2024-08 UPDATE

Where does time go? We’ve passed through three quarters of 2024 and so much has happened so fast. In Spring, we went to Blackwater Falls in West VA and Breaks Interstate Park at the state line of Virginia and Kentucky. The summer has brought several trips to Hatteras Island. Recently we went to Vero Beach, Florida, for a week of vacation and, of course, photographs.

Blackwater Falls in West Virginia was amazing. The falls were spectacular. The water was flowing so hard that the top of the falls was completely covered and there was a tremendous flow over them. Photographing at the base of them was difficult due to the mist that quickly covered me and the camera. We moved to a little higher vantage point to get some great photographs that didn’t soak the equipment.

We took a day trip to see and photograph Seneca Rocks, which was a great day trip. The Seneca Rocks are quite majestic and there is a trail up the mountain to an observation platform with a spectacular view of the area.

Since the campground was not fully open this time of year, we stayed in the lodge at the Blackwater Falls State Park. That was a good choice. The Lodge was very comfortable and had a great restaurant. We’ll probably check that out again next year.

Next, we went to Breaks Interstate Park to photograph the elk herd and chase waterfalls. It was early spring and the elk were all out and moving around. We took the tour bus to see the elk and the driver got us to areas where we could get some really good photographs of them. The park has quite a herd of elk. However, since it was early spring the elk had not fully developed their racks. We’ll probably try to go there next time in fall to see what it looks like and how the elk have developed.

The campsites are very good there and they have a very good restaurant as well. We had some wonderful Cajun Fried Catfish.

Hatteras Island is always a treat. We pull the Outback camper down there several time a year to Waves, NC, where we stay at Ocean Waves Campground. I have always enjoyed photographing this area and never seem to run out of subjects. Some of my favorite shots are the sunrises over the ocean and the sunsets over Pamlico Sound. Every one of them has a different personality. Take a walk on the beach early in the morning and check them out. Also, look closer into the picture and find the pictures within the picture.

Vero Beach, Florida, is another of my favorites. We go there for a week each year and I always find something new to photograph. The sunrises over ocean are spectacular when there is a storm brewing offshore. Wait patiently for it to develop and for the pelicans to fly a line through your photograph.

We spent one day doing a trip over to Lake Okeechobee where we were treated so some great scenery and a group of manatees wallowing in the shallow water.

The next day we went to McKee Botanical Gardens. This is a beautiful tropical garden in Vero Beach, Florida. We spent about three hours there and found subject matter for many tropical plant and pond photographs. You’ll see many of these showing up on our website.

UPCOMING TRIPS AND ADVENTURES:

We’re getting ready now to head out on a new adventure. We are going out west to photograph the National Parks for six weeks. We’ll be both camping and staying in the park resorts for this trip. Donna has been working hard for months putting this trip together and we are both looking forward with great anticipation of the adventures that we’ll have and the photos we will capture. Many of these will be posted on the website and on Instagram.

NEW WEBSITE:

Be sure to check the Website (daleblakephotography.net) and click on the Instagram link. Subscribe to the Webpage and Follow the Instagram link (daleblakepohotography1) to keep up with where we are going and what we are doing.

You can click on the Instagram link on the website at the bottom of the Home Page.

Note that our website is now DaleBlakePhotography.net.

Do not try to log into DaleBlakePhotogaphy.com. Some unscrupulous people have stolen that Domain from us and when anyone tries to log into it they will get a Malware Notification.

We have now moved our website to Agile Web Designers who have done a tremendous job of putting the new website together. Thank you, James, Marlon and the entire team at Agile Web Designers.