Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Giving Thanks

Taking a moment to give thanks for the things that keep me sane, such as exploring a new trail in an old park with friends, both old and new.  For streams and leaves and colors and trees, and the joy of photographing it all.

Gateway Trail ~ Catoctin Mountain Park



Saturday, November 7, 2015

fall fun at sugarloaf

On a recent outing to Sugarloaf mountain, had fun capturing the fall foliage, both straight up and playing with the picture-taking to create different effects.  






Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Lost River State Park

While life may have me feeling a little lost right now, hiking at Lost River State Park perked me right up.  A state park in West Virginia not too far from the George Washington National Forest, this nearly 11 mile hike with 2,200 feet of elevation gain was a perfect way to spend a fall day.  Definitely worth the 6:15 a.m. start to the day and the 2+ hour drive.







Sunday, October 4, 2015

Remember September?

Although the summer weather seemed to drag this year, September blew by in a fast fall breeze.

Early in September I did a 10 mile hike along the Catoctin trail in Maryland, picking up from the end point of August's hike, and ending just outside Cunningham falls state park.













Then, had a lovely stroll with my friend Maureen around Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in the middle of the month and remembered just how much i enjoy that park past its peak.







Sunday, August 23, 2015

Hiking. And then photography.

This weekend was an even balance of hiking and photography.  Saturday I got up early to join a group that hiked from Gambrill State Park in Maryland along the Catoctin Trail.





Sunday I got up even earlier to join a (new to me) photography group that was shooting sunrise at at Meadowlark Gardens in Virginia. 





I still wanted to stop and take a few more pictures on the hike, and I still got a little impatient standing around and trying to take pictures of hummingbirds at the gardens (with seriously inadequate equipment compared to others there whose lenses were on steroids).  You can kinda see one below.

But I do feel slightly more in balance at the moment.  



Tuesday, July 28, 2015

kenilworth photo walk

Last weekend I did something I've long said I was going to do - led a group on a "photography hike."  This one at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.  It was more of a stroll and the photography wasn't too serious.  But quite enjoyable, and the heat held off until later in the day.  Had fun trying out a relatively new telephoto lens, which did pretty well for hand holding and no tripod.

 The lotus were in full bloom and quite tall.
And had fun trying to capture the heron catching a fish 
(i didn't, though caught him stretching his neck). 

  The water lilies were past peak, but still a few beauties around.

 And dragonflies.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Catching up

Not much posting lately.  Late April through mid-May spent photographing national parks in Utah, and still haven't gone through those photos (!).....soon.  More catching up to do.

Before my trip, revisited the potomac heritage trail in Northern Virginia, with a one-way shuttle hike of 13 miles or so, scott's run to roosevelt island.  The bluebells were most definitely in full bloom!


 


And redbuds too.

And over Memorial Day weekend, explored a new (to me) hike in Shenandoah's central district, Bear Church Rock.


Very scenic, with a steep climb along a woodsy trail, leading to a scenic overlook.  

I especially enjoyed the beautiful Staunton River and its small falls along the way.