Ripples And Pebbles

photograph of ripples and rocks in the James River near Richmond, VA

I wanted to capture contrasts in this image.  The bright sunlight filling the upper right corner of the frame versus the dark shadows of the stones.  There’s also the serene, softly moving ripples on the water contrasting with the smooth but fixed and solid stones.

Sometimes we can find our duality in the simplest places.  Without hard there is no soft. Without bright there is no dark.

Brown Anole Cave

photograph of a brown anole on a rock

This brown anole was basking in the sun on the rocks.  There was a large gap in the rocks, a cave relative to the size of the lizard.  It never strayed too far from the safety of its hideout there.

River Cairns

photo of rocks stacked in the James River

During a walk along the James River I noticed these cairns out among the natural rock formations.  Perhaps they were put their by a paddler as a way to mark their take out point?

Stones Along the Shore

photograph of stones along the shoreline

This photograph was taken on Hog Island Wildlife Management Area, along the James River, near Surry, VA.  It was a cold February morning, just after dawn.  While the entire scene looks wet, it was actually frozen.  The sand along the shore was a hard as cement and the foam around the river stones had been turned to ice.

Forest Still Life

photograph of fallen bark, leaves and stones on the forest floorDuring a hike I noticed this piece of bark resting on stones by the side of the trail.  I was initially intrigued by the texture and patterns in the bark itself.  My first thought was to get a close up of the texture but when I noticed the bark was sitting between two shadows I thought it made for an interesting forest still life.

Doyles River Upper Falls

Photograph of the Doyles River Upper Falls in Shenandoah National ParkWhen I reached the upper falls on the Doyles River in Shenandoah National Park, the lighting was horrible.  The foreground and most of the photo above and to the left of the falls were bathed in bright, direct sunlight.  The falls and most of the photo to the right of them were in dark shadow.  So I bracketed like crazy and combined two of the resulting photos to produce this HDR image of the scene.

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.