Picture of the Day - 8/15/2010

Blackwater Falls, West Virginia - Sheila and I are falling in love with West Virginia and all the multitude of back country roads the state offers. West Virginia is nearly 80% forested, making it the third-most-forested state in the U.S. We spent the day traveling through many of the forest service roads in the Monongahela National Forest and throughout the central part of the state; visiting 50-foot high Blackwater Falls S.P. (pictured), Kumbrabow S.F., Holly River S.P. and Summersville Lake WMA, where we're camped for the night. Most of the back roads wound under thick hardwood forest canopies and breaking out into the sunlight took a while for our eyes to adjust. The roads were also very narrow, creating a challenge when meeting the (thankfully) few other approaching vehicles. Pulling a 25-foot trailer along these twisty roads took full concentration and added to the challenge! The scenic rewards were well worth the effort, though. Tomorrow, we'll visit some of the old coal mining region in the southern part of the state and then head through eastern Kentucky.

Picture of the Day - 8/10/2010

Wildflowers in Rain - Today was a work day, so no pictures taken, except for a very good friend of mine, who was holding his retirement party at Agilent in Delaware. So, I'm including a shot Sheila took in Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains several days ago. It was raining at the time and this field full of wildflowers was just begging to be photographed. How could we turn down that request? Our business is finished here in the east, so it's westward ho!

Picture of the Day - 8/9/2010

Killing Fields - We visited the battlefield around the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg today. All is calm and the air is warm and humid today, but almost exactly 147 years ago, this was the site of one of the most savage battles of the American Civil War. In three days (July 1-3, 1863) over 50,000 American soldiers died. General Lee, who headed up the rebel forces, made several poor strategic decisions which ultimately changed the course of the war. General Mead, who headed the union forces, had managed to establish a stronghold on high ground around Cemetery Ridge, south of town, which was able to withstand wave after wave of rebel forces. Today, there remains hundreds of lonely cannons and howitzers, as well as uncounted monuments of various kinds. The well-equiped visitor center has auto tour guides, which explain the various points of interest. This reference has a good explanation of the battle details. http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/battle.htm

Picture of the Day - 8/8/2010

Humpback Bridge, Western Virginia - This covered bridge is located off I-64 and US-60, near the town of Covington in western Virginia. Built of hand-hewn lumber in 1835, this 100-foot long single span bridge is unique in that the arch was built in. The center is about four feet higher than the ends. This may be the only one like it in the U.S. In 1953, it was refurbished and five acres of land was purchased for a wayside and picnic area.

Picture of the Day - 8/7/2010

Blue Ridge Parkway, NC - This shot was taken near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. A little bit of fog just adds a bit of mystery. The Parkway was started as a CCC project during the 1930s and finished finally in 1987. It travels along the ridge-line of the Appalachian Mountains stretching from the Great Smoky Mountains NP in the south to Shenandoah NP in Virginia to the north, some 469 miles long. We started at the southern terminus and proceeded northward, with the thought to complete the trip in two days - wrong! After three painful hours, finally terminating in Ashville, NC, we decided to bail. Maybe it was the time of year...but, everything looked the same after a while. The road has very few straight sections, so you're always turning the wheel and requiring full concentration. It's mentally fatiguing, not to mention a bit boring, as you view the same mix of eastern trees and viewpoints with little else of interest. Reminded me of the movies Ground Hog Day or The Truman Show, where everything keeps repeating over and over. Yup, same view...yup, same view... Maybe we've been on the road too long? I suspect the Parkway needs to be experienced in smaller chunks over a much longer time period - and over many different seasons. Fall color here would be spectacular. Anyway, we continued from Ashville up I-81 to the Natural Bridge site, where we're camped the night. Tomorrow, Shenandoah NP.

Picture of the Day - 8/6/2010

Old Growth Forest, Great Smoky Mountains NP - We spent the day in Great Smoky Mountains NP, traveling north from the town of Cherokee, on the main highway towards Gatlinburg, TN. The Smoky Mountains include five main forest ecosystems. Shown here is the cove hardwood forest, consisting of beech, yellow birch, sugar maple, white basswood, yellow poplar, magnolia, hickory and eastern hemlock. Created through land acquisitions through the 1920s through 30s, Great Smoky Mountain NP is among the top five most-visited national parks.

Picture of the Day - 8/5/2010

Dragonfly near pond, SC - There were allegedly alligators in the pond near where we camped at Point South, SC, just across the border from Savannah. We didn't see any, but there was plenty of other critters around - deer, birds, very large spiders (I'll spare you) and these dragonflys flitting about. What struck me was the ability to see the delicate venous structure in the wings. Taken with my 100-400mm mounted on the Canon Rebel T2i.

Picture of the Day - 8/4/2010

Iguana, Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Not much in the way of photography today, as we moved from near Savannah to the town of Cherokee on the Cherokee reservation, at the southern border of the Great Smoky Mountains NP. This was our "camp host" during our stay at the RV park / marina near downtown Ft. Lauderdale. It's not unusual to see these 2-3-foot long reptiles hunting insects in the shrubbery and in the trees. They are also great swimmers. I never saw one, but Sheila was able to capture several on "film".

Picture of the Day - 8/3/2010

Morris Island Light, South Carolina - This is the third lighthouse at this location just outside Charleston Harbor. The first was constructed in 1673 by the early settlers and consisted of a "fier" ball of oakum and pitch that was elevated by an iron basket. King George III ordered a more permanent structure and the first stones were laid in May, 1767. The 43-foot tower was replaced in the 1830s, but this one was eventually destroyed during the civil war. This present 150-foot tower was completed in 1876, but since then, the sea has encroached and erosion is endangering the stability. As you can see, there is a slight list towards the sea. Now owned by the state of South Carolina, the organization, Save the Light, Inc. (www.savethelight.org), is raising funds to continue stabilizing and restoring this lighthouse.

Picture of the Day - 8/2/2010

Savannah River Light - The Old Harbor Light, an ornamented cast-iron shaft flanked by several large ship anchors, stands in Emmet Park overlooking the Savannah River. In 1858, the Lighthouse Board erected the beacon, whose gas light shone from a focal plane of 77 feet, as an aid to ships entering Savannah's harbor. While it was decommissioned years ago, it is still lit by gas.

Picture of the Day - 8/1/2010

Sawgrass Marshland, Amelia Island, FL - We photographed three more lighthouses in northern Florida, but I hesitate to duplicate this day with more of the same. As we were photographing the Amelia Island light, we entered the Fort Clinch Park for a better view. Walking out to one of the viewpoints at the edge of the forest, I gazed out on this large expanse of sawgrass. Much of the southeastern coastal areas consist of this sawgrass marshland, which sustains a high concentration of fish, reptiles, amphibians and waterfowl. This time of year, though, many of the birds are elsewhere, but it's not uncommon to see an occasional egret or great blue heron wading around fishing. With the exception of the cacophony of tree frogs, the area seemed devoid of life. What struck me in this picture was the multiple hues of grasses, as well as the subtle diagonal water channels.

Picture of the Day - 7/31/2010

Hi All, back with you again, now that the engineering conference is over. Sheila, Foxie and I plan to drive up the east coast...photographing the lighthouses we've missed in other trips. Mainly, we're looking for those on the east coast of Florida and South Carolina. After that, it's off to the Smoky Mountain NP and the Blue Ridge Parkway, towards our most northerly destination in New Jersey, where I'll be presenting an engineering design seminar. Today, we searched out the light at Jupiter Inlet (north of Palm Beach) and the one shown here at Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach. We're camped at the KOA just outside Daytona.

I've included two views of the Ponce lighthouse, because the night time shot was so striking. Ponce is Florida's tallest lighthouse at 175 feet. 203 steps takes you to the top for fabulous views of the Atlantic coastline and the renowned Daytona Beach. Built in 1887, it is one of the few light stations that retains all the original outbuildings and keeper's dwelling. The museum contains one of the largest collection of Fresnel lenses in the world. More info at www.ponceinlet.org.

Picture of the Day - 7/23/2010

Spirit of the Suwannee Music Camp, Live Oak, FL - One of our favorite places to stay in the panhandle area of Florida is the 800-acre Spirit of the Suwannee Music Camp, located just north of Live Oak and situated right along the Suwannee River. While they specialize in various camp experiences for young musicians, they are also open to travelers and have a couple large camping loops with full hookups. One reason we like it is all the shade! The forests are evergreen pines with Spanish moss draped around. Several music concerts are held here, as well. During the winter months, you can visit the bat house and watch thousands of them take off every dusk. They can also accommodate horse campers. During the winter months, they have a small village with various artisans selling their crafts. More info: www.musicliveshere.com.

Picture of the Day - 7/22/2010

Tundra at Sunset, Montgomery, AL - Well, I eventually had to show you our tow vehicle! It's the only thing that hasn't broken on this trip! The last couple days have been eventful, but little in the way of photography was done. We stopped to visit Sheila's cousin, Jeane, who recently retired from the USAF. She had spent the last five years as an AWACS officer, running battlefield strategies in various parts of the world. She's also a talented artist, mainly painting horses (her specialty) and other wildlife. We hit it right off; comparing recent photos. The next day, we headed across the ROUGH roads of Arkansas and (yesterday) managed to blow out a trailer tire, which I replaced in 102-degree heat. Then, some time later, a leaf spring broke on the other side...something I didn't realize for at least a couple hours. Finally, limped into our next camp in West Memphis, AR, right along the Mississippi River. Sure glad the A/C in the trailer works as well as it does! The next day - today, actually - we were able to find a shop to replace the leaf spring (bought an extra!) and replace four tires - one of which was about ready to blow out. They had scrubbed badly, wearing off much of the tread, due to the catywumpus angle of the axle. During the time they were replacing the spring, I noticed that one end of the bracket holding our 40 gallon water tank had torn off from the frame, so they were able to weld it back. Lesson: avoid I-40 through Arkansas! Hopefully, we'll make it to Florida and more photos!

Picture of the Day - 7/21/2010

Sunset, Tucumcari, NM - We camped here the first real day of our road trip to Florida. The next two days, we'll be visiting Sheila's cousin, Jeane near Oklahoma City. I have a week-long photo assignment in Ft. Lauderdale and we have a week to get there. We'll head through Arkansas, through Memphis and down through Birmingham and Montgomery to the Florida Panhandle. The sunsets in the desert can be rather spectacular in the summer time, as there is a good chance for clouds this time of year. To get the sun this big, required a 300mm lens with my new Canon Rebel T2i (1.6X crop factor), for a total effective 480mm.

Picture of the Day - 7/20/2010

Hummingbirds in Camp - Getting away a little late from the wildflower tour, we ended up camping in Tucumcari, NM - on our way to visit Sheila's cousin, Jeane. A travel day today, so not much of interest taken. Before we left Ouray,  Sheila spent some time photographing the hummingbirds at the bird feeder she had set up. The Canon S3 IS compact camera does a great job freezing the wings, so long as they are in the up or down position. Here's a couple feeding. As soon as she hung it up, the hummers just mobbed the feeder!

Picture of the Day - 7/19/2010

Wall from Miner's Cabin - This was a travel day for us, as we head for Florida and a week-long photo assignment in Ft. Lauderdale. So, I'll pull one more image from our collection taken yesterday in Gold King Basin. Just outside the turnoff to the basin, is the ghost town of Alta - now a collection of old cabins in various states of collapse. After the group finished photographing the flowers, we spent some time exploring around the old town. I was particularly attracted to the patterns in the old wood siding.

Picture of the Day - 7/18/2010

Indian Paintbrush - We took the tour group to a new wildflower location today - Gold King Basin - near Telluride. This little-visited wildflower hotspot is more lush than Yankee Boy, but is smaller in size. The colors, though, are fabulous. This yellow hybridized indian paintbrush is one of four varieties that grow there. Besides indian paintbrush, other flowers included larkspur, sneezeweed, geraniums, large quantities of columbine and many others. We ended the day with a group image critique and dinner. We all had fun and our tour participants went away with a wonderful collection of wildflowers and Colorado scenics. Can't wait for the fall color tours!

Picture of the Day - 7/17/2010

Today was the first full tour day for wildflowers! We started off with world-famous Yankee Boy Basin, which is a few miles from Ouray, CO. There was a large variety, but typically not as dense as other areas. Following lunch and a critique session, we headed off to Mineral Basin, where this picture was taken. The flowers there were a lot more lush than Yankee Boy, with several new species I'll need to look up. Tomorrow, more wildflowers.

Picture of the Day - 7/16/2010

Wildflower "Zoom-Blur" - OK, call me crazy, but I do like to experiment with abstract art, as many of you know from past pictures of the day. Maybe one out of a hundred images turns out to my liking and this is one of the few that struck a responsive chord.I like how the reds balance the whites in this shot and that the focal point is dead-center. Zoom-blurs are created by adjusting for a slow shutter speed - maybe 1/8th of a second - and then you simply zoom your lens during the exposure. I normally start with the lens zoomed out and then zoom it in (towards the telephoto setting). Experimentation often helps. There are also "twist-blurs" and horizontal or vertical "nudges", but I'll spare you!