Mt. Mou’aroa, the “Shark’s Tooth” (far left) and Mt. Rotui over Cook’s Bay, Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Oct 11, 2004.
October is spring in French Polynesia. I suspect French Polynesia is beautiful most any time of year. We were on the island of Mo’orea, not far from Tahiti.
Horseshoe Park, Ypsilon Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park. October 11, 2007.
My fall in Colorado series. As you can see from these photos, fall colors can hang around for quite a while in Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park.
“River of Sky”, Roadside Park, Germfask, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. October 9, 1998.
My fall in Michigan series. I stopped at a roadside park just south of Germfask Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. I was sitting at a picnic table and I happened to look straight up. I saw a blue river of sky winding it way between red maple leaves. I grabbed my camera and shot straight up. This is one of my favorite fall color images.
Autumn, Upper Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. October 8, 1998.
My fall in Michigan series. The end of the fall color season in Colorado overlaps with the beginning of the fall color season in Michigan. So why not do both? Upper Tahquamenon Falls is one of the great fall color locations in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Tannin from the cedar swamps in the area leaches into the water, giving the falls its distinctive color.
Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado. October 6, 2007.
My fall in Colorado series.
Aspen, Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. October 13, 2022.
If you are leaving right now for Rocky Mountain National Park, this is where I suggest you go for late season fall color. Continue reading
Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
Autumn on the Taiga. Denali National Park, Alaska. September 1, 2000.
The colors were outrageous on the taiga. This is a great time of year to go to Denali National Park.
Caribou on the Taiga, Denali National Park, Alaska. August 30, 2000.
A bus load of photographers was on a photo excursion in Denali National Park with George Lepp. He spotted this caribou, told the bus driver to drive down the road a few hundred yards and stop. Then we got out and waited, a lined up in a row. George told us to wait, be quiet, and move as little as possible. If we did what he said, he predicted the caribou would eventually walk right by us. It did. We all got great shots. Then he explained how he knew where the caribou was likely to walk. This image is part of my fall color series.
Bearberry and the Alaska Range, Denali National Park, Alaska. Tuesday, Aug 29, 2000.
On the fall in Denali National Park, Bearberry turns fire red.
Caribou, Alaska Range in the background, Denali National Park, Alaska. Aug 28, 2000.
Autumn comes early in Denali National Park. We were in a bus on the park road when I pointed my camera out the window and grabbed this picture.
Headed for Colorado this fall (or any other time of year)? Welcome to my complete Colorado fall color photography and travel guide with 136 photos, 18 maps, and over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out). I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and most of these locations look great any other time of year. Spend anywhere from two days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Marshall Pass is a beautiful fall color drive in southern Colorado, and still pretty much a secret. It does not turn up on most lists of the most beautiful fall color drives in Colorado. It is a beautiful drive with a lot of fall color photo opportunities.
Bear Lake, Longs Peak and the Keyboard of the Winds.
Norwalk Lutheran Church, Manistee Michigan.
Acadia National Park is 109 nears old today. The photos in this article were taken by me in Acadia National Park, October 2017.
Last Light on El Capitan. My first trip to Yosemite Valley, December 30, 1990.
What a great idea! It started with Abe Lincoln, 161 years ago today. He was the first President to create “public lands” and it started with Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove.
Google maps tracking for July 19, 2024.
If you have the Google Maps app on your phone, you can turn on or off the ability of the app to track your travels. Some people like this and some don’t. You can turn tracking on and off any time you want. The map does not drop bread crumbs that track your exact routes. It draws straight lines between stops. Each round symbol on the map shows one of my stops for the day. Most of these are photo stops but some are for food, gas, or other necessities. By using two fingers on the map on your phone’s screen, you can zoom in or out on the map.
Trip Log, September 28-29, 2024.
Before there was Mapquest or Google Maps, there was me! (Tongue-in-cheek font.)
Sunset, “The Window”, from the Chisos Basin.
Big Bend National Park was officially established June 12, 1944. Generally I don’t like deserts. I like mountains, high altitude lakes and streams, cool breezes, and pine scented air. So imagine my surprise when I fell in love with Big Bend on my very first visit.
Blue Jay, Whitefish Point, Michigan’s U.P.
My Northern Michigan weekend photography workshops are usually in the fall, but this one was on Memorial Day Weekend. At each workshop we take a full day to go on a field trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Loon, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, July 1, 2019.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places on the planet. Loons arrive every year in the spring, one of the many reasons to go to Seney. Not only are they fun to watch and photograph, there is nothing quite like hearing the call of a loon. Seney is in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula just north of Germfask. As an added bonus, ABJ has returned once again to Seney this spring. More about him later.
Screen Capture. Click to see a larger version.
I walked into the office this morning and this photo on my computer monitor greeted my eyes. This is a favorite memory and a favorite photo. Great job screen saver!
Moon Over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah.
Are you planning a spring photography trip to one or more U.S. national parks? Where should you go? Which parks will provide the best photographic opportunities? Which parks are at their best in the spring?
Ocotillo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Which national parks are at their very best in the spring? If I could go on a fabulous spring photography trip to the national parks of my choice, all expenses paid, which ones would I pick? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Snowy Egret Feeding
Some days are “so so”, some days are average, and some days are amazing. Summer is not my favorite time of year to photograph birds at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but July 14, 2016 was an amazing day. This photo of a feeding Snowy Egret was just one of many fine images from the morning. He stabbed at his prey and it came out of the water but not in his beak.
The view across the wildlife refuge looking west at the Dumbarton Bridge.
Located on the east side of San Francisco Bay near Fremont, California, the Don Edwards San Fransisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places to go when I am in the Bay Area.
