I have always wanted to explore some of the southern plantations and capture some of their grandeur. One plantation in particular always captured my attention when viewing photos from the south, and that was Boone Hall Plantation outside of Charleston. One glorious early morning, I drove the 45 minutes to it only to find that the main gates were not open. I should have done some research on that - a rookie mistake. I returned later in the day, but the weather had changed and that great shot wasn't there for the taking (I tried but the light wasn't great). A bit discouraged, I drove under those stately oaks with the long Spanish moss hanging from them and came to this second gate. While not what I came for, I thought it was a terrific scene to capture.
Granite - Yosemite National Park, California
This view might be my favorite one that I have ever shot. Yosemite National Park is my favorite national park in the United States and I never tire of it. While there are some great granite formations to be found there, Half Dome is the one I gravitate to. In my opinion, the best view of it is from Glacier Point featured here. This is one of the few places to get to an eye level view of Half Dome and also get a decent view of the valley. While standing at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley, you can almost look straight up and see Glacier Point. Getting there is a little more difficult and requires a 32 mile (1 hour drive) but it is well worth it.
I took this image five years ago (time really flies) and edited it then. When i looked at it last week in my Lightroom library, I knew it was time to re-edit it to give it renewed life.
Barely Standing - Colfax, Washington
I will admit it, the Palouse has become my new addiction. I can't stop looking at my images from there and editing them. The Palouse has a number of old abandoned buildings, barns and farmhouses. All of them are terrific subjects, and, in my mind, I classify them as a "Rural" Urbex Photography genre. One of my favorites is this one known as the Crooked House. Even though it has some support, it defies me how it is still standing. I looked at this from all different angles and it has earned its name, I didn't see one piece of it that was straight. I shot quite a number of different compositions that I will probably post in the future, but I thought this straight on look at it would be a good start.
The Narrows - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
I occasionally look at older photos that I have shot in the past to see if the editing software and my editing skills can make an okay shot a good one. This is one of my favorite locations in Yellowstone National Park. It is known as the Narrows and is located in the northeastern part of the park on the way to Tower Junction. It is the part of the park that is not visited as much by vacationers and tour uses. This is the only decent shot of this that I took way back in 2004 and it had a lot of haze in it. When I came across it last week, I wondered how Lightroom's new DeHaze feature would work on it. The fact that it was shot with a Nikon D100 and was a JPG file gave me pause, but what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
As I hope you can see, it worked out quite well. Much better than I expected. The DeHaze slider worked like a charm, and with some styling done with OnOne's Perfect Effects, I took a photo from never to be seen by anyone to a photo that I don't mind showing others. Lesson to be learned: don't get rid of those okay photos because you might be able to transform them down the road.
Serenity - Edith Cavell Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta
When talking about the Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park is usually the first thing that comes to mind. It seems that its sister park, Jasper National Park, is a more of a step sister. After spending some significant time there, I think that Jasper holds its own with Banff. Many may not know that Jasper is actually quite a bit larger (10,900 square kilometers vs. 6,650 square kilometers). Another factor is the proximity to a large city. Jasper is almost 4 hours from Edmonton, while Banff is only 1.5 hours from Calgary. Take into account that Calgary's population of 1.2 million is significantly greater that Edmonton's population of 878 thousand.
So what does all of this mean? To me, it means that there is so much more to see in Jasper and a lot less people to contend with. Take this shot of Edith Cavell Lake that I took in early morning last June. It was probably around 9am, and I had been in the area since around 5:30am. I literally came across only two other people in 3.5 hours. I felt like I had the park to myself (I actually did) and the serenity and beauty that I enjoyed is just what I love about visiting Jasper.
Cracked - Endicott, Washington
I guess I can't stop posting images from my recent trip to the Palouse. A number of my friends have asked me where the Palouse is, as they have never heard of it. The Palouse is a region of farmland located in Eastern Washington State and into parts of Western Idaho. Truth be told, it is a destination that primarily attracts photographers because of the great rolling mounds and hills of farmland. After spending time there, it is obvious why non-photographers never heard of it. It is pretty remote with only a few very small towns. There are not many hotels and restaurants, and, other than driving the roads for the scenery, not much for vacationers to do. It has become the new hotspot for photographers, with many tours and workshops being conducted.
This photo was from a privately owned classic car collection on one of the farms. I posted a photo of an old Texaco gas station a couple of weeks ago on the blog. The gas station sits at the front, and behind it is a great collection of cars. This one really caught my eye with its bright color and cracked driver window. It looks like a bullet hole caused the crack, and I wish I knew more about its story.
Wetlands - Vermilion Lakes, Banff National Park, Alberta
Just outside the town of Banff is a group of three picturesque lakes known as the Vermilion Lakes. They are located in a wetland area that features Mount Rundle as a backdrop. The lakes are also known for wildlife, and, on at least one occasion, the road was closed due to grizzly sightings.
I was hoping to shoot this great place at sunset, but it seemed that every night was overcast. On the last day, there were some nice clouds, so we decided to head back there to shoot. It was late afternoon and the light was pretty decent. The lakes were surprisingly pretty still, and we were able to get some nice reflections of the Canadian Rockies. I guess I will have to go back to Banff for my sunset shots.
Happy Fourth - Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts
I hope everyone in the US is enjoying the Fourth of July. This is a field of flags celebrating the holiday that I took a couple of years ago at Sturbridge Village. Enjoy the holiday weekend.
Road to Rainier - Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Since I started shooting with my great friend, Jeff Clow, I am always on the lookout for road shots that lead to impressive subjects. He is a master of these shots and is known for them. He has influenced how I shoot and there is nothing better than learning from other skilled photographers. The challenge is to have a spotter looking out to make sure that you don't get run over by a car. Unfortunately, I was alone, so I parked in the pullout to the left and carefully went down the road to get the composition that I liked. Even though there was little traffic that morning, I shot from the right shoulder of the road in order to get off of it quickly.
Grazing in the Snow - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
One of things that surprised me on my Teton photo tour was that one morning we actually got some snow. I am not sure why I was surprised as it was still May, and it is the Rockies after all. There wasn't a lot of snow, but just enough to give everything a solid coating. After shooting at an abandoned dude ranch, we headed for other parts of the park and we spotted these bison grazing in the snow. The thin layer of snow proved to be a perfect background to make the bison stand out.
Teton View - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
I always like exploring an area wherever I shoot because you never know what you might find. Many times the results are a bit different that the standard shots. When our group got to Colter Bay, I headed north along the shoreline of Jackson Lake. I was trying to find a place where I could shoot south and make a leading line of the Tetons. In my haste of getting this shot, I totally missed this viewpoint. After taking my shots, one of my fellow photographers pointed out this composition, which was way better than the ones I had just shot. I am not sure who it was that told me, but whoever it was, thanks.
Floating Boardwalk - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
After visiting the Palouse, I hooked up with an on-line buddy, Phil Kuntz, to spend a day exploring Idaho. Say what you want about social media, but I have met so many people online that have become friends, even though we have never met in person. Even better, when you do meet them in person, they almost always exceed your expectations. That certainly was the case with Phil. He is a wonderful photographer living outside Spokane, and his collection of images are impressive. You can see his work on his Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/phils-pixels/.
Phil wanted to show me some of the great spots in Idaho, so we headed out. The light wasn't great but the companionship was. One of the stops was the Coeur d'Alene Resort, where we had lunch. The resort boasts of having the longest floating boardwalk in the world. I am not sure that is true, but it is long. As we were walking on it, I snapped a few shots of the boats and their blue covering. I thought the contrast with the amazing clouds was cool. At first glance, this looks like I processed this with selective color (I am not a huge fan of those shots), but I can assure you, this was the scene as it was.
Rainer in the Fog - Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
This photo is a perfect example of not deleting images because, at first review, they didn't look like they would be worth editing. I had left the Paradise Inn at 4:30am and headed to Reflection Lake to get a reflection shot of Mount Rainier. Rainier was visible from the Inn, but as I drove into the valley, a layer of clouds/fog covered it (see my shot of this from last week's blog post). Sure enough, when I got to Reflection Lake, I could barely see Rainier. Of course, being a never give up type of photographer, I shot a number of shots, not thinking that any of them would come out. I had to push the ISO to 6400 just to get some light.
When I looked at the images after I got home, I almost deleted them. Upon a second review, I thought that maybe I could get something out of them to make them presentable, not thinking that it was remotely possible. After editing it for a while, I began to see something that I thought was better than passable resulting in this image.
A lesson learned here is not to give up on an image too soon. Editing programs keep getting better and better, and editing skills do improve when you push the software.
Roaming the Palouse - Palouse, Washington
By this time, I am sure that you are getting tired of the Palouse images that I have been posting. Next week, I will be returning to the posts from all of my different travels that you are used to. I hope you enjoyed my images from this magical place. To close out my Palouse trip, here is one last image.
Earlier this week, I posted an image that I took on the last evening where I set out with no destination in mind. I ended up driving to the town of Palouse and then decided to meander back to my temporary home in Colfax. Along the way back, I came upon a high point on Clear Creek Road that displayed this scene. You know that the brakes were jammed and the camera came out.
Above the Clouds - Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
I have been posting many of my Palouse images over the past two week. I almost forgot that I stopped for a couple of nights at Mount Rainier at the start of my trip. I stayed in the Paradise Inn and, when I got there after driving from Seattle, there was no sign of the mountain. The clouds totally obscured it and the fog was pretty thick. I had been there a couple of times before with the same result. When I got up in the morning before sunrise, I planned to head to Reflection Lake to catch the morning light hit the mountain. The mountain was visible from the hotel, but when I got to the lake, guess what? No mountain. So back to the Inn, and I realized it was the valley that was fogged in, not the mountain. I headed up the Skyline Trail, turned around and saw this terrific scene showing the valley with a blanket of fog covering it. I quickly became a fan of the fog.
Saltbox - Eid Road, Moscow, Idaho
While some have heard about the Palouse (most of them photographers), the misconception is that its boundaries are well established. In fact, there are no official boundaries, signs or anything else that tell you where the Palouse begins and ends. The best way to tell if you are in the Palouse is to use your eyes. After a few days, the landscape tells you whether you are or aren't. Most of the Palouse is located in eastern Washington State, but there are some portions that lie in Idaho. One evening, we headed out across the state line toward Moscow, Idaho. There we stopped and shot this cool looking saltbox barn.
Compositionally, there were some not so photogenic trees to the left, so almost all of my shots had the barn on the left side of the photo. The sky wasn't the best so I minimized it in the photo. When I looked at this image before editing, it had a "tilt-shift" lens look to it which I retained in the final edit.
Old Time Gas Station - Endicott, Washington
I had a mental picture of what I would be seeing before I got to the Palouse. Farmland? Check. Undulating landscapes? Check. Barns and farm equipment? Check. Abandoned property? Check. Almost everything I had pictured was there with one exception. I hadn't anticipated that there were some classic cars to be found at several places here and there throughout the Palouse. The mother load was a private collection that we got access to somewhere near Endicott. I knew we were in for a treat when we pulled up and saw this old time Texaco station. What a classic piece of nostalgia staring us in the face. To make it even better, down the driveway was a whole collection of classic cars waiting to be photographed. I will be posting them in the future, but today it is the Texaco station taking the stage.
Shades of Green - Colfax, Washington
My last night in the Palouse, I headed out in the late afternoon with no destination in mind. I headed south toward Pullman, and I saw a left hand turn and decided to take it. Turns out this turn took me onto Hoffman Road, which resulted in some really cool landscapes. The shadows were starting to get long and different shades of green began to pop. I think I stopped every quarter mile to shoot some photos. The undulations of the land were outstanding, and it was a great way to end up my visit to this landscape wonderland.
Sidelight - Steptoe Butte State Park, Colfax, Washington
Steptoe Butte is the ideal place to shoot at both sunrises and sunsets. The low sun on the horizon at these times accentuates the mounds and hills with both light and shadow. Shooting at other times of the day, while still pretty, impacts the definition and three-dimensional look to the landscape.
The cool feature of Steptoe Butte is its shape. Generally round in shape, it is quite broad at the bottom and quite small at the top. At the top, you get a 360-degree view of the surrounding farmland. While that sounds like a great view, from a photographic standpoint, it is quite difficult to capture even with a wide panorama. Since the road to the top is circular, you can stop just about anywhere and choose whether you are shooting into the rising/setting sun or away from it. For this shot, we parked looking into the rising sun. While the rest of the group was shooting in that direction, I walked up the road to a more north-looking direction. I did this to capture the sidelight that gives the scene a different look without the glare of the sun at the top of the image.
Dijon Mustard Sky - Colfax, Washington
Sorry about the title of this photo, but after almost 800 blog posts, unique titles are getting harder to come by. As you can see in this photo, not every field in the Palouse is green. We had discovered this field the day before, but this time it was later in the morning and the light wasn't ideal. We returned during the evening hours, and we had better light and much better clouds. We had originally thought that the field was a canola field, but discovered after shooting it that it was actually a dijon mustard field. It was a challenge for us shorter people to get a good view of the field (we couldn't find a high vantage from the road) so I climbed up onto the step of my rental car and shot over the car roof. While I would have loved to have been able to capture the full bottom of the tree, it was impossible from our (or any) vantage point.