Expeditious Expedition: West Virginia

After months of stress from work, I needed a break. Typically, every October I take a week off to photograph some fall foliage, and just decompress in nature. It wasn’t in the cards for me this year, but I opted for a few Fridays off. These shots are the result of a whirlwind, round trip that began for me at 9pm on a Thursday, and ended nearly 24 hours later on Friday when I pulled up to my home. Thanks go out to friend and fellow photographer Dante Fratto for taking the wheel for the drive.

“Alone, it’s a journey. Now adventures, they must be shared.”

Luckily there is a large boulder out in the river that allows you to stand on to get this perspective. This was the first shot of the day and it was well before the sun rose. Fortunately, with the mill being located in a valley, it takes a good hour or so before sunlight washes out the scene.

Some scenes are just so photogenic, it’s a real pleasure to photograph them. To me this is a fairly iconic scene. If I was a painter, I don’t think I’d change anything about it.

This is Autumn, at Babcock State Park in West Virginia. The draw is the Glade Creek Grist Mill, one of the most photographed images in the world.

During operating hours, visitors can tour the mill and learn about the process that grinds corn into cornmeal. Yes, it’s still an operational mill!

It was time for the journey home, but we took a gamble at a second location. I usually only take photos around sunrise or sunset which have much nicer light for photography. Sometimes it’s good to just go and see things, regardless if it results in ‘a good shot’. I’ll forever be picky about my light though!

The second stop was at Blackwater Falls State Park. Blackwater Falls is a 57-foot cascade tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. The next area took a bit of hunting around since the signage wasn’t very clear.

After this photo, it was time to pack up, hit the road and dream up on new locations to explore. Who knew you could get so much done in 24 hours if you didn’t sleep!