Waterfall #2

Another waterfall from Cuyahoga Valley National Park - this is the 60 foot Brandywine Falls.

Pompeii in Ballarat?

I made a flying visit to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens this morning to capture some white flowers at the Morey Gate, but ducked into the Statuary Pavilion to capture this image of "The Flight From Pompeii".

Waterfall #1

On top of my usual daily post I'm going to work on one waterfall per day from the recent trip. To start things off this is from Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, this is about 40 metres downstream from the Blue Hen Falls.

Grey and Damp

Sunday was cold, damp and grey for most of the day, so just before I went to pick up the fish 'n' chips I popped over to the Yarrowee up near the Gong Reservoir. A few fleeting breaks in sun lit up some nice areas of Forget Me Nots, and this flowing water image looks very abstract and painterly, but I think I like it for that reason.

It's good to be home

Had my first decent session since arriving home chasing the clouds and rain around the Lake Burrumbeet area on Saturday afternoon. Got a bit of everything to show here, its green and vibrant all over at the moment. I particularly like the first one here...the canola is past its peak but still adds just enough interest here of this view of Weatherboard Hill.

Ricketts Glen State Park Pennsylvania

From early on in the recent trip we visited Ricketts Glen State Park Pennsylvania on a wet and overcast day, perfect for waterfalls. There is 21 individually named falls on a 3.2 mile loop, these 2 are before you even get to the first one!

Garden Magic

Thursday afternoon I visited another garden in my Historic Gardens project. Just a few bits n pieces here, apparently the roses will be wild here in a couple of weeks.

Down on the Bayou

A couple of images from Arkansas, early morning in very wet conditions, of a location shown to me by a local photographer. Its a real pleasure to catch up with like minded people that you have only known through the internet and to visit locations that you have only seen through others work, so many thanx Barry!

And a splash of green from the Ballarat Botanical Gardens last night. Wnet up there looking for spring colour but its all gone!

Ballarat Dusk

First chance to get out since arriving home, and I started what might turn into my next Ballarat-based project. Now that the Lake Wendouree exhibition has come and gone I've been looking for a new project to work on thats close to home so I can grab the camera and head out at quick notice. Ballarat after dark seems like a nice idea....this is a start, the Ballarat Railway Station.

Niagara Falls

From the start of the recent trip, this is from the Maid of the Mist boat tour that takes you right into the action at Niagara Falls, and gives you a great feeling of the power of the falls. The birds were a big help, too! 

Mammoth

Just got back home and after a mammoth journey home it seemed appropriate to post a couple of images from Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky from last Saturday..........looking up, and looking back at Dave, one of the 2 rangers named Dave that guided us through the 4 mile hike through the cave.

LA 2

Just a couple of final images before we fly home.......Hollywwod from Griffith Observatory, and Disneyland fireworks-back home Monday!

LA

After flying in from Tulsa we spent the day in LA.......quite a shock after the quiet times on country roads. Heres a view from Griffith Park Observatory, and an iconic view off the freeway heading down to Long Beach.

The Last Waterfall

One last chance to keep my Waterfall-a-Day on schedule before we fly back. Travelled on to Tulsa. Oklahoma today, back to LA tomorrow,  a day with friends before flying home. Found Natural Falls State Park in the top north east corner of the state, and though it flows with much greater volume at other times, the delicate nature of the water and the dappled light created something special.

Petit Jean, Arkansas

We spent the day at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas which had a lot of different sites to view. This is underneath the Davies Bridge. The big attraction of the park is Cedar Falls, but due to the dry recent past the volume was way down but still got some nice images I'll post soon. So with one day left before we fly back to LA I only need to find one more falls to complete the day-by-day set. I'm looking to make a stop in Oklahoma for one last addition.

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Our 6th, and last, National Park for this trip - Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. This brings our total to 38 USA ational Parks - only 20 to go! This image shows one of the hot springs that has been bringing visitors to this spot for over 170 years, and the 2nd image is a nice end to the day just outside of Mt Ida.

Going Underground, again

For the 2nd time in 3 days we headed underground. This time into the Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Ozarks in Arkansas. This is without doubt one of the best caves we have seen, some really spectacular formations, and there was a waterfalls in the Ozarks Forest as well! 

Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas

Passed through 4 states today -  we have a varied selection, and a couple a bit out of the usual. First off was an early morning drive from Cadiz (Just managed to get the last room in town as the annual Ham Festival was on this weekend!) in Kentucky and this silo set up in a small town of Gracey caught my eye. Then onto an historical re-enactment at Fort Massac in southern Illinois, and then a visit to the Man of Steel. A free ATP Gift Card to the first person to tell me where this was taken!
And don't worry, I did get my waterfall today!

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky....

.....but not the cave, yet!. This is from early morning in the park before we did the Grand Avenue Cave Tour - cave pics to come!

Kentucky Morn

Caught the early light at Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky this morning - this is about 200 metres upstream of the falls. Then it was a hike on the other side of the river to Eagle Falls and then on to Mammoth Cave National Park and will do the 4.5 hour tour there tomorrow.

Rainbow Falls

For our last hike at Great Smoky Mountains we did the Rainbow Falls hike, a 5,4 mile round trip. Once again wet and drizzly, but ideal for this sort of photography. This is the highest free-fall waterfall in the Park and we actually climbed up behind the falls. Afterwards we headed into Kentucky and visited Cumberland Falls, the Niagara of the south. So the waterfall trail continues - I'm already taking orders for the book "Autumn Falls"!

Another Walk in the Woods

From a 5 mile hike to Abrams Falls in the Cades Cove section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Stopped twice at this spot it was so nice.

A Walk in the Woods

Today was wet and foggy - perfect for my photography in the Smoky Mountains. Some of you may have heard of the Bill Bryson book "A Walk in the Woods" which tells of his hiking along the Appalachian Trail in the eastern USA. Today we did a couple of miles, only about 2198 to go! And still managed to add another 4 waterfalls to the tally on this trip, and still have found one every day so far!

Blue Ridge Parkway Spectacular

I think this pic says it all - autumn in North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The most spectacular autumn display I've ever seen.

Congaree National Park South Carolina

Hi y'all! Headed down south into South Carolina and Congaree National Park. A tough place to photograph but I got a few nice images that give a good idea of the region. We stayed at Rockingham in North Carolina, just over the border, and I got some great early morning pics of the Great Falls Mill. They'll be next, but worth the wait - an amazing place, and totally unexpected.

A Last Gasp.....

to keep my "Waterfall a Day" on schedule was saved by Blewett Falls in Rockingham,  South North Carolina. After leaving Shenandoah behind we headed south for 7 hours and when I had given up on finding any falls today, as we were eating Mexican I noticed this small label on the map. and after getting directions from a local policeman, we made it there just as the light was fading.

Shenandoah National Park Virginia 2

An another early morning trip into Shenandoah produced another great image this morning. And a hike along the Rose River Trail this afternoon also was very productive - but those images will have to wait!

Shenandoah National Park Virginia

Heres a couple of nice images from today - early morning from Skyline Drive, and then a quick hike down to Dark Hollow Falls this afternoon.