Posts tagged ‘state park’

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August 31, 2015

Turtle by the cascade

Illinois’ Starved Rock State Park is just south of I-80 about 90 miles west of Chicago near the town of LaSalle. Over the years streams have carved a number of small and interesting canyons into the sandstone. Seasonal waterfalls can be found all around these canyons, if you hike up just at the right time.

This week’s shot is from from across a lovely little pool created by one of the cascades from LaSalle Canyon Falls. It was interesting to watch a turtle that had made this pool as home for the day. Not sure how he ended up here, but it would be one fun trip to down the river. What would life be without these challenges :)

 

Uncertainty is the essence of Life & it fuels opportunity – Tina Seelig

 

Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100 : 10 mm : f19 : 10, 1/60 sec

Buy Print    LaSalle Canyon, Starved Rock State Park 
Oglesby, Illinois, USA
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October 20, 2014

Through the Looking Glass

Life is truly a reflection of what we allow ourselves to See & Be !

Wisconsin Dells might be know as the Waterpark Capitol of the World, but it also very close to several state parks, know for its fall colors. Mirror Lake State Park is only a few miles from Devil’s Lake State Park and is often thought of as the “Overflow” park for campers who can’t fit in at Devil’s Lake.  However, just visit once and you would realize that Mirror Lake State Park has a special beauty of it’s own. Though this is closest to Wisconsin Dells, it feels so far away from civilization.

At the heart of the Mirror Lake State Park is a beautiful lake … It is a great place to swim and paddle in. The evening was chill and the water was still. I just decided to stay out and enjoy the reflection, with just occasional birds accompanying me. The twilight from setting sun, the fall colors and the reflections were just complimenting each other. It turned out to be an amazing evening ! Now this is worth calling a Mirror Lake, right ;-)

P.S : The entire dynamic range was possible with 7 exposure, thanks to Magic Lantern !

Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100 : 13 mm : f13.0 : 30 sec 

Buy Print   Mirror Lake State Park
Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA

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August 25, 2014

Cascade Falls – framed

Matthiessen State Park is an Illinois state park located a few miles south of the more famous Starved Rock State Park. The main entrances to both parks are located on Illinois State Route 178. The park is centered around a stream that flows from Matthiessen Lake to the Vermilion River. This smaller park is often overlooked, being in the vicinity of the larger Starved Rock park.

But the Cascade falls is nevertheless pretty scenic. The hike to the falls itself, is interesting as it meanders thru bushes, bridges and couple of streams. Spending the afternoon proved worth while, as I incidentally found this cave, with a lovely framed view of the falls. Look close and you would get to realize the size of the falls :)

Canon 7D : Canon 10-22 mm : ISO 100 : 22 mm : f27 : 6 sec

Buy Print   Cascade Waterfalls
North Utica, Illinois, USA

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December 13, 2012

Stonehenge – right here at Oregon

I came across Maryhill in Washington, when I was trying to finalize (light pollution free) places to shoot Geminids meteor shower. This park has a full-size, astronomically-aligned replica of Stonehenge and was commissioned by Samuel Hill and dedicated on July 4, 1918 as a memorial to those that died in World War I. The memorial was completed in 1929.

The peak of Geminids is actually tonight (Dec 13, 2013), but given the overcast weather here at the northwest, it is not very promising. Hence, when there was a break in the weather yesterday, decided to take my chances. It was a nice experience, braving the December cold and watching the meteor shower in person. I was able to witness close to ~5 in a span of 15 minutes, as I was scouting / setting up at the location. But subsequently the skies were clear only for a few minutes – here and there. So much for the forecast and almost clear skies. It was not a great night for capturing the meteors, but given the new moon and having the entire place to play with some lighting, it turned out to a pretty good night for some star photography.

I used a small headlamp to light up the inside of the Stonehenge. The light from a near by settlement was reflecting on the clouds creating the yellow. The (once distracting series of) tower lights, harmonized with the fog resulting in the lovely red hue over the horizon. Incidentally, the passing by Union Pacific train decided to play along and lit up the outside of the Stonehenge. Wish there had been a meteor on this particular shot, oh well … I just love it when a plan comes together, or not :)

Camera : Canon 7D
Lens : Canon 10-22 mm
Filter : None
ISO 3200 : 10 mm : f3.5 : 30 sec

Buy PrintMilky way @ Stonehenge
MaryHill, Washington, USA

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March 2, 2011

Great Salt Lake @ Twilight

Great Salt lake is not one of the pleasant places to be (atleast for me). It is interesting to note that the Great Salt Lake is actually three to five times saltier than the ocean. Given this salinity, there is not much of aquatic life. Some kind of bacterial life (Halophiles) living in high salt concentration areas helps keep the balance of the ecosystems. Due to these activity, the resulting odor is not very pleasant.
But at the same time, this is one of the best spots to catch stunning sunsets. This was shot during one one of those short twilight times, just as the sun went down. It was real soothing to watch the yacht slowly sail across the horizon. oh yeah it is still in the frame, u might need to look a bit close [full size] :)

Buy Print Flickr Page Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City
Utah, USA

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