On The Road.

I read Kerouac's seminal book in my late teens. It had its effect. Free flowing, free-form prose about his travels across the United States. Driving, walking, riding the rails, sometimes hitchhiking his way through a nation full of hope, dreams, sex, dope, poetry, jazz, craziness. I myself made that trip to the Pacific and back again to the Atlantic a number of times after that. A little bit of doe, a medium-sized backpack, a handful of underwear and a camera was all I required.

Famed National Geographic photographer, Chris Johns has been quoted as saying, "Photography is one of the greatest pleasures of travel, and travel is one of the greatest pleasures of life." Somehow, somewhere along the way I was consumed with that spirit. It has not lessened a bit these last twenty-five years or so.

Tomorrow my beloved and I head out for--actually, return to--a place of genuine grandeur. Uniquely explore-able and eminently photographable. The great southwest!

This shot is from a long ago trip to Arizona. Those are the Vermillion Cliffs along route 89 headed towards the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Among your life list of things to do before you die... this should be one of them!

We'll be in a different but no less impressive part of that fine state this time around. Everyone stay well while we're away. Oh, and unlike Paris, I won't be live blogging from there. Pics when we return!

Cheers.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins! And Talan!

Dodging raindrops, harvesting pumpkins.

Looking for The Great Pumpkin?

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." Linus Van Pelt.

The Q-bug and her pumpkins.

Towpath Blowout.

Earlier this year--late August I think it was--Mother Nature unleashed quite a furious rainstorm for a couple days straight. Creeks and streams overflowed, flash flood warnings were issued, roofs leaked, basements flooded. And as you can see in the photo below, favorite fishing spots were washed away. The towpath near Anglers Inn off MacArthur Blvd had what was described as a catastrophic failure or blowout.

The last time this occurred it took two years to refurbish the path and canal. That's a painful prospect for the many hikers, bikers and the fishermen and women who regularly visit. Let's hope for a speedier reconstruction this time around.

A couple days after the storms I made my way down a steep embankment opposite the path and made a few images. Using Photoshop (poorly!) I stitched together several of these shots to make a sort of panoramic rendering. In the middle of the photo you can see the tops of the trees that were once above the towpath. They are now settled in the sinkhole that drained all the water from the canal and sent it back to the river.

(Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Autumn Part 1

With the coming of Autumn the days get shorter and the sun hangs low in the sky for longer periods, casting long shadows and bathing any and all subjects in warm light. These short days will also precipitate the color change in leaves. Photosynthesis becomes more and more difficult when there is less and less sunlight to work with. Chlorophyl slowly disappears from the leaves and they in turn change. All this really means is there will soon be potential for beautiful photographs. (and not just scenics!)

I went out the other day for a sort of pre-fall recon down at our local park. As you can see in these three images it is still early in these mid-Atlantic latitudes for good color. Northern regions like Maine and Vermont are already sporting brilliant forests of red, yellow and orange. In the coming weeks our maples, oaks and beeches will do the same. Can't wait!

Running the Falls.

Jason Beakes. World class paddler. Nuff said.