Posts tagged “foliage”
Greenbrier Farm
Autumn is nearly upon us, so to get in the spirit I’ve been tinkering with a few photos taken a year ago that never made their way into my posting rotation. This was a roadside scene in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, a most beautiful part of our fair state.
Cornstalk Rd, Greenbrier County, WV
Backus Mountain Barn
Sifting through images from a photo expedition a few weeks back. I’m missing autumn already.
This image was made on a dreary day along a lonely country road in Fayette County, West Virginia.
Backus Mountain Road, Fayette County, WV
Laurel Creek #2
Another shot of Laurel Creek in Fayette County, WV, from a few weeks ago. This stream is part of the New River Gorge National River.
Fayette County, WV
Laurel Creek #1
Through the years I’ve spent countless happy hours fishing for trout in the mountain streams of West Virginia, but these days I’m more apt to be armed with a camera than a fishing pole when I’m in the area. This particular stream is fed by cold water from abandoned upstream coal mines, but instead of being the ecological disaster that you might expect it is in fact an excellent brown trout fishery.
Fayette County, WV
Glade Creek
This photograph was made a couple weeks ago along Glade Creek in New River Gorge National River, Raleigh County, WV. I’d like to get back to this location when there’s a better flow of water.
As I was setting this shot up I watched what I believe was a fisher darting among the rocks, a first for me. No photos though, he was too quick!
Raleigh County, WV
Barn and Maple
An image from early this morning in Putnam County, West Virginia.
I love photographing old barns, and of course a bit of autumn foliage never hurts.
Cunningham Road, Putnam County, WV
Middle Mountain Road
Additional hard drive diving produced these three images made in October of 2009 along Middle Mountain Road in Randolph County, WV. An early snow graced the higher ridges on this fine day and created conditions I felt privileged to have witnessed.
I’ve printed the first photograph shown below, but when I line them up I tend to go back an forth on which one I like best. If anyone viewing has a strong preference between the three I’d be anxious to hear from you.
Randolph County, WV
Autumn Carpet
I remember well how cold it was the day this image was made, wish we could pipe some into July of 2011.
I’ve been playing around with images from the past couple years, and occasionally coming across something worthy of posting. This image is an alternate take on one of my more popular recent efforts titled “Frosty Leaves”.
Tucker County, WV
Autumn Leaner
This is an image from this past fall that I recently rediscovered and processed. I had been on the fence in regard to the image when I first made it, but after the passage of some time I’m falling more on the side of “hey, I like it!”.
So, here it is, in all it pixelly glory, retrieved from the digital scrapheap and thrust into the faces of millions on the worldwide web. (Well, okay, perhaps more accurately thrust into the faces of close family and a couple friends.)
Randolph County, WV
Swinging Bridge
I’m not sure how common swinging bridges are elsewhere in the U.S., but I remember seeing quite a few of them as a kid growing up in West Virginia. Over time, however, their use seems to have dwindled, and nowadays you’re about as likely to run across a sasquatch.
Swinging bridges were so much fun to cross. The “deck” seemed to always be made of semi-rotten planks, with about half of those missing. And as you walked across you’d experience a vertigo-inducing rocking, swaying, sagging motion that seemed destined to sink the whole contraption into the watery depths. With each safe passage you’d swear a miracle had occurred, but looking back now I realize that I miss them.
The swinging bridge in the image below spans the Greenbrier River a couple miles downstream from Durbin, West Virginia. I wanted to relive some childhood memories and make a crossing, but unfortunately the bridge was private and posted aggressively as such.
Greenbrier River, West Virginia
Sarah C
Family cemetery along Lower Timberridge Road in Pendleton County, West Virginia.
The setting for this lovingly maintained old cemetery was just magnificent. Those who feel connected to the land that they live and work on surely must gain a certain peace of mind in knowing that their final resting place won’t take them away from home.
Pendleton County, WV
Twin Falls
Waterfall located along Glady Creek, just outside the boundary of Valley Falls State Park in Marion County, West Virginia.
Being relatively unfamiliar with Valley Falls State Park, I had no idea what sort of scenery might be found in its nether corners away from the well-known namesake falls along the Tygart River. One neat way I’ve found to discover hidden gems and unique sites wherever you may be is via geocaching. In this case I browsed my GPS to find nearby caches, and immediately became intrigued by one called “Glady Creek Waterfall Cache”. It was about a 0.9 mile hike from my parking spot, so off I went.
As it turns out this waterfall was well worth the hike. I spent an hour or so photographing and enjoying the general area. And, oh yeah, I found a geocache to boot! And I would never in a million years have known of this place’s existence if it weren’t for the fact that someone placed a geocache there.
So all you photographers out there might want to consider geocaching as a spin-off hobby. What better way to find scenic locations than to let the local people show them to you?
Valley Falls State Park, West Virginia
Valley Falls Trees
I love photographing trees but find them to be a difficult subject. Having separation between the trees and the background seems to simplify things a bit though, and in combination with nice lighting can make for an attractive image.
The image that follows was made at Valley Falls State Park in Marion County, West Virginia, on a recent cold autumn morning. Although similar in nature to my previous post, it has a bit of a different feel with the sky omitted and the smaller field of view (80mm vs. 28mm).
Valley Falls State Park, WV
Three Trees
Early morning at Valley Falls State Park in Marion County, West Virginia. The namesake waterfall is just visible in the background, but this image was all about the light and the trees.
Although Valley Falls is not one of the more well known state parks within West Virginia I can’t help but be impressed with the quality and variety of scenery to be found there. I recommend it highly for anyone in the area considering a visit.
Valley Falls State Park, WV.
Lilly Photography 