Tag Archives: Photography In The National Parks

January 13, 2022 · 4:21 am

Welcome To Fort Clatsop

I will be the first to admit, visiting forts or other historical parks was never on my top things to do with my cameras. But, after a visit to this very small fort at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon, where Lewis, Clark, and their Corps of Discovery spent a monotonous winter, I have changed my mind.

It’s one thing to read about forts and such, but it’s another thing completely to actually be standing there in the footsteps of history, exploring the nooks and crannies of what he/she/they built so many decades / centuries ago. You get a feel for what it was like to live in a place like this, out in the forest of the Pacific Northwest, near a river, during a wet, cold, dreary winter.

I included a visit to this national historical park during my photo trip along the Pacific Northwest portion of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and my resulting article has been published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. If you ever have a chance to explore a historic(al) site like a fort or home or battlefield, I urge you to take the time to do so, and try to imagine what life must have been like in that spot so long ago.

To read the article, just click on the image at the top of this post.

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Filed under history, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, Photography

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November 23, 2021 · 5:31 am

Photography In The National Parks: The Faces Of Winter

*A winter storm over the red-rock landscape of Arches National Park in Utah*

*A winter evening at Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii*

*A high winter cloud ceiling over the Tatoosh Mountains at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state*

Winter has many faces in a national park. It might be snowing, it might not. It might be freezing cold, it might be balmy t-shirt weather. My latest photo column has been published in the National Parks Traveler and it’s all about capturing the many faces of winter. If you are planning a winter trip to a national park unit, you should check out the article.

To read the article, click on any of the images above.

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Tagged as National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photography, Photography In The National Parks, photography techniques, photography tips, where the trails take you, winter

October 19, 2021 · 5:52 am

Capturing The Color And Character Of Fall

*The Beginning Of Sunrise At Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest photo column. This month, it’s all about capturing that last bit of autumn color before the monochrome palette of winter completely takes over.

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under autumn, Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, Travel and Photography

Tagged as autumn, color, fall, Mount Rainier, Mt. Rainier, National Park, national parks, photography, Photography In The National Parks, season, where the trails take you

September 21, 2021 · 6:04 am

Photography in The National Parks: Yosemite Tried, True, and New

*Yosemite Valley Landscape, Yosemite National Park (California)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest photography column. This month’s column is all about capturing iconic as well as new perspectives of this particular national park. To read the article, click on the image above.

As for this image: I drove into Yosemite Valley several times during my week’s stay in the park. Every time, I’d pass by this one spot along the road – a small pullout large enough for a vehicle, right next to the rocky banks of the Merced River, which was a trickle of its former self. So finally, I stopped, took out my camera and tripod, and gingerly picked my way to a spot to photograph forest, river, and El Capitan (I believe that’s El Cap) all beneath a blue sky with wispy clouds.

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Tagged as August, California, landscape, National Park, National Parks Traveler, photography, Photography In The National Parks, scenery, summer, travel, where the trails take you, Yosemite

July 28, 2021 · 6:46 am

Fun Fact Photography!

*The Secondary Phloem Of A Redwood Tree, Redwood National and State Parks (California)*

Do you know what a secondary phloem is? I didn’t. But I saw this interesting site of the redwood tree’s parting of the outer bark to show the inner bark and took a photo of it. And, that’s what this month’s photography column I wrote for the National Parks Traveler is all about. I call it “Fun Fact Photography” and it’s facts about the subjects in some of the photos I’ve captured.

Have you ever seen something during a wander in a park about which you’d like to know more? All you have to do is snap a photo of it.

To read the article, click on the photo above.

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June 23, 2021 · 5:27 am

Traveler’s Checklist for Olympic National Park, and Photographing Water In The Parks

*The Energy Of Agua, McDonald Creek, Glacier National Park (Montana)*

*Sol Duc Falls In The Early Morning, Olympic National Park (Washington state)*

Ok, this post’s title is not very original , but it’s sort of a “two fer” post. The National Parks Traveler has published two of my articles. One of them is my monthly photo column – this month, it deals with photographing water. The other article is a Traveler Checklist with suggestions on things to do and see if you plan on visiting Olympic National Park.

To read the water photo column, click on the topmost image.

To read the Olympic National Park checklist, click on the waterfall image.

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Tagged as checklist, national parks, National Parks Traveler, Olympic National Park, photography, Photography In The National Parks, photography tips, planning, Traveler's Checklist, water, where the trails take you

March 17, 2021 · 5:02 am

Photography In The National Parks: Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

*Paddling the lake in the Whiskey Creek area, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (California)*

The National Parks Traveler has (finally) published my article about my photographic visit to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, just 8 miles west of Redding, California. I’d made the visit last fall, during a time when smoke from the surrounding wildfires wreathed this park, which suffered its own wildfire back in 2018, devastating 97 percent of its 42,000 acres. Like a phoenix rising, this recreation area has rebuilt most of its infrastructure and there are signs of regrowth on the landscape, and people continue to visit and recreate here.

To read the article and see the photos, click on the image above.

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December 22, 2020 · 3:09 am

Photography in The National Parks: Winter Wonderlands

*A snowy, freezing January along the shore of Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park (Montana)*

If you’re thinking of getting out in the parks this winter with mask, hand sanitizer, and camera in hand, then you’ll want to read my annual winter photo column published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. It might be a bit redundant if you read last year’s photo column, but a little winter photography refresher never hurts, right?

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under Glacier National Park MT, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Photography In The National Parks, Seasons, winter

Tagged as Canon, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photography, Photography In The National Parks, snow, where the trails take you, winter

October 27, 2020 · 6:17 am

Redwoods Were Made For Verticals

*The road into the redwoods – Howland Hill Road, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park*

My monthly photo column is now published in the National Parks Traveler. In it, I talk about how Redwood National and State Parks are the perfect places to capture plenty of vertical shots, with the occasional horizontal thrown in for good measure.

To read the article, click on the photo above.

The image above is of Howland Hill Road, a dirt and gravel road through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, which takes the driver to the parking area of Stout Grove. This road was my first introduction to redwoods, and I actually almost got lost trying to find the road. You see, the road runs for about 7 miles and you can enter it either just outside of Crescent City, CA, or a mile or two east of the Haiouchi Visitor Center along CA Highway 199. I opted for the Crescent City approach only to discover that road was closed less than a mile in, for construction work. I was hemmed in by huge construction tractors and had to gingerly make my way back down the hill and onto the highway to get to Howland Hill Road via the Hwy 199 route. The drive was worth it, though, as Stout Grove is a perfect introduction to coastal redwoods.

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Filed under California, forest, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Redwood National and State Parks, Travel

Tagged as autumn, California, coastal redwood, forest, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, National Park, National Parks Traveler, October, photography, Photography In The National Parks, Redwood National and State Parks, redwood tree, trees

August 12, 2020 · 6:51 am

Photography In The National Parks: A Short Stay At Crater Lake

If you read my previous article published in the National Parks Traveler, then you’ll know how I prepared for my photography trip to Crater Lake National Park during the Coronavirus pandemic. My latest article published by the Traveler is about the photography you can achieve within this park.

To read my photo article, click on the image above.

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