Mountain Pool, Dark Hollow Falls

Photograph of a pool in a stream in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA

I love these mountain pools in Shenandoah National Park.  This one is downstream from Dark Hollow Falls but you can find scenes like this throughout the park.

Click on the image to see a larger version of the photograph.

Daisy Fleabane

macro photograph of Daisy Fleabane growing in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
Daisy Fleabane

This daisy fleabane was blooming along a hiking trail in Shenandoah National Park at the end of May.

Knowing “bane” loosely means something that is hated by or makes something’s existence more difficult, I thought fleabane was an interesting name for a wildflower so I looked it up.  Folklore has it these plants can be dried and used to keep fleas away.  That explains the name.

Dark Hollow Falls, 50mm Challenge

photograph of the base of a waterfall, Dark Hollow Falls, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA

When my friend and I reached the bottom of Dark Hollow Falls I decide to challenge myself a little.  I switched to a 50mm prime lense, rather than the two zoom lenses I had been using all morning.  My challenge was to only shoot with the prime lense for the rest of our hike.

When we arrived at this spot I immediately found myself frustrated because I couldn’t frame the entire waterfall with a 50mm lense.  It was simply too big and we couldn’t get very far away from it.  Knowing my wide angle zoom would easily frame the scene only made the whole situation more annoying.  Sticking to my self imposed challenge I started looking for different perspectives and ended up with this.  I am absolutely certain I would not have taken this photo if I was using the lense I normally shoot with.

Sometimes forcing yourself to do things differently can lead to different ways of seeing things.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid

Traditions De France

photograph of Traditions De France store in Old Town Alexandria, VA

During the walking part of my commute through Old Town Alexandria I kept my eyes open for vivid images.  Normally I walk on the same side of the street as Traditions De France so I pass right by without really seeing it.  Viewed from across the street it really does make for a vivid image.

Blackberry Blossoms

photograph of wild blackberry blossoms in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA
Blackberry Blossoms

The bees in Shenandoah National Park were busy pollinating blackberry blossoms growing along the Dark Hollow Falls trail when I was last there.