The Campfire - Overnight Backpacking into Mammoth Cave NP

Cool air and overcast skies along with a backpack that felt much heavier than it might otherwise be greeted me as I began the methodical pacing of steps toward my favorite camping area inside the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park. Not even the weight of the pack and weakness in my troublesome hip could deter the sense of anticipation that welled up inside of me as I again worked my way toward "The Bluffs" area.

More an outing to just get away for a short overnighter than anything else, as always I toted along some basic camera gear for I anticipated some very nice photo opportunities with the changing fall season. Camera gear always adds extra weight...camera/lens, small tripod, extra batteries...in and of themselves are inconsequential when compared to the overall weight of the backpack. However, every ounce matters and just how quickly those ounces multiply into pounds became apparent once again just a short distance into the hike.

The hike in was not all that bad, with the last half mile or so evolving into a steep downward climb requiring steadfastness of footing and balance to prevent any trip ending slips and falls. The hike out is always more of a challenge as steepness now works against you presenting a zigzag upward climb. About every six or eight steps I'd have to stop to allow my hip and legs and heart and lungs to recover enough to allow the next six or eight upward climbing steps. 

I did manage a few photos and video clips which were incorporated into this short video. I always enjoy working around a campfire especially in the evening right at dusk when the air temperature drops and the woods become still. Please enjoy..."The Campfire".

Exploring 'The Narrows' October 2023

 When I awoke from a surprisingly sound sleep that brisk Tuesday morning, the sky was already starting to grow brighter. The sun was still a good 30 minutes or so from rising, but the air was filled with the song of numerous birds. I rolled onto my right side and with one eye barely open I peeked from under the edge of the protective tarp hanging over me to view the lake. It took a couple of blinks before my eyes would focus. What came into view was a dull gray draped over the landscaped. I blinked again and stared into the gray void a second time. Fog…and lots of it drifted across the surface of the lake. I rolled onto my back trying to decide if I wanted to get up or sleep a few more minutes, but the photographer’s instinct in me won out and I unzipped the sleeping bag and stepped into the quite brisk, and unseasonably chilly morning.

Early October in Kentucky can often be some of the most pleasant of seasons. Fall teases the landscape with a touch of color and cooler temperatures, you know, not quite fully fall, but not ready to let go of summer just yet. I was on an overnight canoe trip once again on Kentucky’s Barren River Lake and exploring the area north of what is known as ‘The Narrows’. In previous weeks I had made a couple of day trips into this location and discovered a very nice and somewhat secluded camping spot. The canoe trip into this new camping area required a leisurely and unhurried paddle. It turned out to once again be a marvelous overnight adventure.

Please enjoy this newest of BTC videos:

The Blue Hour

 The afternoon drifted along about as slow as the lazy clouds moved across the late October sky. The deer herd I wanted to photograph were slow to appear and never really came close enough to offer any kind of decent photo op. As the light began to fade, I slowly made my way along the outer edge of the cornstubble field heading back home. Across the way, the sun dipped below the treeline that stretch across a good portion of the west end of the field and I paused for a moment to see if a sunset might develop. It just wasn't working as the light turned into mostly a diffused and muted gray. Sometimes, most times actually, I would just simply pack up and keep on going. On this trip I employed a technique I learned many years before; I turned around and looked in the opposite direction.

 

To my pleasant surprise, a few slivers of clouds were being highlighted by the last remnants of the sun's rays and cast a pale pinkish orange glow across the sky. The remainder of the clouds reflected a bluish and contrasty tint. I framed a few images, then captured a series of overlapping vertical images that were used to create a panoramic photo. That composite turned out so subtly dramatic, I used it to create a mirror image...and the rest is history.

What made that image work is the prevailing blue light, cast by the late hour of the day. The composition is quite simple and the pink highlights added just enough complementary color to create a memorable moment of light. The Blue Hour can often provide some of the most dramatic moments of light and do it with such subtle textures as to provide some of the best and often overlooked photographic opportunities.

The Blue Hour most often occurs just before sunrise or just after sunset, however it can occur at other times as well. Overcast or rainy days and shady locations, can provide very natural bluish light. My favorite is the early and late light opportunities. 

Capturing effective exposures with blue light can also be enhanced by manually adjusting the white balance to a more bluish tint value. Use caution when doing this as you can also really create a ghoulish look if you are not careful. Just normal daylight white balance ranges around 5000k works just fine for most situations. Auto white balance might also shift the natural blue light to more of a gray look as well. So...the point is, just experiment with what works best. Most of the blue light shots I make are made using ordinary daylight settings.

Blue Hour light moments are not always simply..well, blue. Sometimes they can be quite bold and filled with a more lavender or purple tint. This can often be very rewarding as it is the contrast of different light tints that make the image. When I do shoot in blue light, I will look for some kind of contrasting or complementary lighting situation. Complementary light is light were tonal values fall on the opposite side of the scale...like blue and red shades or green and orange shades.

And then there are the times where the image demands simplicity and just blue light will suffice for the composition. It just depends what you the photographer is looking for and what nature presents to you. Trust your instincts and most of all do not be afraid to try something different. 

Avoid backing yourself into or locked to a single way of looking at things. Not every photo must fit a list of "photographer laws". You, the photographer are in control of what you create. Not everything must look a certain way. Be creative. Experiment. Don't accept the ordinary.  Strive to achieve the extraordinary. Looking for and using blue light situations can often provide an extraordinary opportunity to exercise your creative instincts.

You do not have to capture nature the way you see it. Capture nature the way you feel it. Capture emotion and work toward achieving a visual impact. The Blue Hour provides for a major emotional and visual impact. Use it. Look for it. 

Contrasts of an Indian Summer: The Promising Colors of an Early Fall

 Half awake I listened to the rhythm of a much needed rain as it refreshes the morning. Behind the rain the air of distant thunder added its bass rumblings to the morning symphony. Seemed those rumblings came at exactly the right and precise moments during the performance as though a conductor pointed his wand to the clouds instructing the bass drums of nature to add their deep accents to the musical score. It is late September and the first hints of fall have already started to appear across the landscape. A splash of red, a subtle shade of yellow, even an air of orange here and there add their stroke of color across a pallet of green. It is precisely contrasts such as these that make the colors of an early fall so promising. 

Indian Summer it is often called when the mornings are crisp and vibrant yet elements of summer linger throughout the day, providing the kind of contrasts that teases us toward more refreshing days of fall. A leisurely stroll through the woods and along the edge of the cornfields behind where I live often reveals those first signs of fall-like color. It may only be a single leaf, but a leaf adorned in its full fall color splendor suspended within a shield of late summer greenery provides that single photographic moment. Sometimes and entire branch has already turned color and waves at the morning with the slightest of breeze. A short hike to a nearby pond will often reveal reflections of color amongst the random driftings of fallen leaves.

In a few weeks, more and more color will gradually appear, yet here in Kentucky it almost always seems like the full blown fall outbreak lingers. You see it coming, a little here, some there, and you believe it will never arrive, then suddenly overnight you step outside and the world is filled with the vibrancy of a New England fall. The color simply explodes across the landscape and before long, it is all too soon gone.

The wildlife appear to understand a change of seasons is almost upon us. The deer will spend a great deal of time meandering across the fields with their now months old fawns following close behind. A migratory songbirds begin to appear in and amongst the trees adding a newer song to the already syphonic interlude that is Indian Summer. Sometimes I will find a place to just sit for a while to listen to the sounds of the approaching new season. Change is in the air, a change not only visible, but one where the feeling is obvious.

The contrasts of an Indian Summer and the promise it holds for what is to come, well...it is perhaps one of my favorite times of year to get out with my camera or to drift across the still waters of a local lake and absorb the first vestiges of change in the air.

First Day of Fall - 2023: Exploring The 'Narrows' on Barren River Lake

 Took about a month off to refresh and regroup. Guess I needed the time away as it seems I am always more enthusiastic about sharing some of my outings afterwards.

The weather forecast called for light and variable winds with sunny skies filtered through some high and hazy thin clouds with temperatures peaking out about 80 degrees. It was time to once again load up 'Camper' and head over to Barren River Lake. This time around, my destination was an area known as 'The Narrows'. Located sort of toward the upper end of the lake where a meandering arm of the lake snakes its way through the landscape. Characterized by tall rocky bluffs and tree lines ridges, the location provides some of the most scenic views on the lake. The Narrows is a long peninsula that pinches into a very narrow section with the lake visible on both sides before it widens somewhat before ending in the water. A popular campground and marina are located at the far end.

Not the first time I've been to The Narrows, but the first time to put my canoe in there and explore what it had to offer. Some of the best big sky photographs I've ever taken were captured in this area on the lake. With the early fall season showing signs of color changes in the trees, I anticipated new opportunities would present themselves. My plan; simply paddle and follow the bluffs until after mid-day, then retrace my route back to the put in, and take photographs along the way to document the day hoping that at least one image might be daring enough to define the moment. As it turned out, this is exactly what happened.

I parked in the gravel parking lot adjacent the marina. Required was a short forty yard hike to the water, well multiple hikes, to carry all of my gear down, which took a few extra minutes to complete. Within a few minutes of shoving off I saw the first of several Osprey's sitting atop an old dead tree near the edge of the lake. Seems I always have the wrong lense on my camera. When I need a long reach lense, I'll have a wide angle lense attached. When I need a wide angle lense, I'll have the long reach lense. Such was the case for most of the day as I constantly found myself watching Oprey's sail overhead and by the time I swapped out my lense, they were well out of range. However I did manage to catch a couple of marginal images. Did not matter though for I truly enjoyed watching them fly around and snatch a meal from the water.

The tree lined ridges showed hints of an early fall season. Most of the trees displayed their vibrant summer green, but there were scattered amongst the woodlands and along the edge of the lake the first signs of fall. Reds, yellows, and even a few oranges blended with the prevailing green. Their color contrasting heavily with the background. There are bluffs colored with a shades of gray from black to almost white stretching a good forty feet up from the waters edge. The early signs of fall hovered along their top edges and even grew out of the rocks. 

The lake being quite calm early on allowed wonderful reflections across its surface with the bluffs and ridges forming ghostly mirror like images of themselves. I love photographing such scenes. I found myself marveling at the sights and making myself a promise to return in a few weeks when the fall colors would be more developed. I visualized potentially an amazing scene with morning fog drifting near the bluffs and the ridges accented with brilliant fall colors all reflected on the calm surface of the lake.

The day progressed as planned mostly uneventful and I took several rest stops and checked out several potential camping locations. The hazy skies began to burn off by early afternoon and as I made my way back I did manage to capture a few big sky images. 

Oddly enough I collected a couple of stowaways inside my canoe. One was some kind of butterfly, black and blue with white spots along the outer edge of his wings. He was struggling on the water, so I plucked him from his watery tomb and placed him on top of my lunch box to dry out...and yes he did eventually fly away. Later on as I was unloading my gear I found what looked like a gecko inside my canoe. He was about four inches long, sort of gray in color with splayed out fingers and large head. Turned out to be what is called a Tropical House Gecko...a non-native species to Kentucky.

I ended up paddling right at 10 miles, a good day on the water. I will return in a few weeks as the fall colors progress, but this day turned out to be a delightful day afield. Come join me...I do believe you will enjoy the moment.

Taking some time off...

 I'll be taking some time off for a while. Need to regroup. See ya closer to the fall season.

Seeing...Finding...Making - Photographing Woodlands

A seasonal fall coolness filled the woods as I backpacked down the side trail leading into my favorite location deep inside the backcountry of Mammoth Cave NP.  Known as 'The Bluffs' because of the long escarpment of rugged rocky outcroppings that line the top edge of a ravine, the surrounding woodlands in the peak of the fall season are filled with awe inspiring colors. As the trail wound its way down into the ravine, the magnitude of the colors appeared to grow with each step. The trail worked its way beneath a wide overhang outcropping where a spring percolated out of the rocks near the top and danced a trail of silvery water droplets into a pool at the base. A bit further on down, the trail dropped even deeper eventually disolving into the camping area. I stopped for a moment choosing to sit on the trunk of a weathered fallen tree and rest my stiff back and bothersome hip. I was at once engulfed within a rustic and ancient woodlands filled with the spectrum of peak fall colors as they sang their song of greetings, and I began to see photographic moments presenting themselves.

 Of all the varieties of photographic opportunities, one of the most difficult types to capture effectively are woodland photographs. They are also one of the most satisfying of photographs a landscape photographer can produce. They do present several problems and overcoming their inherent difficulties is a challenge, but that is what makes them so much fun and exciting to pursue.

I do a great deal of black and white photography, however, the majority of woodland photographs I produce are color images. The dilemma of deciding which format to use when photographing a woodlands area can at times become a daunting task. Both color and black and white have their place and offer unique elements of appeal. Color, especially in the Fall season, is my prefered choice, but...sometimes...black and white brings out details often hidden by the distraction of color. Regardless, the techniques of seeing, finding, and making a woodland photograph is the same for both. The final format is simply a personal choice made by the photographer.

What makes an effective woodlands image? First of all, woodlands by nature are cluttered conglomerations of lights, darks, colors, contrasts, trees, leaves, weeds, and rocks, often dominated by a single color scheme. An effective woodlands image is one where all the chaos of those things are arranged in such a way as to present an element of order to the scene. Doing so is not always easy nor does it always present itself. I've made woodland shots in both bright sunlight and hazy overcast skies. I prefer overcast skies as the light that filters through the canopy is diffused and softened. Even so, bright sunny days can provide some level of effective lighting, you just have to look for it. The photo above was made in bright sunny morning light. The angle of the light is what made it work as it penetrated through the woods at an angle and illuminated the canopy is such a way as to provide a bright contrasting background for the subjects to stand against. This is more the exception than the rule though.  Soft light tends to be more conducive to effective woodlands photographs. 

The photo on the left was made on a bright overcast day during the peak of the fall season. A bright sunny day would have created far to harsh contrasts and would have overwhelmed the image. The softer light magnified the colors and brought out the subtle differences between the yellows, browns, and reds. 

Seeing a woodlands image sometimes can fool a photographer's eye. What looks good within the dynamic range of our vision, will often not translate as well in a photograph. Our eyes are able to discern between the darkest and brightest intensities of light quite well, while the camera's dynamic range falls well short of being able to do so. Soft light helps to bring what we see visually into a similar range of the camera's capability. 

Woodlands are also quite dark overall and will require longer exposures. This in turn requires the use of a tripod. Long exposures work well with flowing water as it will soften the mood of the water. Moving water sometimes distracts our eye and it is easy to overlook the rest of the composition. Moving water in and of itself does not always translate well into an effective woodlands image. Only when it is combined with an effective background and/or surrounding woodland features does it possess a euretheal look to it. 

The photo on the right was taken late one morning on an overcast day. The low intensity, soft light filtered through the canopy of trees and bathed the ravine with a glow that illuminated the scene. A long 1.6 second exposure coupled with a small aperture of f/14 and an ISO of 400 was required, which created an effective blend of movement and detail. What makes this image work is the lack of clutter. Everything there works for the image. Nothing is there that does not need to be there.

Removing clutter is perhaps the most difficult requirement for a woodlands photograph. Doing so requires a keen eye for detail, a discerning eye to focus in on what is important, and an artistic eye to arrange the scene visually in such a way, all the elements within the scene work together in a pleasing manner. Sometimes you just have to move on or comeback another day with different lighting conditions. A woodlands location can appear completely different from one day to the next depending on the light angles and intensity or even the season. A rainy day might transform an otherwise ordinary scene into something that stands apart from the rest of the woods. Removing clutter or, said another way, simplifying the composition, does not mean the scene lacks for complex details. It can be quite complex like the image below.  It is just all the parts must work together not unlike the pieces of a puzzle. Composition is just as important for a woodlands image, maybe even more so, as for any landscape photograph.

Photographing woodlands is a challenging yet rewarding form of photography and will serve to develop your photographic eye toward a more advanced state of seeing. Keep it simple, wait for the light, remove the visual clutter through creative composition, and enjoy just being there.