Mountain Stream, Dark Hollow Falls

photograph of a mountain stream and waterfall in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA

The fixed, hard stone provides an ideal path for water to rush down the mountain.  The stone may seem immobile and rigid but in time it will be defeated by the steady pounding of the water and the quiet, patience of the moss.  For now they share this space and offer a beautiful, peaceful spot to sit and rest.

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.

Three Amigos

photograph of three painted turtles on a log in a swamp

These painted turtles remind me of three friends posing for a portrait.  They were basking in the sun, soaking up some solar energy in the Great Dismal Swamp when I took this photo.

Tiny Forest

photograph of moss growing on a log in a swamp

The moss and saplings growing from this semi-submerged log make up a tiny little forest of their own.  A microcosm of the world around them.

Jones Run Cascade

photograph of a cascade along Jones Run in Shenandoah National ParkThis cascade along Jones Run in Shenandoah National Park provided an interesting photographic experience.  My friend was smart enough to stay at the top.  Despite my better judgement I decided to hike down a little farther from the trail.  Just as I was thinking I needed to be careful on the leaves and wet rocks, I stepped on a patch of wet moss covering a large, flat downward sloping stone.  As the moss gave way I began sliding down the rock face, watching my camera bounce off the stones beneath me and hoping I would be able to stop myself.  Fortunately my slide came to an end before I got to the actual waterfall, about 6 feet beyond the point from which I took this picture.

Quiet Place Among the Boulders

photograph of a cascade between boulders in Shenandoah National ParkA friend and I hiked a 6.6 mile loop in Shenandoah National Park, specifically to get photos of waterfalls.  Our hike passed three significant falls but this little cascade at the top of one of them yielded my favorite photo of the day.   It isn’t very dramatic and I think that’s what I like about it.  The image makes me think of a quiet, little, almost secret spot, you could visit to get away from the world for a little while.

Jones Run Falls Panorama

panoramic photograph of the Jones Run Falls in Shenandoah National ParkI stitched together 6 separate photos to create this panoramic view of the rock wall at Jones Run Falls in Shenandoah National Park.  The water seeping over the stone edifice makes it appear very dark, nearly black.  As with all of the photos on my blog, you can click on it to see a larger, more detailed image.