The Hazards of Nature Photography

This past week I made a quick stop at Blackwater Falls State Park on my way home from the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  More on that trip in a future blog.   It was a cloudy morning and I had noticed the streams were running nicely so some waterfall photography seemed in line.  Rather than shoot Blackwater Falls from the platform like everyone else,  I have always preferred Elakala Falls.  Gaining access to the multiple falls on Elakala Run gets progressively harder the further down the mountain you go.  There is not an established trail but photographers over time have created a small footpath to the second and third falls. 

I setup this panorama and noticed a distracting dead branch next to the tree on the right.   So I thought I would jump over to the rocks and do a little gardening.  When I reached for the tree on the right my hand slipped and I fell backwards hitting the rock below.  If things had stopped at that point it would not have been too bad.  But an object in motion wants to stay in motion and I was very much in motion.  I then proceeded to fall head over heels two more times before coming to a stop.  By then I was cut, banged up, and bruised from nearly head to toe.    I was very lucky that I did not sustain any serious injury and was able to hike out under my own power after shaking it off and finishing the pano.  

Dr. Frankenstein’s Art Project

Actually this art project belongs to British Artist Bruce Munro and is currently on display at Longwood Gardens.   Last weekend I braved the 100 degree temps to shoot the gardens at Longwood with friends Greg Daily and Jeff Johnson.  We had a great time, managed to stay dry when a thunderstorm came through and determined that we must return later this summer to shoot the areas we missed.  

Light Painting the Graffiti Underground

        

For the last couple of years the Graffiti Underground has been a favorite  location for myself and a few of my friends.   Last year Tony Sweet suggested we get together and light paint this unique location.  The Underground, as we call the location, is not in the best neighborhood so we originally decided to try and do this when the weather was cold and night fall came early.

We arrived about 2 hours before dark, did a fair amount of shooting and then starting planning our after dark activities.   To our surprise the place came alive after dark.   While no one bothered us, we decided to move on after a couple shots.
 
If you decide to take up light painting or any type of night photography please consider the precautions necessary to ensure your safety.  This could be as simple as shooting with a friend.  In our case I suspect the size of our group was a factor in the folks who showed up after dark leaving us alone.

236 Years Later

Today we celebrate our independence from Great Britain.  On July 4, 1776 we adopted the Declaration of Independence.   I hope everyone who takes a minute to read this post will reflect on what it means to live in our great country.  

Livestock Sales

On a recent trip through the Shenandoah Valley I stumbled upon the Rockingham Livestock Sales building.  It was the middle of the afternoon so I used my Infra-Red Converted D200 to make the shot.   I’m always looking for places that fit what I refer to as “Americana” and this fits the bill perfectly.