National Parks are open again

In honor of the "return" of our National Parks, I want to share the winning photos of their Summer Scrapbook. Notice that many of the photos are all about the light, often taken near sunrise or sunset. The color of light is often more saturated and beautiful toward dawn and dusk. At noon, the light if flatter, with short shadows. Get out there and take some pictures of those fall colors in good light!
http://www.nationalparks.org/summer-scrapbook

I'm sharing an August 2013 panorama from Shenandoah National Park's Black rock summit trail taken with an iphone app called Photosynth. A rock slide is at the summit.

Summer in Shenandoah

We took a very brief weekend trip to Shenandoah National Park and took a short hike to Black Rock summit so we could see all the rocks. We also attended a lecture on birds of prey & met a tiny eastern screech owl. When photographing animals I always focus on their eyes and try to blur out distracting backgrounds or simplify them.

Misty Wood received a First Prize in January's Advanced SMCCC Competition

I love my photo of a man with a cane walking in the wood's on a foggy day.  I saw a streak of light coming through the trees and knew I had to take the shot. 

You could make up lots of stories about this photo.  It was really about the determination to keep on walking and having the energy to get to the end of the trail in spite of having difficulty walking.  The fog created an interesting mood to the photo, like he was walking toward the unknown.

A quick photo tip is to use a touch of red or yellow to make a photo really pop.  (like a red umbrella, T shirt or jacket) Since there was so much green in this photo, the bright blue jacket really seemed to  help lead your eye to the subject and the fog created an uncluttered background, while the trees made a nice frame around the subject.

Yes, you may have seen this photo before on August 21, 2011 blog.

 

Shenandoah National Park: A favorite place

We recently took a long weekend trip to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It has been one of our favorite places for years.  I was amused at the weather report.  If the prediction was rain, it was sunny.  If sun was predicted, it rained! The mountains seem to create their own unpredictable weather pattern.   We had lots of fog and mist too, which created some moody photography.  If you take proper care of your camera, rain doesn’t mean you can’t take good photos!

Big Meadows is one of the best locations on the Skyline Drive to see deer, especially at dusk.  Some of them are very accustomed to people and largely ignore you.  It is wise to use a tripod and stand fairly still to avoid scaring them away.  The wildflowers blooming along the drive and in the meadow in August added a nice touch to the landscapes.  I photographed delicate Queen Anne’s Lace from underneath the flower to produce an unusual viewpoint.

Other highlights of our trip included a van trip to Camp Rapidan, where Herbert Hoover spent his time away from the White House in a rustic camp, viewing a black bear while I was driving along the main road (sorry no photo) and a visit to see Charlie Maddox play music from Appalachia and the British Isles on hammered dulcimer, banjo and guitar in the tap room at Big Meadows Lodge.