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(In case you missed them, Part I and Part II of this series can be accessed via the corresponding links.)

I decided to spend the morning of Friday, October 7, nosing around the Baell Trail area of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  This nook is highly reminiscent of many of the ecosystems I find myself photographing in the upper Midwest.  But weather conditions had meant heavy valley fog for the previous two mornings and I was anticipating more of the same.  As I have mentioned before, fog is a positive boon for landscape photography and in a place filled with clutter like CVNWR, it can be transforming.  Scenes one would walk past without a second glance become remarkably compelling.

As the morning wore on, the fog began to burn off and I was treated to a comparatively rare opportunity to photograph “god beams” as the sunlight filtered through the remaining mist and trees.  The sublime scene was a marvel, coupled with the near-silence–broken only by the occasional bird’s call–and my images surely don’t do it justice.  It was worth experiencing regardless.

Baell Trail black & white, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia

Later in the day, I joined up with Jim Moore‘s weekend workshop.  I don’t attend workshops very often–I’ve only been a part of three of them in all my years photographing–but Jim knows the West Virginia Highlands as well as or better than anyone and I knew it would be worth my time.

The afternoon and early evening was spent back at Blackwater Falls State Park, which included return visits to Blackwater Falls itself as well as Elakala Falls.  Elakala Falls has multiple tiers.  (The first tier is displayed in my Elakala shot as part of the first post in this series.)  I’ve been photographing waterfalls and cascades for ages and it’s always interesting to me how different levels of water flow optimize different cataracts.  For instance, the first tier of Elakala looks best, in my opinion, when it’s roaring, as it was early in my full week in West Virginia.  But the second tier, I feel, does better with a lesser flow.  So, while I photographed that second tier early in the week, I was pleased to return to the site and have another go at it when the water level was somewhat lower, following several days lacking precipitation.  I wedged my way down to the water’s edge and noticed the swirls.  After some experimentation, I concluded that a 10-second exposure was optimum.

Elakala Falls Tier 2, Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia

A return to Bear Rocks was on the agenda for the following morning (Saturday, October 8).  My participation in the workshop paid off big time; after my flat tire experience at Dolly Sods on Thursday,  I was only too happy to let someone else drive me up there!  It was a very early morning again, but it was well worth it.  It was still pitch dark when we arrived, but the stars were visible–for the first time in my three visits during the week there would be a sunrise at Bear Rocks!  Additionally, the winds were very light; my estimate was 5 MPH.  And once civil twilight set in, I could see that the valley fog that had been in abundance all week would be present again.  Up at Bear Rocks, all of the mist was below us.  I could see that this had the potential to be a very special sunrise.  The only thing missing would be broken clouds that would light up as sunrise approached.  The sky above was clear, but the rest of the conditions were essentially ideal.

Bear Rocks Dawn, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

As civil twilight advanced to dawn and then to sunrise itself, the conditions changed but excellent image-making opportunities remained.

Pre-Sunrise, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

I found myself moving back and forth between my wide angle/normal zoom (24-70 mm) and telephoto lenses (80-400 mm).  Seemingly whenever I thought I was done with one lens or the other, I spotted something compelling that I knew required the lens I didn’t have mounted on the camera at the time to capture.

Misty Dawn, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

Excellent shooting conditions lasted much longer than I had originally anticipated, which provided the opportunity to capture many frames before the light was lost.

Sunrise, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

Even long after sunrise, overlook opportunities abounded.

Light and Fog, Bear Rocks Preserve, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

The late afternoon and early evening was spent back in Canaan Valley, as was the following morning (Sunday, October 9), which was to be the end of my time in the area.  I’d admired a farmstead near the CVNWR Freeland tract for a long time, but had never experienced truly outstanding conditions in which to photograph it.  That finally changed on Sunday morning.  After a decidedly ho hum sunrise in the valley–for the first time all week there was no valley fog–I noticed a few low, pink clouds in the western sky.  Never fail to look over your shoulder; that’s an old landscape photography maxim.  I raced to a position where I could shoot the farm and incorporate the clouds.  An added bonus was the string of cows making its way toward pasture in the early morning.

Freeland Farm Dawn, Tucker County, West Virginia

As I prepared for the 500-odd mile drive back to the Midwest, I stopped in western Maryland at a bucolic highway overlook.  It was mid-morning, but the light was still good enough for a parting image or two.

Countryside, Garrett County, Maryland

I hope you enjoyed the fruits of my October trip to the Mountain State of West Virginia.

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