Secret Location

This past Saturday night I was on my way to White Oak Canyon to shoot the falls.  Along the way I saw a familiar road sign that pointed to the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area.   I have been back in this area many times over the last couple of years and find it a great place to shoot.  The Rapidan River runs parallel to the road for several miles with easy access to great photographic material.   I decided to head up to the Rapidan instead and am glad that I did because it was flowing the best I have ever seen it.  I just wish I had remembered to bring my chest waders because there were several shots that would have required me to stand in that deep of water.  Instead the  bottom of my shorts got a bit wet. 

While I have a number of shots I would love to share, as I mentioned in my prior post I’m a bit busy, so just one this time. 

I have seen plenty of campers and fishermen in this area  but never another photographer.   I figured that it was time to spread the word. 

Click here for the location on Google Maps.   Also note the roads are rough, if you decide to go I recommend a truck or SUV. 

Spring is upon me and I’m not ready

I keep telling myself that I’m a Nature Photographer but in truth I find so many wonderful things to shoot.  I have been spending the past couple weekends up to my elbows in rusted cars.   I also had a nice trip to Cape May, NJ last weekend and  am hard at work on the 2011 Nature Visions Expo.  I’m not complaining but the truth is the Expo work does cut in to my image processing time.  Last year was a great year for the Expo and we are hard at work to make the 2011 Expo every bit as good and perhaps just a little bit better!  This year Art Wolfe will be our Keynote Speaker and we could not be more excited!   

I’m also moderating the Nature Visions Blog this year.  So in addition to checking out my site, I hope you will make frequent visits to the Nature Visions Blog.  

Riding the Back Roads

I love country roads!  Give me the country and the mountains any day.  The shot above was taken near Old Rag Mountain.  I have been past this location many times but on this cold day in December it seemed particularly moody and warranted taking the time to make a few pictures.   This nice thing about nature and landscape photography is that the scene is always changing.  If you don’t like how something looks, wait a little while or visit often.

History Lesson

Lately I have developed a habit of reviewing my images weeks and sometimes months after I have taken them.  It’s not that I’m not excited about my pictures, I am.   In the case of the shot above, I ventured out on New Year’s morning to shoot a sunrise at a nearby abandoned farm.  The farm was a bit disappointing but I found this little cemetery on the way home. It is now April and I’m just getting around to working with this image.  Truthfully I was not sure what I would do with this shot or more precisely how I would process the picture and that might be part of the reason for the delay. 

I remember being struck by stumbling upon the grave of a former Speaker of the House of Delegates in such a small run down cemetery.   It turns out that John Franklin Ryan was indeed a former Speaker of the House in addition to being a large landowner and farmer.   The Loudoun Independent has a great article on this former farmer and Speaker of the Virginia House.