2016 Fall Colors Workshop
Yet again I have had a long break between blog posts, mostly because of my laziness, I guess. Life gets in the way. My wife and I have been taking trips in our Teardrop camper, work, and all sorts of things seem to get in the way. My biggest photoshoot of the year has been on my photography club's fall colors trip to West Virginia this year. It was a great trip on the heels of Hurricane Matthew. We went to places that we haven't been to before, which made it new and exciting. Seven total of us went, with five of us staying the whole time. We stayed in a great cabin in Davis, West Virginia, and drove every day somewhere new. I think we logged 2000 miles for the whole trip. The colors at our cabin seemed to be the most vibrant from all of the places we visited. I also took a GoPro Session 4 with me to record some of the actions and have made some short YouTube videos to watch that I will link you to.
Day 1: Blackwater State Park, WV/Swallow Falls State Park, MD
The first day took us to Blackwater State Park in West Virginia, which was about a 20-minute ride from our cabin. Actually, I would almost consider this our second day because the first day consisted of driving to West Virginia from Goldsboro, but this was our first day of shooting.
The colors at Blackwater State Park were very nice, and the waterfall was great. We were here on a Monday, and there were not too many clouds. After the waterfall, we went to an overlook that looked into the valley and had some great views. From here we traveled to Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland where we were greeted with some great falls and a small hiking trail. The drive to and from Maryland was a beautiful drive with lots of farm houses. Here is the link to the Day 1 Video. Day 1 Fall Colors Workshop Video
Day 2: Babcock State Park, WV and New River Gorge Bridge National Park, WV.
Day two took us to Babcock State Park, home of the famous Glade Creek Grist Mill. If you look up West Virginia, you'll see this mill. It was a fairly long drive, but we left early and, after
a small detour made it to the mill. We spent a couple of hours taking photos of the Mill and then went to lunch. After lunch we went back to the park so Tim could fly his drone. Then we were off to New River Gorge National Park. I believe when it was built it was the first or second largest suspension bridge, but now I think it's third. Regardless, it is a big bridge, and we spent the afternoon taking our time photographing this large structure. Here is the link to the Day 2 video.Day Two Fall Colors Workshop Video
Day 3: Seneca Caverns, Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods, WV
We started our third day underground with a tour of Seneca Caverns, which took us 150 feet underground. We had a great tour guide and enjoyed our time underground with some interesting photos to boot.
After the caverns we went to Seneca Rocks, which are a number of large rocks that go along the ridge of a mountain. And then we were off to Dolly Sods. Dolly Sods was a beautiful mountain top with great views all around, but it took about an hour long dirt road drive to get there. Dolly Sods wasn't very far from our cabin, so it was a good place to end the day. Here is the link to Day 3 video.Day 3 Fall Colors Workshop Video
Day 4: Harpers Ferry, Antietam National Battlefield, WV
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a very historic place and a lot bigger than I thought. I had always seen it in hiking videos and it looked like a sleepy little town, and I wasn't expecting it to be connected with a national park. We drove to Harpers Ferry and met one of our photo buddies there and enjoyed the day wandering the streets of Harpers Ferry. We then drove over to Antietam and went on the battle field tour and really got some good photos of the surrounding area. We then went to the National Cemetery at
Sharpsburg and had great light to get some moving photos. Then we drove back to our cabin. Here is the link to the Day 4 video.Day 4 Fall Colors Workshop Video
Day 5: Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, WV
Day five took us to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia, and some of our group had been there before. I wasn't really expecting much but was pleasantly surprised to find lots of photo ops and had a good history tour from our tour guide.
We rode the train on a two-hour trip. They have a four-hour trip also, but I recommend the two-hour instead of the longer one. We had a great time, had lunch there in the park restaurant, and really enjoyed the whole experience. Here is the link to the Day 5 video.Day 5 Fall Colors Workshop Video
