outdoor photography

Muddy Creek I visited Western Maryland in late July, and I had a lot of fun visiting my all-time favorite park, Swallow Falls State Park. I visited the park twice. On one day, I went to the main park entrance and walked the trails inside the park.  On the second day, I walked a trail on the other side of the Youghiogheny River. When I lived in Maryland I wasn't a birder, so I wondered what kind of wildlife might be in the park. I was not disappointed, as there singing warblers all over the park, including Pine, Hooded, Black-throated Green, and Black-throated Blue Warblers, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush. In Florida I never get to hear thrushes sing, and it was wonderful to hear Veeries, Wood Thrushes and Hermit Thrushes as well.  The biggest highlight was my first ever Winter Wren. Muddy Creek Falls Swallow Falls But when I was out birding, I also wanted to take photographs of the falls and cascades along Muddy Creek and the Youghiogheny River, som...

A few months ago I purchased a point and shoot camera, the Canon Powershot G7X.  I wanted to be able to quickly take photos of landscapes while I'm out birding without having to carry two DSLRs or switch lenses.  I had very little desire to take video with the camera.  However, it's very easy to do, so lately I've taken some short videos just see if I could make something interesting.  Last week I was up in Maryland, and I took 20 second videos of all the scenes I photographed.  Then I put them together as short movies with background music. I visited Patapsco Valley State Park in Baltimore and Swallow Falls State Park in western Maryland. I love the photos I took of these parks, but when I put together the video footage, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they seemed a bit more interesting. When I returned home, I figured I would visit a waterfall in my home county. It's nothing like what I can visit in Maryland.  It's tiny and not very pict...

Kayaker at Swallow Falls A few years ago I was driving home (at that time in MD) from visiting family in Ohio, and I decided to visit my favorite Maryland destination for photography, Swallow Falls.  It was winter time (March, I believe), and I wanted to see  what the forest would look like then, since I'd never been there in the winter.  I walked to the top of Swallow Falls, and to my great surprise, two kayakers were making their way to the falls.  I watched and photographed as they made their way over the falls.  What surprised me was not that they braved the falls. What surprised me is that they were doing this when it was very cold outside.  On the photograph above, notice the ice cycles on the rocks behind the kayaker.  Crazy!  I'm still a little jealous. Kayaker at Swallow Falls

Trees of Swallow Falls For those who have access to Western MD, Swallow Falls State Park is just one of those places that simply must be seen.  In a previous post , I shared why I loved the park so much, but I concentrated solely on the beautiful falls and cascades in the park.  Now I'd like to return to the park and let you see something of the trees. Swallow Falls boasts the oldest White Pine and Eastern Hemlock trees in MD. Some of them are over 360 years old.  That alone makes the park somewhat unique, but beyond that, it's so green!  Even fallen trees become covered with moss that make attractive forest scenes.  The main trail is only about a mile long, but you can take other trails that follow the Youghiogheny River.  I highly recommend those trails alongside the main trail.  For the best experience, especially during the summer months, I recommend getting there early.  The place fills up with sunbathers and swimmers by mid-day, and whi...

Upper and Lower Swallow Falls Swallow Falls State Park is my favorite place for photography in the entire State of Maryland.  It's a relatively small park, but it boasts the oldest White Pine and Eastern Hemlock trees in MD.  Some of them are over 360 years old.  There are four falls in the park.  The Youghiogheny River flows through the park, and on it are both the Upper and Lower Swallow Falls.  Muddy Creek also converges with Youghiogheny River, and Muddy Creek Falls is a 53-ft falls and the tallest falls in MD.  A little off the main trail you can find Tolliver Falls, which is a small but beautiful falls in a stream that empties into the Youghiogheny River. Tolliver Falls If you want to go there for photography, you'll want to get there early.  Especially on summer weekends, the park fills up during the day with swimmers and sunbathers.  When you enter the trail area, the main trail makes a circle.  I us...