Exploring Lake Ogwen
A lovely waterfall in Snowdonia National Park, in Wales…
When I was in Wales back in August, one particular area that I wanted to see was the valley around Lake Ogwen, in Snowdonia National Park. All the photos looked lovely and everything I read about the area made it sound just beautiful - and it was all correct. The area is gorgeous and I found all sorts of things to point the camera at. Not the least of which were several waterfalls, such as the one you see here. This was just under the bridge at one end of the lake where is spills into a lower valley.
Sunset in the Badlands
Sunset in the Badlands of South Dakota - another state visited!
I have wanted to visit the Badlands in South Dakota for a really long time. Having seen many pics of the place - and being a huge fan of the Springsteen song, too - I just had to see it and photograph it for myself. So a few weeks ago I took off on a road trip with my daughter. It spanned about 9 days and we covered 3100 miles. It was awesome, but boy did I get a little tired of all the driving. Regardless, we made it and I took some shots that I like, including this one that I am sharing today. Enjoy!
A hike through Johnston Canyon
A trio of waterfall photos from the amazing Johnston Canyon, outside of Banff, Canada...
A must see spot when you are in Banff!
As you have heard me say before, Banff is magical. That entire area is a dream for photography and nature lovers. Everything is beautiful, and it's all pretty close too. Johnston Canyon is about a 30 minute drive from the town of Banff, and well worth every minute.
As the name implies, it's a canyon with a gorgeous river running through it. You hike a trail alongside the river for about 1.5 hours or so (I can't remember exactly, but it's uphill and you stop every 20 feet for a photo!) until you reach the large waterfall at the top.
This was my 3rd visit there in my lifetime, and I would go again today if I could. There is an interesting view at every turn as you wind your way up the trail through the canyon, following this beautiful river the entire time. Stop and take photos, sit and have a snack, and just enjoy this incredible location.
The Natural Bridge
An interesting little stop in British Columbia...so much beauty there!
Found this little gem in British Columbia, and I'm so glad that I stopped!
After we left Banff, we headed towards Vancouver with a planned visit to Emerald Lake en route. I had seen some amazing pics of Emerald Lake and since it was just a short detour off the highway it made total sense to check it out.
It was well worth it (and I just realized I haven't edited those pics yet), but upon heading back to the highway we saw a sign for the Natural Bridge and decided to pop in there and see what it was.
Basically, it's where a river has eroded rock to sort of make a bridge across the river with the water running under/through the rock. It's beautiful, and I'm glad we stopped. It was also crowded as hell, but then again this was high summer season. While I didn't dare walk out there as this young lady did, I certainly found a few spots to take it all in (and take some photos, too).
A tree, a fence and a camera
This is actually an old image that I posted a long time ago. No, I am not out of new photos to share - in fact I still have thousands to go, and some upcoming travel that will yield me even more. In this case, I came across this photo and wanted to approach it a little differently than I did the first time - using Nik Silver Efex Pro - which is fairly new to me but which I have quickly decided is awesome!
I caught this image outside of Jackson Hole, WY several years back while on a guys’ trip up there to see Yellowstone - which was amazing. It was a fabulous trip and despite having very limited photography knowledge at the time, I came back with some keepers. This is one of them.
Here is the originally posted version, which was in color:
Red leaf
I nearly stepped on this little guy. I was hiking around in the Bull Creek Greenbelt, which is near where I live in Austin, and found a little creek running by with all these colorful leaves on the ground. I was setting up for another shot, and happened to look down and see this one red leaf all by his lonesome. So, of course, I took the picture....what else would I do? I used HDR Efex Pro on this single exposure to grunge it up a little, cause I like that sort of thing!
Biking to the dam
Mountain biking is fun, and it is something I used to do a lot here in the old days, though Austin isn't really known for its mountains. I remember wanting to be somewhere mountainous so I could do some "real" mountain biking. So when I was in Denver recently and was presented with the opportunity, I jumped at it. We were all in Denver for work purposes and got a free morning for this little adventure. I brought the camera, of course, but there was no place for a tripod, which was fine. It was about 6 miles round trip, which feels longer when you are going uphill but the return trip down was all coasting! The turn around point was at this dam, the name of which escapes me, but everyone stopped for water and Power Bars, while I snuck off to explore the sights with my camera. I was interested in this dam, but as you can see on the left side there was a stinkin' fence keeping me from getting too close for my own good, so I had to settle for this shot from a distance. You could hear the roar of the water gushing out of the dam, and you can sort of see it there too. My favorite part is the spray of water hitting the rocks in the distance, and that lone tree leaning in for a closer look...
Nature's texture
Not an original title, but what else could I call it? I caught this one while hiking in the Barton Creek Greenbelt here in Austin, one of my favorite places in town. I used to spend countless hours out here when I was younger and am glad to be getting back there on a semi-regular basis these days. This shot is more experimental in nature - just trying a narrow focus with some depth of field and an attempt to accentuate the texture. It's sort of a variation of macro, I guess. Anyways, it's fun to experiment and change things up a bit.
Fragile
I do love shooting macros and continue to experiment with this photographic style. I have found that I can get pseudo-macro results with my 18-200 lens by putting it in manual focus, instead of auto-focus. For some reason I can get closer to the subject in manual, within 12 inches or less. On auto-focus I can only get within 18 inches or so, which just doesn't cut it for a macro. I am sure there is some technical explanation for that but I don't know it! In this case though I used my Hoya Macro Filters, which I enjoy quite a bit and you can read my review of them here: http://www.nomadicpursuits.com/hoya-macro-filter-review/
Westcave Preserve
Westcave Preserve is an Austin city park that lies south and west of the city. It is a beautiful place. I had the good fortune to get invited by my buddy Pete Talke of Places2Explore to go on a photo tour there. It was a nice morning and we met there early to get a good start on some HDR photo work. We hiked down sort of into a canyon and then you come across the grotto. There is a ~40 foot tall waterfall that cascades over the cliff and into a beautiful pool of water. It is gorgeous and made more beautiful by the fact that you only drove a little while to get there. It reminds me of Oregon or Washington, sort of like a rainforest feel to it. There are ferns growing everywhere and it is so green. I had to take down the green color in the photo because it was overwhelming. It's really that green there! If you are ever in Austin, I recommend a visit!
This is a 5 exposure HDR taken at f/11 with exposures from 0 to -4. I merged them into an HDR in Photomatix and made some adjustments in PSE and Aperture. Enjoy!
Red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk is a beautiful creature, and my favorite bird. I have seen them a couple of times in the wild, but never had my camera handy. In this case, we were at a NatureFest of some sort in a small town outside of Austin, and there was a gentleman there who rescued injured birds of prey. He had an eagle, several hawks and some owls too. He had actually trained some of the birds and did demonstrations, showing their skills in catching moving objects and things like that. It was pretty interesting and I was glad to have my camera on me that day.
Snoqualmie Falls
Well, today is a two post day I guess. Snoqualmie Falls lies about a 30 minute drive outside of Seattle and I highly recommend it. I have been a few times and never tire of seeing it. The Salish Lodge sits above it and provides some excellent views, and is a darn nice hotel in its own right. You can also walk down a nice trail to the bottom of the falls, and feel the mist on your face. The only problem with that is that you have to walk back up! But at least your mind will be filled with all the wonderful scenery you just enjoyed!
From Wikipedia: Snoqualmie Falls is a 268 ft (82 m) waterfall on the Snoqualmie River between Snoqualmie and Fall City, Washington, USA. It is one of Washington's most popular scenic attractions, but is perhaps best known internationally for its appearance in the cult television series Twin Peaks. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the Falls every year, where there is a two acre (8,000 m²) park, an observation deck, and a gift shop.
This is a single shot taken at f/4 from the observation deck which is (quite obviously) placed way up on the side of a cliff. It gives a wonderful view of the falls though! I made some minor adjustments in PSE and Aperture.
Coyote in the wild
Driving through Yellowstone, especially the Lamar Valley, it is darn near impossible NOT to see wildlife. There are animals everywhere. I imagine it is like being on the Serengeti or someplace in Africa, except with snow. In this case, we were driving along and this coyote literally ran across the road in front of us. Of course, we all immediately dove for our cameras, so I am not sure who had the wheel at that point, but the chances of hitting another car are slim to none when you haven't seen one in hours. This guy ran up the snow embankment after crossing the road, and I figured my chance to capture him was gone, but he came through some brush and into a little clearing, and...paused. It was great. It was like he wanted to get his picture taken, except that he didn't look at us. I guess he smelled dinner on the wind, and who doesn't want a warm meal when it's so cold outside?
Haunted by waters
Like many folks, I saw the movie "A River Runs Through It", and though I am not a skilled fisherman, I do enjoy wetting a line sometimes. I am drawn to water, not just for the photographic qualities it possesses but also as a student of nature and a member of the human race. It is mesmerizing and captivating. It refreshes my soul, especially running water. There is something about the solitude and the calm consistent flowing of the water that speaks to all of us.
"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters." - from A River Runs Through It
This is the Guadalupe River, in Central Texas, with all the glory of fall represented in its colors. It is shaded by many pecan and cypress trees, which also provide a home for a lot of Spanish Moss, hanging on and swinging in the wind. Believe it or not, this river is also a pretty good trout stream, though it is not a natural occurrence but rather the result of annual stockings. It is spring fed which keeps the water nice and cool, good for both the tourists and the fish, though I am not sure how many survive over the course of our long hot summer (the fish, that is).
Flutter by
I popped over to Zilker Botanical Gardens today so that I could take a few shots. There are some interesting things to shoot there. While I was finishing up one of my HDR shots, I noticed a flower bed behind me, and this butterfly was flitting (flittering?) around, looking for the best place to land. He finally made a choice, and I quickly got in place to snap a few. I thought all the colors were awesome...