Another Ansel Adams Kind of Day on Barren River Lake

 Exploring nature from a canoe offers an almost endless volume of opportunities. Even familiar locations can provide new levels of insight and photographic moments with every visit and every entry into your canoeing log, higher levels of insight and revelations from the natural world provide the words and storylines. It is no secret I love black and white photography and Ansel Adams is my best inspiration with each framing of scenic value I make. Thursday May 16th became another Ansel Adams kind of day as I once again loaded my canoe and worked my way along the tall bluffs that stretched toward the blue skies and soft rounded clouds. 

Wind has always been my worst enemy when it comes to canoeing. So, when a day presents itself with light and variable breezes, clearing blue skies stretched with formations of summer clouds, and a desire to et out, well, it's just almost inevitable I'll find a way to spend the day with paddle in hand and my venerable Old Town canoe gliding across the calm waters.

The day started out rather overcast but the forecast indicated partly cloudy skies by mid-day and through the afternoon. Air temperatures hovered in the upper 60's when I shoved off with indications the temps would rise into the low 80's by early afternoon. The partly cloudy skies was what intrigued me as they will often provide wonderful Ansel Adams style photo opportunities.

I also took advantage of the moment to introduce my first official "Zippo Lighter Moment" with a video clip I captured as I glided along. Zippo Lighter Moments are personal outdoor adventure memories from my past and are intended to secure the memory of my good friend Ralph who is the inspiration for these stories. He and his old pipe and Zippo lighter became iconic anchors tied to many stories and served to place emphasis on each one. The stories are so connected to his old Zippo Lighter and Pipe combination that every time I hear the 'clink...zip...' of a zippo lighter being fired off, well...the memories of all those countless moments flood back to life. (Working on a short Zippo Lighter Moment video...so stay tuned.)

Ralph fishing Honobia Creek

Across the day I ran into and talked with several Old-Timer personalities briefly sharing a few moments of insight as part of the beautiful day.  Three guys were fishing from the bank where I put in and about five miles later where I turned around I ran into three other old-timers fishing from a private boat dock. Moments such as those offer special anchor points for any given trip by providing a unique moment in time that can be attached to the day. 

As the day progressed the Ansel Adams opportunities became more alive and I found myself catching glimpses and angles and landscapes that clearly spoke to me saying.."take this one...". 

Through the day I ran across several wildlife moments. I spotted an immature bald eagle soar overhead and dive into the water to grab a fish and then a few moments later I spotted him sitting on a bare branch not 25 yards from me, but as is so often the case, I had the wrong lens attached to my camera and by the time I swapped it out, well...off he flew. But just seeing him so close was reward enough.

Later on I drifted toward a small waterfall and near its base an otter climbed out of the water and scurried up the incline. Countless herons protested my presence, and a couple of Osprey's provided a distant accent to the wildlife moments. Never got a single photo of any of them. But, that is just fine as I have the memory of greeting them on this day.

Turned out to be very good day on the water as I paddled almost exactly 10 miles...it felt like a lot more for some reason. Needless to say, I'll be doing this again soon and hopefully if I can secure three good days of weather and wind in a row, I will be making an end to end canoe trip on the lake, a distance of about 40 miles with day two covering almost 20 of them.

Yeah, it was another Ansel Adams kind of day on the lake and yeah...I do love taking black and white photographs. thanx for the inspiration Ansel.

After the Storm - A Hike to the Shanty Hollow Waterfall

 Strong storms blew through Kentucky in recent days dumping a lot of rain across the landscape. After dodging strong winds and heavy downpours my first instinct was to head up to Shanty Hollow and hike into the waterfall ravine which was sure to be flowing at full throttle.

I was not disappointed. The morning was still overcast which made for that soft diffused light photographers always crave and is best suited for a place like Shanty Hollow. Although I have witnessed the waterfall flowing at a high pitch in the past, this day's flow was certainly well inside the top five flows I've encountered there. 

Shanty Hollow always offers a wonderful respite...so come along with me as we hike into Shanty Hollows waterfall ravine. Please enjoy...'After the Storm.'

Day 2 - Back to Back Canoe Days on Barren River Lake - Plus 1

 Day 1 was characterised by troublesome headwinds. Oh it was a great outing for the first canoe day of the 2024 season, but by the end of that first day I was pretty tired. Ended up paddling just shy of 11 miles on that first outing, so on day two I opted for a more leisurely 5 to 6 miles and did more fishing along the way. Those 5 to 6 miles lead into an area I had not paddled before and I discovered some amazing bluffs and beautiful skies. The wind moderated on day two to light and variable making the trip all the more relaxing.

Photography became the main emphasize on day two as the skies were characterised by high wispy clouds against a dark blue backdrop. When combined with the scenic value of the tall bluffs, well...Ansel Adams would have recognized the photographic moments.

A few days after Day 2, I made a third outing to explore that new area in more depth and distance. It became a day of discovery, so as part of this video, I've included some bonus footage from that amazing float. Come and Join me, Beyond the Campfire, as I continue my exploration by canoe of Kentucky's  Barren River Lake.