Welcome to the Wilderness

Deep Mountain Cathedral

We hiked down to the Falls of Seneca Creek. The temperature was cool. The water was flowing. The moss was slick. The Rhododendrons were blooming.

Once we reached the highest falls on Seneca Creek, we turned our attention downstream. The trail is no longer maintained much past the falls, so it is treacherous footing on the moss-covered rocks and steep, rocky hillsides. In fact a short distance below the falls there are remnants of an old bridge that once served the trail. It consists of several three inch diameter logs strapped together and lashed to some dead trees. The bridge runs about twelve feet, and its surface is so moss covered that it is nearly indistinguishable from the fallen trees that surround it. Walking on it looks like good way to break your neck.

With my camera in one hand and my tripod in the other, I climbed over a few cascades and waded my way down the stream for a couple hundred yards and found this little photograph. It is composed of three rows of eleven images. If you haven't already, click on it to see a bigger version. I count myself lucky if I get two or three great images in a year. This image is number three for the year along with Pointy Knob Waterfall, and The Rewards of Sleeping Late..

The Rewards of Sleeping Late

Thursday we took a little hike-bike trip out onto Roaring Plains and Flatrock Plains. We left the car at around noon and didn't return until about nine in the evening--officially dusk. Throughout the day, the thunder showers were rattling the valleys all around us as we hiked in the open highlands. We got wet on a few occasions, but the sun returned often enough to keep our spirits high. As we biked down the fire road to our car, we were rewarded with the stunning spectacle of the sun shining through foggy trees. Even though we were running out of daylight, I had to stop and catch a few photos of the sublime scene. If you can't get up early enough to catch the early morning light, the evening light certainly does look like a good alternative to me.

BIG NEWS!! It Rained on Dolly Sods

Weather on Dolly Sods is nothing, if it isn't fickle. We spent most of Saturday poking around on the sods, trying to avoid the numerous thundering downpours. One minute visibility would be a hundred yards, and the next, the sun would be poking out of the clouds. It made for some interesting photos. This panoramic was taken from the back of my jeep, with the rear door open and me perched with my camera protected from the drenching monsoon that stopped moments before.

Can You Spot The Owl?

Last weekend Martin invited us out to check-in on a family of Barred Owls living in a local park. I hadn't ever seen owls in the 'wilderness' of Northern Virginia, so I was in. We arrived Saturday afternoon around 4:30 and didn't leave until almost 8:00. I got a few nice shots, but nothing compared Martin's photos. While I didn't get the cool closeups like Martin, I focused on what I do best, I took panoramics of owls "in their natural habitat." Two rows of six images compose this image that I printed 20" x 35". The wind was blowing, so there were lots of parallax errors to be worked out, but because the image is so random and complex, it was easy to hide the issues.

On a related note, I think I need a longer lens. I am definitely feeling inadequate when shooting wildlife with Martin.

Maryland's Little Big Bend

Wandering was the name of the game last weekend. On our way home from Canaan Valley, we decided to take the scenic route. How many great days start with, "Why don't we take a scenic route?" First we crossed the Oldtown Maryland bridge. Sitting two feet off the water and just barely wide enough for one vehicle, this little wooden bridge is a gem. When we arrived on the Maryland side of the river, we were delightfully amused to find a tollbooth. "Fifty cents please."

After crossing the river, we had a choice, either backtrack to Cumberland and get on Route 68 East towards home, or take the scenic route through Greenridge State Forest. It didn't matter that our only map lacked road names. It didn't matter that we didn't have any sort of GPS. We just figured, head northeast, and we'll be fine. After an hour on the boulder-strewn off road vehicle (ORV) trail that was sized for ATVs and motor bikes, we emerged onto smooth dirt roads, and a beautiful panoramic view of the winding Potomac River. After a quick panoramic photograph stop, we were back on our way. Before leaving the state forest, we had a chance to take pictures in an abandoned nineteenth century cemetery, photograph ourselves posing inside hollow tree, get bitten by the seasons first mosquitoes, spook a couple of horses, and get our jeep good and dirty.

Pointy Knob Waterfall

Spring is the time to see the waterfalls of the highlands around Canaan Valley. On Sunday morning, after an evening of steady rain, I grabbed my gear and tiptoed across Red Run with my camera hung on one shoulder and my trusty photo backpack of gear. A short ten minute hike up the Pointy Knob Trail found the creek wet and wonderful--you know, originally that was going to be the state motto before they came up with wild and wonderful, but they changed their mind because they thought the prurient connotations of "wet and wonderful" would turn away tourists. Well this little creek was "Open for Business." ("Open for Business" is the newest motto of West Virginia. Several groups are trying to get it changed back to Wild and Wonderful.)

This shot was taken in four rows of nine images for a total of thirty-nine images. The resulting image is 143 megapixels. What you are seeing here is a crop of that image. As I write this, it is printing 24" x 48". This image is huge. If you didn't already, click on the image above to see one that is a bit larger. In the fully printed version, you can see each tiny follicle of green moss on the rocks.

I don't generally talk about photographic equipment here, but this was shot with my new favorite lens. I have been carrying my Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L for about three months. This lens is a tank. It weighs almost two pounds. I have never seen a lens so sharp and colorful. I loathe to remove this lens from my camera

I shot the image with a polarizer to reduce glare off the Rhododendron leaves. I have concluded that using a polarizer with the shiny leaves of Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel is essential to preserving the deep green colors of the image. As a result, I generally need to use a tripod because of the loss of light. That's okay, because when I shoot panoramics, I generally use a spherical ballhead mounted on a tripod anyway.

Whew! I photo-geeked-out there pretty good. Sorry for the diatribe. While the sun never showed itself on Sunday, the photos that resulted from an overcast day were excellent. This time of year is better than you might think for photography in the highlands. Although most trees are still bare, with only the smallest buds showing, the evergreen Rhododendrons are deep green and lush. So this time of year shows them off to their fullest without having to compete. On Sunday, everything was damp and saturated with color. The even lighting made textures leap out at you.

White's Ferry Canal Ride

The flowers were out in full force along the C&O Canal towpath between White's Ferry and Brunswick. Along some stretches, it is no exaggeration to say that the ground was carpeted with flowers. The ground-cover was lush and green, but most of the trees didn't have too many leaves yet. This combination made for some beautiful views through the woods. The brown tree trunks contrasted sharply with the lush green leaves of the ground-cover.

The Virginia Bluebells were mixed in with a white, six-leaved flower that I couldn't identify. Nevertheless, the scenery was stunning. As an extra bonus, I also have to say, this stretch of the towpath was in excellent condition. For our first outing of the season, our posteriors were appreciative.

Springtime in Dallas???

I have been traveling to Dallas for seven years. Over that time, I have learned some lessons about Texans. I remember asking my local coworkers, "Is there anywhere I can go for a hike or walk....you know a quick after-work jaunt?" My question was always met with blank stares. And then, here is the kicker.

"I suppose you could go to the mall and walk around there." Then they turned and walked away like I was a leper. That is Dallas in a nutshell. Mall-walking is considered getting out for some exercise.

So after spending so many years of evenings in Dallas at the mall, or the office, I finally decided to find some nature...in Dallas!

I found White Rock Lake near downtown Dallas. I got some suspicious looks from the inhabitants. Some might even say they looked incredulous at me walking around the lake.

With few exceptions, it was hard to capture an image without concrete of some sort in the image. I guess I shouldn't expect too much. This was, after all, the city of Dallas, at least the spandex-clad cyclists didn't run me over.

I promise, my next entry will have some truly wild places. No more cities, for now.

A Different Kind of Landscape

We spent a few days in New York City. Just below Wall Street, I stumbled into the Waterfront area. I liked the worn signs on the side of these buildings. Someday I will need to write about how I got the panoramic projection to not suck, but I kind of like the shot. Keeping lines straight and appropriately parallel in a panoramic can be difficult, especially when the shot was taken handheld like this one was.

Now this shot breaks all the rules of panoramic photography, but I still think it is cool. I was walking through the East Village just snapping a shot every ten steps or so. Then I put together the results. There are all sorts of little misalignments and errors in the panoramic, but in the East Village, I don't think anyone would notice. I also uploaded a bigger version if you are interested.

Kara pointed out this little doorway as we were walking around West Village. There isn't much to say about this one except "cool!" I really like the low-key composition. Part of me wishes I had taken that darn business card off the intercom, but hey, you can't get everything.

This little panoramic was taken in the Trinity Church cemetery at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway. There were a number of really cool headstones dating back to the late 18th century and the Revolutionary War period. It seems that the cemetery never sees much light in the shadow of all the financial district's skyscrapers. I could make a cynical comment about the irony of a church in the business district, but I won't. It was a really cool church and cemetery--for a guy who doesn't go to church.

When Panoramics Go Bad...Because the Photographer Can't Count

B&W Panoramic From Eastern Shore of MD

Rocky Ridge Autumn

Has autumn sprung on Dolly Sods? Well as of Saturday past, I would say yes. October 6th saw some pretty peak lookin' leaves to me. In one day of hiking around in the north end of Dolly Sods, we must have chatted with 25 people, many of them backpackers. I think everyone was pretty shocked by the high temperatures. It was about 80 degrees fahrenhiet. We started our excursion around noon and hiked until just after sunset. The afternoon light was doing a wonderful job of illuminating the leaves. There were large puffy clouds that occasionally provided some diffused shady light, but otherwise an ideal day.



We made a big loop with the Raven Ridge trail, Beaver View trail, and Dobbin Grade trail. Getting back to the parking lot at the top of FR80 took us almost ten miles. The first pano (above) was taken along the Rocy Ridge trail. Second one (below) was taken overlooking a meadow near the Beaver View trail. This shot is one of those that I really didn't think would work. Everything I have ever learned says, avoid haze and don't shoot directly into the sun. Well this shot was taken directly into the sun and through an afternoon haze. I like the way the dark Red Spruce trees are fringed with light green with scattterred yellows and reds mixed throughout.

Great Falls Panoramics

Pointy Knob Trail

Foggy Sods in Morning

Hey! You Changed TrailPixie.net

High Falls of the Cheat River

This weekend we hiked the High Falls trail in the Shavers Fork area. It was a more strenuos trail than I expected. It was all either steep up or steep down. At the top of the ridge, there was a primeval area of hemlock, ferns and mosses.

When we arrived at the High Falls, we realized that there was a scenic railroad that stopped at the falls. So as we made our way down to the falls to eat lunch, we were accompanied by forty-some-odd passengers from the train. That was when I fell (see "A Beautiful Place to Break a Camera" below). We sat on the rocks and watched people rapidly descend on the location like they were paratroopers at the beaches of Normandy. I think I took a picture for a man and woman who were probably dating or something. THEN, as quickly as they arrived, everyone was gone. It was peaceful. I made some pictures. We ate lunch. Some hikers came through and took a swim.

A Beautiful Place to Break a Camera

So I am standing at the top of the High Falls of the Cheat in Shavers Fork area of the Mon Forest. I turn to walk away from the edge and lose my footing on some mossy, wet rock. As I am falling on top of my Canon 30D, the following thoughts flash through my head...

My 17-40 L lens doesn't have a UV filter to protect it from this fall. I don't really have any time to protect the camera with my hands, arms or face, so I guess this lens is toast. I have always been in the camp of people that figures if you spend money to get a good lens, you shouldn't put a cheap piece of glass in front of it just in the name of protection. I always say that if you don't take your camera into risky places, then you will never get a great shot. It is only a matter of time before any piece of well loved camera equipment gets damaged or broken.....OUCH...skin on my elbow is scrapping off....OUCH, the lens is shattered. I guess I am gonna have to get that 24-105 that I have been considering. Let's have a look...Damn!!

The lens wasn't shattered, even though I came down hard on the bottom of the lens. It still seems to take sharp photos. No damage was done to the best of my knowledge.

...and to add insult to injury, I fell directly in front of an observation deck with a bunch of horrified people looking on. One man offered me a paper towl he was carrying. I used it to dry off the camera. I think he meant it for my bleeding elbow.

Old Pictures Rock!

I was going back over pictures I have shot over the last few years. It never ceases to amaze me how much my perception of an image can dramatically change over the course of a few years. Today I am going back into the Trailpixie archives to drag out two images from last summer.

The first image is taken along the C&O Canal, about a mile southeast of Great Falls. The day was hazy and humid. I recall feeling disappointed about my pictures from the day. I came home and didn't even look at them for a week or two. When I did, I found this panoramic of a little island with a cedar tree on it. I thought it was okay. Now I look at it and think it is a wonderful little vignette from nature. What do you think?

This second picture was taken on an outing to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We had planned to go kayaking at Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, but there were a bunch of storms kicking around. So, we just knocked around Chestertown, Rock Hall and the refuge for most of the day. We had a really good time, but again, the weather wasn't cooperating for picture makin'. I did manage to snap a few panoramics of wildflowers. At the time, I was totally obsessed with catching the dozens of butterflies that were in the image, but those little buggers just wouldn't sit still. So, when I came home, I wasnt't too enthusiastic about the images I shot. A year later, I think I was being a bit self-indulgent and crabby. This image is pretty nice. I hope you like it.

Got a Real Nice Email

Adam, who lives in the shadow of Dolly Sods, wrote me a nice email last week that I thought I would share. He also sets me straight on a the names of a few places. I will need to update some pages here at Trailpixie.net to get the corrections straight. Here, you can read his email yourself...pretty interesing.

May 29, 2007
Hi, My name is Adam and I live under Dolly Sods.. My Family is the reason there is a road from the Maysville side to the top of Dolly Sods because of a handshake deal way before my time between the Gov and my Great Grandad... I am an active Bear Hunter and Hiker of Dolly Sods and Dolly Sods has been a Fascination Obsession and its true beauty has captured my attention since I was a small child. I'm always looking on the net for pics and taking my own and I love the place and I'll probably get married there and live here the rest of my life unless priorites carry me elsewhere. The purpose of my email was in regards to your "Unnamed View." This place is called Phares or pronounced by local hunters "Fares" Hollow Rocks. and the Hollow below it is Phares Hollow its a split hollow....the hollow next to it the even rougher one is called Greenbriar.

One thing that i think hikers and hunters alike should push for is more opening of trails and the old railroad grades from the historical past of Dolly Sods... A few trials are wonderful hikes and Beautiful Scenery as always.. But a lot of trails are growing over and some of the old railroad grades are becoming non existent... exspecially the ones that link bbknob and fisherspring knob and the ones in Red Creek. One thing I've never understood is, that on any map ive ever saw or any pics I've ever scene, Fisher Spring Knob is not on there. Its the knob beside the trail and has the old grade running around it. Its def. unmarked on maps but fully visable. Keep up the Good Work! Your pics are the best I've found so far of the inside of the sods. and their clearly marked on location which is really good.

Thanks for the nice comments Adam. So it's Phare's Hollow Rocks. That sounds pretty cool. I'll update the page soon. Thanks for the note.