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.

Twilight at Rock CreekMoments before sunrise at Rock Creek in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. I took this photo a little north of Rapids Bridge where the creek consists of fast-flowing water, i.e. rapids. The National Park Service says that this portion of the creek is the "fall zone—the geologic transition zone where the harder rock of the Piedmont Plateau meets the softer, sedimentary rock of the Atlantic Coastal Plain".

So, I got a new ultra-wide angle lens, the Fujinon XF8-16mmF2.8 R LM WR. I've been very excited to play with it. 8mm is extraordinarily wide on a crop-sensor camera like my Fuji X-T4. It allows me to take some photos that I simply couldn't take before. So, to try it out, I waited for a cloudy day and visited Rock Creek Park. For this photo above, I got up very early. I didn't see a soul on any of the trails when I got there. Because it was so dark, it was actually hard from the trail to see any good places to shoot from, but I did eventually find one. I mounted my camera on my tripod, set the lens to its widest setting, and mounted a polarizer on the lens using a Haida M15 filter holder. I needed the polarizer to reduce the glare on the water, especially on the lefthand side. I then set my exposure very low, so as not to blowout the sky, and there we have it!

Springtime at Boulder BridgeAn early spring morning at Boulder Bridge and Rock Creek in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.

Once the sun came up, I ventured up and down the river. I like this one (above) of Boulder Bridge. Again, I shot it with my tripod and polarizer. For the photo below, I used both the polarizer and a 6-stop neutral density filter so that I could use a slower shutter speed and get that nice soft look for the water. All-in-all, I think my visit to Rock Creek was a fun and successful excursion. I'm looking forward to playing with my new lens some more.

Lush Green at Rock CreekRock Creek in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. I took this photo a little north of Rapids Bridge where the creek consists of fast-flowing water, i.e. rapids. The National Park Service says that this portion of the creek is the "fall zone—the geologic transition zone where the harder rock of the Piedmont Plateau meets the softer, sedimentary rock of the Atlantic Coastal Plain".

Mother's Day Flowers 20202020 Mother's Day flowers from fleursDC.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!