It's all about TIME

I don't want to complain to you, but I must tell you.  I have had the last three days off of work.  These were beautiful fall days with lots of sunshine and a nice breeze.  They were perfect for, well, anything other than what I was doing.
My sinuses have been giving me a bit of trouble lately, and ever since the repair man came to fix our oil furnace I have had a debilitating headache.  Possibly the worst headache I have ever had, and it didn't quit for over 3 days.  I gotta say I get depressed when I can't be outside on a gorgeous day.  When I am stuck inside(or just limited to what I can do) I feel like I am wasting my most valuable resource... Time.
I find it funny how much we as humans waste time.  More time is not guaranteed, nor is it ever able to be replenished, yet, we waste it like crazy.  Whether we are watching mindless tv, looking at facebook(biggest time killer ever), or just being lazy... we waste TONS of time.  Even right now as I write this, I am essentially killing time.  I don't have anywhere to be so I sat down and edited some photos from this morning.
Editing photos becomes cruising the web, reading news.... killing time.

In Edward Abbey's 'Desert Solitaire', he talks about a place where the days are long, and time seems to creep and last forever, just as it should be.
I couldn't agree more, it's hard to find that anywhere but the desert but I think it's still worthwhile to look.

Time is an enemy in life.  work deadlines, sales quotas, retirement funds, savings accounts, all things that take up multiple resources including time.  I think it's important for all of us to find time to escape time.  For me, photography gives me a sense of that peace.  Like today, for example.  I knew exactly when the sun was going to rise, I showed up early and set up different compositions, took some test exposures, adjusted my polarizer, and waited for the sun to rise.   I start shooting like crazy, hurrying from one composition to the next... and just like that, the sun was up, and the shooting was over.  But I didn't just walk back to the car and leave, the moment just after the sun comes up out of the clouds is my favorite.  It's when I turn the camera off, put the lens cap on, move the tripod off to the side, and just watch and feel the warmth.  For a moment there, I really stopped caring about the time, and that right there is a little slice of heaven.

Fall color near Fox Hunter's Paradise on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

White Oak Canyon Fall Color - Shenandoah National Park

 Fall is such an incredible time of year.  It's a wonderful time of year for photogs and non-photogs alike to enjoy the cool mornings, warm days, and some really intense color in the trees.

Shenandoah National Park has just about as much fall color as a camera sensor could handle.  Sometimes too much...  Now, I realize that this is probably not true, but I do feel as if camera sensors don't always do justice to the scene. Yet, other times, a camera sensor brings out more than the human would have seen anyways, so finding the balance can be tricky.  For example, if I tried to make the colors as vivid in the below photo as they were in real life, I would have some very funky, over-saturated images. 

But maybe it's a good thing that cameras only tell part of the story.  If we were able to fully satisfy our thirst for wilderness with a photograph, there might not be any desire to actually be IN the wilderness!

Oh well, until then I guess we as photographers(and many more successfully than I) will have to keep attempting to recreate the beautiful, colorful 3d world into a 2d format that is very unforgiving of your mistakes.

Both images below were shot with the same focal length(17mm), using much different perspectives.
Both images were shot at waterfalls in Shenandoah National Park,  about 18 hours apart.
At this time of year, the waterfalls in the area aren't exactly roaring:)  They more or less trickle down the rocks in tiny streams, dreaming of a day when they can be big and strong again!
 Because of this, the focus really isn't on the falls themselves, they merely play a part in the photograph.

In the top photo, the waterfall takes part in a colorful, yet stark scene of fall color, grey hemlocks, and bald rocks.
In the below photo, the fall color takes the stage in the form of a beautiful reflection.  And the only part of the falls that's visible is simply a shallow pool at the bottom.  
In both photos I used a Kenko Zeta CPL.  I like the Zeta line of polarizers because they are multicoated, reducing flare, and don't detract from your image like a cheap filter will.  They also are affordably priced at around $160(some polarizers can be well over $200).
In the top image I used the polarizer to remove the reflection from the water around the fall, adding to the contrast of the scene with the waterfall 'popping' out a touch from the dark rocks.
In the below image I used it to enhance the reflection of the trees.  This brought out not only the fall color, but rich blues from the sky as well.

 

Morning in the Grayson Highlands

Grayson Highlands State Park is so sweet.  A short hike up the Rhododendron Trail yields some pretty impressive views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At the Massie Gap parking area, you start off in a field of scattered trees, but as you ascend, the landscape becomes more and more open.  There are some rock outcroppings that, when climbed, give you a nice perspective of your surroundings. 

The only downside to the Highlands is the wind.  The wind, at times, can be punishing to say the least.  Today was no exception, actually, it was an exception, it was exceptionally STRONG today.

Just getting out of the car in the dark with that strong of wind is daunting.... I really didn't want to:)  But... I did, and it was worth it.  The wind presents multiple challenges.  First of all, everything is moving, A LOT.  Short exposures and high ISO is necessary, and a necessary evil at that.  Even the sweetest, most awesomest cameras suffer at high ISO.

This morning, a beautiful crescent moon was rising into the sky.  During the predawn hours, when the cloudiness is 'partly', the colors are beautiful.  The rich blue sky and rising sun create an awesome darkening gradient.

The wispy clouds wash out the crescent moon.



Big Pinnacle, the point off to the left, is the highest point within the park.  Lens distortion makes the hill to the far left seem higher.  You can see the trail on the bottom right of this scene, this takes you past the horses, and towards the Appalachian Trail.




This HDR(processed in Photoshop) was taken in crazy high winds, I had difficulty shielding the camera from the winds.




I took a break from most of the wind and headed down the hill towards the wild ponies.



A somewhat intimate portrait of a horse(my longest lens is 50mm)

Awesome fall color in the Highlands.  The road to the left of this scene, is the road you would take if going to the Grayson Highlands Visitor Center.  On the way back from the visitor center, you past the only place on a road where you can see Mount Rogers, the highest peak in VA.  It's not much of a spectacle, just a big hill.

After the sunrise, I hiked Big Pinnacle, a short and steep run up to the highest point in the park.


From Big Pinnacle, you can see the edge of Virginia, into North Carolina, and even the beautiful state of Tennessee.



On the way out of the park, I took a few shots of some awesome fall color.  I would highly recommend that all of you take a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains within the next few weeks:)

Thanks for looking.  :)

Dark Hallow Falls (Shenandoah National Park)

Dark Hallow Falls is one of the more popular places to go in Shenandoah National Park, and for good reason.  The waterfall is beautiful.  Multiple cascades flow over moss covered stone, through a forest full of changing leaves.

Sort of unrelated back story....

I went to the Mesa Verde Arch in Canyonlands National Park late last fall.  I was not the first to arrive at the parking lot, but the first to the arch, well before sunrise.  There is a bush very near the arch that I hid in front of so that other people/photographers could also enjoy the sunrise from behind me.  It was a wonderful experience full of shutter clicks and the occasional 'that's beautiful' comment from a wife to a husband.  But other than that, it was quiet.  We all showed respect for one another to maximize the enjoyment for everyone that was there....

This day at the waterfall was a bit different.  Maybe people are just more polite out west, but here in Shenandoah I got a bad taste in my mouth regarding the average tourist.
A photographer doesn't show up to a landmark and yell and laugh with his friends, he doesn't let his kids run wild all over the place, he is there to document, and enjoy.  He(hopefully) has others in mind as he does his thing. 
This waterfall was full of loud people, laughing and yelling, kids running all over the place, people stopping for long periods of time to take photos from the trail that also included other people trying to get by.  It was.... crazy... to say the least.
Even as bothered as I was by this, when climbing the different levels of the falls I still naturally tried to stay out of other people's way, as much as I wanted to stand up on the middle tier and shoot right in the center of it, ruining everyone's photographs.  But alas... I resisted these temptations, and resisting temptation is definitely not my forte:)

I will make my next trip to the falls more enjoyable by showing up super early in the morning.  If there are any people there at that time, they are more likely to have the same values as me regarding the enjoyment of nature:)

I write this to encourage you to soak in nature the way it was supposed to be soaked in.  Listen to the sounds of the falling water, watch the occasional leaf be spun around in a whirlpool, feel the same wind that moves the trees so dramatically.  Just take it in, and share:)

The middle tier of Dark Hallow falls.  Shot with the Sigma 50mm 1.4.

A wider perspective of the middle tier. Shot with the Canon 24mm 2.8.

Top tier of the falls, shot with the Canon 24mm 2.8 using a graduated ND filter.

A closer, yet still wide perspective of the top tier of the falls.

Fall Color on the Jone's Run Trail (Shenandoah National Park)

This was going to be a post about an awesome waterfall in the South District of Shenandoah National Park.  Jones Run Falls, to be exact.  It didn't quite work out that way... 

I must be honest with you.  While I enjoy the journey, I am a 'destination' kind of guy.  Most of my pleasure comes from reaching/photographing my destination.  As for the journey?  That's just gravy(but not my fave)

Well today was a little different.  The gf and me were en route to Jones Run Falls, when we noticed two hikers looking up into the woods.  What they were looking at turned out to be a yearling black bear.  I attempted to mount the zoom lens, but by the time all of that took place, the bear was a long ways away through a dense forest... but still fun to see no doubt(turns out that the journey can be fun afterall!)

The trails in Shenandoah are carpeted with yellow and red leaves right now, and the color is only getting more intense.  Below are a few images of the leaves that have fallen in the right spot:)


All  images below(with the exception of the final image) are shot with the Sigma 50mm 1.4 through a Helioplan Circular Polarizer.  The final image was shot with the Canon 70-200 2.8 L.

 Are you prepared for the following image?  Can you ever truly be prepared for a raging waterfall such as the one you are about to see?  I present to you, in all its glory..... JONES RUN FALLS!!!!!!!!!!




Ok so maybe it isn't that awesome:(




Vines creeping up a tree.



Backlit Leaves....

Thanks for looking... I will have one more post on Shenandoah(until the next time I go later this month)  :)

A Sunrise Hello, A Harvest Moon Goodbye... (Shenandoah National Park)

 Summer can't last forever, at least not in this part of the hemisphere.  The end of summer brings a welcome change in most people's eyes.  The temps cool down to crisp mornings and only slightly warm days, and a bloom that seems to start in March finally comes to an end, but fortunately it doesn't just end. 

Before winter, we get to experience an incredible transition.   We get to see mountain after mountain painted with bright yellow, orange, and red.  Combine this with the already beautiful blue haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and you have yourself one colorful sight to see for sure.

The peak colors are happening in different areas very soon.  During our hikes(photos to come) we saw some great forest color, both up high and carpeting the forest floor. 

I would like to encourage you to get out, take a drive(even better, walk) through nature and soak it all in.  Soon enough, it will all be gone, and we will be waiting for green again. 

Below are two images from our last morning in the park.  We got up REALLY early to catch the moonrise, only to find out that I had the iphone app set to the wrong day, giving us an hour at an overlook to sleep in the car. 

After a quick predawn nap, we headed for an overlook that was closed to cars... Ivy Creek I think. The sunrise was incredibly colorful, even for a cloudless morning.

As soon as the sun came up(this was one of the last images I took) we headed for a different overlook facing the other direction.  We drove past an opening in the road and, instead of driving to the overlook, parked the car on the shoulder and set up there.  The harvest moon only comes once a year, and I felt it was very important to capture it.  There is nothing extra spectacular about a harvest moon that isn't just as spectacular every other full moon, it's simply the first full moon after the beginning of fall:)

Enjoy... and get outside!  If you need a hiking partner... you've got one in me!

A sunrise captured by the Sigma 50mm set to f16(the smallest aperture) for the sunstar effect.

The fading harvest moon captured by a Canon 70-200 2.8 L.

The Forests of Rocky Knob

Rocky Knob is a cool recreation area on the Blue Ridge Parkway located near Meadows of Dan.  The views from Rocky Knob are quite splendid.  Once you get to 'The Saddle', you have nice views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in multiple directions.

There are a lot of miles to hike around here, even if there aren't very many trails.  I think there are 3-4 trails but they range from 1-10 miles in length(with some steep climbs if you want).  Today I went up the trail less than a mile, but it took me nearly 3 hours(macro photography will do that to ya).

I somewhat broke the rules with my shooting times today.  I know that it shouldn't matter what time you show up, but let's be honest... the earlier the better:)  I lazily rolled onto the scene around 9am(about 4 hours later than I should have).

Oh well...

Instead of an overwhelmingly blue photo(as the Blue Ridge often creates) I opted for monochrome in this scene taken with the Pentax K20d + 135mm 2.8

Rays of light as captured by the Canon 5d Mark ii and Sigma 50mm

A short hike up from 'The Saddle' parking lot.

Sometimes you have to just sit and look for a little while... not necessarily at a grand vista, but at a plant, bush, tree, or the grass... you'd be surprised at how much is actually going on all around you.  The images below, for example, are nothing overly special, just a look into the very bottom of the food pyramid. 

Virginia is always in some kind of bloom:)

The next three images I really enjoy.  I spent about 1.5 hrs shooting these little moss 'trees'.  I imagine it as a mini landscape within the landscape.  These were shot on the side of a rock that was covered in different kinds of moss and lichens.

 

I don't really know what or why about these.  It appears that tiny bits of leaves got surrounded by water... it was in a crevice of a rock.  The light was very low, so a bigger aperture high iso were used to capture it, even if it was poorly done:)

Another sure tell sign of Autumn:)

Some greens make their way out from under the bottom layer.

Thanks for looking:)  Y'all have a good rest of whatever you are in:)

Barbed Wire, Spiderwebs, and Red Sky

I am hoping you will enjoy these images from the Parkway.
The fog was thick as I left the house well before sunrise. It scattered just enough to allow me to see some really nice color.

On the way back I grabbed a few macro shots of some barbed wire near the house.



A soft landscape shot at 1.4




More 1.4 Landscape

 

A classic North Carolina Scene taken by sticking 3 images together.  Shot with the Sigma 50





I am under the impression that young spiders, new to the web-making scene, use these barbs as practice:)





Refraction... I shot this with apertures 14, 6.3, and 2.8.   The 2.8 image left only the largest drop in focus, with everything else out of focus.  6.3 allowed a few more of the drops to come into focus, but still not the results I wanted.  At 14, the shape and detail of the barb shows just enough while not being distracting.



Thanks for looking:)  Feel free to leave a comment or a question(no need to log in)