatt Lane Sunrise

Hyatt Lane Sunrise

Becky Cable Home

Becky Cable Home

Primitive Baptist Church Road

Cades Cove - Primitive Baptist Church Road

Tipton Barn

Tipton Barn

Sparks Lane Sunrise

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

Posted on by
Reply

Black Bear & Cubs

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.

Through The Lens 23 – Winter on the Western Maryland Railroad

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s another one from my railroad photography trip this past February.  This time we’re at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad for a Lerro Productions photo charter, the last one with Locomotive 734 to go all the way to Frostburg due to a recent landslide on the line.  Hopefully scenes like this will be possible again soon.

Through The Lens 22 – Catastrophe Canyon

Posted on by
Reply

This week’s photo is one from the archives – Catastrophe Canyon from the Studios Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  With the news that the demolition of this attraction, one of my favorites since the early days of Disney’s MGM Studios, is complete, I thought now would be a good time to post my favorite image from the attraction.

I’m sure many photographers wish they would have gotten images of things that they thought would be around forever but were gone before they could get back to them.  I have many things on that list, but fortunately, this was one I was able to get before it was gone.

Trip Report – Great Smoky Mountains National Park 2015 – Part 2 – Sunsets & Night Photography

Posted on by
2

Sunset - Clingman's Dome

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.

Twilight - Clingman's Dome

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.

Sunset Clingman's Dome

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:

Milky Way - Clingman's Dome

Milky Way - Clingman's Dome

Morton Overlook:

Milky Way - 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 21 – Reading & Northern Railroad

Posted on by
Reply

Last week, I attended a two day photo charter on the Reading & Northern Railroad hosted by Lerro Productions.  The weather was an interesting mix of cold and snowing on Monday and slightly warmer and rain on Tuesday creating opportunities for shots with great atmosphere. Above is one of my favorites from the event.  Look for a more detailed trip report in a couple of weeks.

Through The Lens 20 -Pine Tree

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
1

Spruce Flats Falls

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 - Autumn

Big Creek Cascades

Midnight Hole

Midnight Hole

Midnight Hole Cascades

Midnight Hole Cascades

Mouse Creek Falls

Mouse Creek Falls

Baskins Creek Falls

Baskins Creek Falls

Grotto Falls

Grotto Falls

Laurel Falls

Laurel Falls

Lynn Camp Cascades

Lynn Camp Cascades

Spruce Flats Falls

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.