Rock Creek Park Redux

A few weeks ago, had a beautiful end to a relaxing Thanksgiving week - another hike in a different part of Rock Creek Park.  

Rock Creek Park Fall Colors

Although today's wind may have blown down all the leaves, last weekend Rock Creek Park still had some beautiful color left.  Always thankful to have such a beautiful spot so nearby.  

Shelburne Farms

A beautiful day for a gentle hike at Shelburne Farms, Vermont at the beginning of October.  The maple trees were just turning red, the light touching Lake Champlain was mesmerizing and the mountains in the backdrop calming. 

Little Devils Stairs - A Very Wet Hike

A few weeks ago, I hiked the aptly named Little Devils Stairs trail in Shenandoah National Park with a friend.  According to one website, there are 11 stream crossings of Keyser Run in the 2 miles (and a nearly 1,800 feet climb).  And after the torrential rain in the preceding days, not one of these crossings was passable using the usual rock-hopping method.  The stream was running fast and furious and all the rocks were at least partially submerged.  I ended up, for the most part, just walking straight through, with my feet wetter than I could imagine.  It was a cold and foggy (and eventually rainy) day, which made for slippery rocks but it was really beautiful.  A great pre-Halloween hiking adventure.  

Free-Floating Fireworks

Although neither my cats nor I liked the noisy neighborhood firecrackers (one cat was hiding under the bed, poor thing), the main show on the mall from my roof was fun (for me, not the cats).  From my angle, the Washington Monument was off to the left and not much foreground for the fireworks... they're free-floating here.

 

 

Anacostia River Abstraction

 The Anacostia River has its own beauty and although there is still too much trash in it, it's been improving over the past several years.  This view is from the Anacostia River Trail in Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.  

Walking Around Town: Raindrops

 Earlier in the week, went for a cleansing rainy walk where my theme was clear - raindrops on flowers. 

 

Worth waking up early for!

Partial eclipse at sunrise with a crescent sun rising through the clouds, from the roof of my building this morning.  Very cool! 

Reflections of

More photos from my recent wintry visit to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, including the nearby Kenilworth Park.  

Off-season at Kenilworth

I've been to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens many times over the years when the water lilies and lotus are in full bloom in the heat of summer.  Now I've been there in the cold of winter and while perhaps less dramatically showy, it was still a beautiful spot and without the gross hot humidity and without the crowds.  A welcome boost to a week of the winter blahs.

Snowy walk

Last weekend got the first accumulation of snow in DC in two years or so.  Took so many photos but have had so little time to go through them.  This one captures how I was feeling about the snow - it made the ordinary streets in my neighborhood look more magical and beautiful.  

Seeing in Black & White

I've only dabbled in black and white photography over the years, mostly from way back when I was taking darkroom classes and only printed in black and white.  This photo was from my snowy walk last month up in Maryland and it is the first time I've ever won anything for a B&W -- a third place in a photo club competition!  

Earlier this week I sat in on a talk about black and white photography earlier sponsored by a different photo club, the first in a series of five.  There is something very satisfying about stripping out distractions and focusing on the simplicity of a B&W image.  Light, shape, texture, form, composition.  

It's silly but I keep thinking about the less literal meaning of seeing things in black and white.  No nuances; things are either good or evil, right or wrong.  Life, though, is messy and complicated and usually not able to be stripped down and simplified.  But a photo can be and I'm looking forward to playing with this some more.

Icy Triad

Honoring MLK

Since the entire mall is on lock-down -- with a separate text this morning announcing that the Martin Luther King memorial is closed today -- thought I'd revisit the vault to find one of the memorial.  This one is from a sunrise shoot in March 2012 when the cherry blossoms were peaking (but the sun was nowhere to be found).  Feeling angry but hoping there is still hope for his legacy.

 

Otter escape!

Oh my, I couldn't have asked for a better escape from the madness in DC surrounding the recent insurrection (gheez, never thought I'd be writing that in my photo blog), upcoming inauguration and what not.  Greeted by a river otter!  It was so gracious to pose for the passerbys in nearby Huntley Meadows park in Northern Virginia.  I'm still smiling.  

Profile shot

"Hey, look at me!"

Yum, fish!