Virginia, July 2018
Along the Appalachian Trail in the Blue Mountains sits Shenandoah National Park. 200,000 Acres of trees, waterfalls, trails, and bears. I had never heard of this National Park until I saw it close to some jobs that I had. I decided to drive Skyline Dr. while the sun was setting and see what the park had to offer. I made it back two days later after a job of mine was canceled and hiked a couple of trails. Here is what I captured.
Racing around from overlook to overlook, I wanted to find something that stood out. The tree overlooking the valley was just what I was looking for to add some depth to an already nice view.
Though I never came across a view that blew my mind, I took in each view with a sense of awe. Skyline Drive is definitely worth the Drive and for me, worth the $30 admission fee. I felt like I was the only one left in the park at this hour. I saw only a few cars here and there. It made for a nice escape and a great time to breathe, reflect and of course, get take some photos.
The cloud formation over one of the hills looked amazing. It caught a little of the sunset as the sun was on its way down and I thought keeping a little foreground would make it worth sharing with y’all.
This one feels warm and friendly. The soft blues and warm greens make me want to get a hammock and chill with a cold drink as the setting sun gives me a warm side hug.
The wildflowers hanging out at this overlook were too eye catching to pass up. Though, while i stood in them hoping not to get any ticks and not to get stung by the ridiculous amount of bees flying around. I was able to snap a few photos tick and bee sting free. I didn’t get to take as much time with the shot as I would normally, but I think you can hopefully understand.
The light makes this photo what it is. From the sunset shining throughout the valley to the grass lit up in the foreground. I love the blue on the left fading to the orange sun on the right. And then I just imagine a couple of Adirondack Chairs on the grass overlooking the valley.
I kept my eye out for wildlife that first night around the park, but sadly, this bunny was the only thing I was able to get a photo of. Except for some deleted deer photos that I saw after sunset which I illuminated with my headlights.
As I was driving along, I saw this overlook. It didn’t look especially great, but I saw the tree leaning its way up the hill and knew I had to try and get a photo. I took a few shots and was looking at a few angles as I tried to get this shot.
Skyline Drive had overlook after overlook. Much better than most overlooks that are advertised on scenic highways. The trees were almost always cut back to give a perfect view of all that is below. The creeks down below sparkle among the dark landscape.
I made it to the park pretty early on my second day out. With some energy and excitement I set out for my first hike. I skipped all the overlooks this time around and headed straight for Bearfence Mountain. It's a short hike with some rock scrambling at the top. Well worth the extra effort for 360 views of the park.
Getting to the top of one of the peaks gave a nice perspective of all the other peaks along the Blue Ridge Mountains. I couldn't help but notice the little puff of a cloud sitting at the top of one of them.
I had about 2 I had about 2 minutes of cloud cover in the middle of the afternoon as I had made my way down the Dark Hollow Falls Trail. The sun was lighting up half the falls while the other half had the shade of the trees. I made the most of those 2 minutes as people were climbing the falls or taking photos next to it. I had to find a way between tourist photos to get what I wanted while the falls were completely shaded. I got about 3 photos before the sun came back out and over exposed the falls again. With a little more time, and a tripod, I may have been able to compose it a tad bit better. I was happy with the outcome using my camera bag on a rock as my tripod.
Usually, shooting water, the best way to go is slowing down the shot like in the one above. But with the light not being so great for slowing down the shutter I sped it up. Water makes some unique formations that our eye can't quite see unless you slow things down by speeding up the shutter.
Just some shots as I was hiking a couple of the trails
Everything I read about the park and lots of the advertisement photos showed bears. I had my eyes out as I drove down Skyline Drive, and as I hiked through the woods. It’s pretty rare to see a bear in the wild. I’ve seen a couple but its been years. And then, on my way out of the park I saw this Mama bear. I thought my chance for a photo was gone when she quickly went back into the woods. But she came out with these two little guys and I snapped away from the window of my truck.