Getting back to some of the MWs I took last year. Here is another one from somewhere in West Virginia.
We spent a couple of weeks in Louisiana exploring some of the swamplands there and I have to say it was an extremely rewarding experience. The mosquitos would greet me each morning in the hundreds as I would prepare the kayak for launch. However, once on the water they mercifully left me alone to enjoy the beauty of the cypress swamps.
The fog created some beautiful moments as I was gliding through this area on my kayak.
I fell in love with this tree as I must have circled it multiple times in my kayak trying different compositions.
I found the Spanish Moss totally mesmerizing especially when sunlight hits it at the right angle. The splash of fall color from the leaves on the Bald Cypress trees created some magical moments during our explorations at Caddo Lake.
During my second visit to the Upper Falls in West Virginia, I decided to venture down from the main falls. It had rained and the rocks were on the slippery side. After a few slips and slides I was able to get down and was treated to some real visual treats. I could have spent hours here exploring all the nooks and crannies but the setting sun hastened my departure.
It took a few attempts to get everything lined up for this one. This is a beautiful area to enjoy nature.
The Spanish Moss and fall color leaves lit up beautifully as the first morning sun light hit these beautiful and majestic cypress trees in Louisiana. It was a significant effort each day to unload my 80 lb kayak from the jeep roof rack in the dark, surrounded by hundreds of mosquitoes but once on the water it was like being in pure heaven drifting below the beautiful veils while enjoying the peace and tranquility of the swamps.
This morning's sunrise was cloudless but still beautiful nonetheless. I am tired from all the kayaking but still happy with the fruits of my labor.
Getting to Mouse Creek Falls in North Carolina requires a decent hike besides the Big Creek Cascades trail. I had the opportunity to visit this area during autumn last year. The Creek was flowing robustly and bursting with color creating some wonderful photo opportunities.
All our preparations outfitting our kayaks bore fruit when we finally arrive at Caddo Lake. We got up early and were on the water at dawn but were greeted to an overcast sky. We were still excited as this was our first day on the lake. As the explorations continued the clouds suddenly departed and everything was magically beautiful.
I arrived at Mouse Creek Falls after a particularly good downpour and was treated to a rushing creek. Much as I wanted, it was definitely not safe to venture into the water and I had to contend with image captured standing at the edge.
We had the opportunity to make an unscheduled two week stop in West Virginia due to my truck breaking down and needing extensive repairs. It was a great opportunity to explore some of the beautiful waterfalls in the area. At Sandstone Falls, I had the place to myself after the few fisherman left for the evening. This is one of my favorites from the area.
The splash of fall color with fog to boot made for a wonderful morning on the swamps of Louisiana.
The last few days have been a mad rush getting up early in the morning, driving to the launch site, getting the kayak unloaded and rigged, and then kayaking in the dark to location. The rewards however, have been worthwhile as this morning there was fog and a few clouds in the sky that lit up predawn.
During our travels to the northeast, my truck broke down due to a fuel pump failure. This forced a two week stay in West Virginia as the truck was repaired. To make the best of a bad situation I took the opportunity to visit some local waterfalls. This is the Sandstone Falls located on the New River near the town of Hinton.
Thick clouds had shown up and the winds had picked up when I arrived at Dolly Sods. The clouds were low and thick enough that it seemed certain that there would not be any interesting light happening. I was in the process of packing up and heading back to my truck when some amazing light started to happen. Then it was a mad scramble to find some interesting foregrounds of which there was no shortage.
I returned to these falls after a bigger rainfall event and was rewarded with much better flow which also made navigating the stream more interesting and challenging. Not surprisingly, the change in flow levels had also dramatically changed the look and feel of the falls.
Some more moments of magic in the swamplands of Atchafalaya Basin in LA.
Another beautiful morning on the Atchafalaya Basin exploring the swamplands. What a wonderful and peaceful way to spend ones morning.
As I was finishing up my morning shoot on Caddo Lake. I found this Egret majestically perched up on this beautiful tree surveying the landscape and it reminded me of the Lion King movie.
During this beautiful morning while kayaking through Caddo Lake, I found this great blue Heron waiting patiently for its breakfast to show up.
Perched on the precipice of the Eastern Continental Divide and high on the edge of the Allegheny Plateau sits the Bear Rocks Preserve. The wind-swept landscape with unpredictable and often severe weather lived up to its reputation when I visited. Thick clouds suddenly rolled in and the winds picked up easily to 50 mph.
As falls colors are peaking in different parts of Maine, I decided to visit some of the waterfalls nearby. Step Falls is a spectacular long chain of descending horsetails and cascades that lies a few miles outside of the eastern border of Grafton Notch State Park. Water flow was a bit on the anemic side in spite of considerable rainfall a couple of days ago. The low flow did help create some nice swirls in the nearby tide pools.