Sunset on Stony Man 1The summer sun sets over the town of Luray and Lake Arrowhead; viewed from the summit of Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. My family and I recently stayed near Luray, which is a small Virginia town just outside of one of the main entrances to Shenandoah National Park. We had a great time hiking and I took lots of photos. The photo above and the following two photos are from the sunset on our first evening there. I shot them from the summit of Stony Man Mountain.

Sunset on Stony Man 2The summer sun sets over the town of Luray and Lake Arrowhead; viewed from the summit of Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

Those of you who follow my work closely know that I've shot many landscapes in Shenandoah and I normally shoot sunrises. Shooting a sunrise means that afterwards I can drive back home to D.C. and have the rest of my day to get things done and spend time with my family. Sunsets can be problematic, so staying in Luray was an opportunity. I think my sunset photos turned out great and I hope you agree.

Twilight from Stony ManOn a hot summer’s night, dusk falls on the town of Luray and Lake Arrowhead. Viewed from the summit of Stony Man Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

I didn't just shoot sunsets while we were staying in Luray, I also shot a sunrise. I think the following turned out quite nicely as well.

A hot summer dawn in ShenandoahDawn on a hot summer’s day in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

A hot summer sunrise in Shenandoah 1A hot summer sunrise in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

A hot summer sunrise in Shenandoah 2A hot summer sunrise in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

The house we rented near Luray was actually on a dairy farm just outside of town. It was very scenic. Here's a view from the house:

Virginia dairy farm 1A hot summer’s day on a dairy farm outside Luray, Virginia.

There was plenty of excitement on the farm. My boys enjoyed seeing the cows and some rabbits hopping around. What we weren't expecting was a glider to make an emergency landing in a cornfield right next to the house. Fortunately, the pilot was okay and it seems the glider was not badly damaged:

Glider in a CornfieldA glider that made an emergency landing in a cornfield outside Luray, Virginia.