#Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop

[thorsenmark]

Waters Flowing Over Brandywine Falls (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A sideward view looking across the creek and then falls. Because of the rains the day prior, I didn't need to close have a longer shutter speed even with a variable ND filter I was using. Composing the image was a matter of lining of the creek and waterfalls while using some of the nearby trees and plantlife to complete this setting in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I worked with control points and color control points in Capture NX2 to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted. I then added a Foliage and Darken/Lighten Center CEP filter to give that little bit extra for the final image.

#65' #Azimuth 357 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Long Exposure #Looking North #Looking through Trees #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast

[bestdogwalkersboulder]

Dogging' Philadelphia: 10 Cool Things to See When You Walk Your Dog

"If your dog is fat," the old saying goes, "you aren't getting enough exercise." But walking the dog need not be just about a little exercise. Here are 10 cool things you can see in greater Philadelphia while you hike with your dog.

FOLK ART

In 1855, a hotel entrepreneur built a new inn on Rex Avenue. To draw attention to his hostelry he constructed an Indian from old barn boards and propped it up on top of a rock overlooking the Gorge. In 1902, when the Indian Rock Hotel was long gone but with the silhouette still there, artist Massey Rhind was commissioned to make a representation of a "Delaware Indian, looking west to where his people have gone." The kneeling warrior has gazed up the Wissahickon Gorge ever since. A switchback trail leads to the Indian Statue where you can get close enough to pat his knee. And take in a breathtaking view.

MONUMENTAL M0NUMENTS

The Multi-Use Trail rolls past reconstructed huts and parade grounds that transport you back to the Revolution. The National Memorial Arch, a massive stone tribute dedicated in 1917, stands out along the route. The inscription reads: "Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery. Washington at Valley Forge, February 16, 1778." In the southern part of White Clay, reached by the Twin Valley Trail, is the Arc Corner Monument marking one end of the 12-mile arc which forms the Pennsylvania-Delaware state line, unique in American political boundary-making. The circular divide dates to William Penn's directive of August 28, 1701, when Delaware was still a part of Pennsylvania, known as the Lower Three Counties. A little more than 1/2 mile to the west is another monument marking the tri-state junction of Delaware,Pennsylvania and Maryland.

AMERICAN CASTLES

Breaking out of the woods at several points on the hilltops you are greeted with an unparalleled view of Granogue, one of the more spectacular of the American castles dotting the Brandywine Valley's chateau lands.

MOVIE LOCATIONS

Flying concentric circles outward from Philadelphia, Hollywood location scouts for Oprah Winfrey's movie project, Beloved, spotted the Fair Hill terrain and selected it as the backdrop for the film's rural scenes. A ramshackle 19th-century tenant farm was constructed and much of the movie shot here. The producers decided to leave the movie set intact, to deteriorate naturally. You can wander among the fake buildings and even knock on the styrofoam stones.

COOL FORTS

Where else can a dog climb into an actual battery and scan the Delaware River where gunnery officers once aimed guns capable of accurately firing 1,000-pound projectiles eight miles like he can at Fort Mott State Park? Fort DuPont, named for Civil War fleet commander Admiral Samuel Francis duPont, saw active duty in three wars before becoming a state park. The 1-mile River View Trail, a grassy loop path, begins in the marshland along the Delaware River and finishes in shaded woodlands. The trail takes you past several ruins of the military installation, camoflauged to river traffic, and features sustained views of the Delaware River and Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island.

REMARKABLE BRIDGES

In the farthest northern section of Tyler State Park is the longest covered bridge in Bucks County. The 117-year old Schofield Ford Covered Bridge burned in 1991 but after five years of fundraising the 166-foot, two-span crossing was entirely rebuilt by volunteers on its original stone abutments using authentic period materials and methods. An elaborate, reinforced wooden railroad trestle bridges a ravine on the Glen Trail. The trail runs by a stream under the trestle and there are sweeping views of Wenonah Woods from the top.

A walk through Brandywine Park provides a quick lesson is the history of bridge architecture. The classical arch form is represented in grand style with the magificent stone viaduct across the river and numerous reinforced concrete spans. There is even a small iron arch bridge over the mill race. A prototypical 19th century pier and girder iron bridge transports trains over the Brandywine. And the pedestrian footbridge across the water, the Swinging Bridge, is a little suspension bridge employing the same engineering principles as the mythical Brooklyn Bridge.

A floodplain is a safety valve for the release of a raging creek's overflow. Along the Paper Mill Trail, just off the Creek Road Trail, is an exhibit on managing these protective wetlands that create a unique wildlife habitat. The stone double-arch bridge next to the floodplain exhibit was built in 1847. The fall line on the Pennypack Creek was the natural choice for fording the creek back to Indian days. William Penn was not so patient in waiting for the tide to take the water away each day and in 1683 he asked that "an order be given for building a bridge over the Pennypack." Each male resident was taxed in either money or labor to build the bridge, which, when completed in 1697, became the first Three Arch Stone bridge in America. Designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark, the bridge over Frankford Avenue in Pennypack Park is the oldest stone bridge still carrying heavy traffic in America. Germantown Pike was the first road to be started in Montgomery County, dating to 1687 when funds were allocated for a "cart road" from Philadelphia to the Plymouth Meeting settlement. Later extended to present-day Collegeville, an eight arch stone bridge was built to span Skippack Creek in 1792. An equestrian trail crosses the bridge, which is the oldest bridge in continuous, heavy use in America. Ashland Covered Bridge, built in the days before the Civil War; the adjoining Succession and Flood Plain Trails visit meadow, marsh, pond and forest landscapes.

Theodore Burr built a bridge spanning the Hudson River at Waterford, New York in 1804. He added an arch segment to the multiple truss bridge popular at the time, attaining a longer span. Patented in 1817, the Burr Arch Truss became one of the most common in the construction of covered bridges. The Larkin's Bridge, a 65-foot long, 45-ton "Burr Arch" covered bridge erected in 1854 and rebuilt in 1881, was relocated to the northeast section of the park in 1972. Larkin's Covered Bridge is the only remaining legacy of Milford Mills.

In 1850 Albert Fink, a German railroad engineer, designed and patented a bridge that used a latticework of rods instead of cables to reinforce stiffness. This construction was cheap and sturdy, making the Fink Truss one of the most commonly used railroad bridges in the 1860s, especially favored by the powerful Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Only one Fink Truss bridge remains in the United States - an abandoned 108-foot span in Zoarsville, Ohio. A wooden reproduction of a Fink Truss is in a field at Warwick County Park for you and your dog to climb.

CANAL LOCK

Pennsylvania's first canal system was cobbled together in 1815 using 120 locks to stretch 108 miles from the coal fields of Schuylkill County to Philadelphia. Railroads began chewing away at canal business in the 1860s and the last coal barges floated down the Schuylkill River in the 1920s. Today, the only sections of the canal in existence are at Manayunk and Lock 60, built by area name donor Thomas Oakes, at the Schuylkill Canal Park. In 1985 the Schuylkill Canal Association formed to keep the canal flowing and maintain the lock and towpath. In 1988, the area was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

CHAMPION TREES

The Taylor Memorial Arboretum provides a 12-Tree Self-Guided Tour. The collection is especially strong in Far Eastern specimens and spotlights three Pennsylvania State Champion trees: the Needle Juniper, the Lacebark Elm and the Giant Dogwood. Also on the tour is a Dawn Redwood, an ancient tree known only through fossils until 1941 when a botany student tracked down living specimens in rural China. Some of the first seed to come to America resulted in this tree. Liberated from their sun-stealing neighbors of the crowded woods, the "King" and "Queen" White Oaks have spread out into a massive canopy of leaves. The "Queen" measures seventeen feet around at the thickest part of the trunk and the "King" is closer to twenty. The two trees are part of the "Penn's Woods" collection of 139 trees standing when William Penn arrived to survey his Pennsylvania colony.

The arboreal oldsters reside at the last stop of the nature trail. bacterial infection. Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown was the summer estate of 19th century Quaker shipping merchant Henry Cope. Across the 55 acres are plantings of groves and clusters of trees set amidst large swaths of grss fields in the English landscape garden tradition. You can investigate more than 200 species, mostly native, in your informal explorations of the grounds. Old macadam paths lead to most areas of the odd-shaped property. Also on the grounds are wetlands surrounding an artificial pond.

BARNS

While many of the Hospital Farm's buildings have disappeared, the unique dairy barn remains. Built in 1914, it is shaped like a wheel with four spokes. The fame of the hospital's dairy operation was widespread. In 1961 alone, nine cows produced 1.1 million pounds of milk - more than 300 pounds of milk per cow per day.The Visitor Center is a restoration of a 1923 Sears & Roebuck mail order barn. A century ago Sears sold anything and everything by mail - including kits for building houses and barns. The kit, which could cost as little as a few hundred dollars depending on style, would include rough lumber, framing timbers, plank flooring, shingles, hardware, sash and paint. Usually shipped by train from the west, the barn kit would be loaded onto a freight wagon and hauled to the building site for assembly by local carpenters.

COOL ROCKS

Forty million years ago an igneous explosion occurred underground here and cooled very quickly leaving behind a particularly fine granite rock. Tourists and students of geology alike made the pilgrimage to the Falls of French Creek to study the rock formations. Granite quarries mined the rock and granite from Saint Peters once received an award at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago as "a fine-grained polished cube, a good building and ornamental stone." The quarries closed in the 1960s and many pits can still be seen. Today the giant boulders in French Creek are ideal for your dog to sramble on - or just lie in the sun. Mountain in State Game Land #157. The mountain is essentially a ridge of diabase boulders and the trail to the top calls for almost continuous rock-hopping, a technique called bouldering. The basaltic rock provides incredible traction.

And our vote for the coolest thing of all on Philadelphia trails - the "Ringing Rocks" in Ringing Rocks Park where the rocks ping when struck by a hammer - or thud on "dead " spots.

Get the best boulder dog walkers

#dogtraining

[halcyontheroad]

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Only recently did I notice this large national park in Ohio, and I was excited that I would get to stop an explore it on my drive east. Cuyahoga Valley National Park has no shortage of hiking and biking trails throughout a historic landscape shaped by The Ohio and Erie Canal. My first stop was The Ledges Trail and Pine Grove where I explored a few easy miles of cliffs, crevices and caves along quiet forest trails. I then made a stop at the Boston Store, the park’s official visitor center, where I found some more maps and watched a shot park film. At lunchtime I drove over to Brandywine Falls and hiked the 1 mile loop around the gorge. Continuing north along Riverview Road and the canal, I eventually made one more stop in the Bedford Reservation to hike down to Bridal Veil Falls. It’s easy to knock out the main attractions of this park in one day, but there are enough additional trails and recreation areas to keep one busy for a long time. Overall, the park was quiet and easy to explore, but not something to get too excited about; especially having come from the mind-blowing national parks in the western part of the country. 

Follow me on Instagram for daily photo updates @halcyontheroad

#Cuyahoga Valley #national parks #ohio #usa #america #forest #woods #nature #wilderness #hike #hiking #outdoors #explore #woodlands #scenic #waterfall #gorge #rock #cliffs #trail #roadtrip #travel #wanderlust #offgrid #nomad #van #vanlife #vandwelling #vandwellers #campervan

[thorsenmark]

Rapids and Waters of Brandywine Creek (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Here I used a variable ND filter but didn't bring it down all the way...just enough so that I could capture a slightly longer exposure and add some silkiness to the waters flowing by me. I worked with control points and color control points in Capture NX2 to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted. I then added a Foliage and Sunshine CEP filter to give that little bit extra for the final image.

#Azimuth 120 #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Looking SE #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast #Project365 #Tall Trees #Tall Trees All Around #Travel #Trees #Trip to Gateway Mammoth Cuyahoga National Parks #Ohio

[thorsenmark]

I Have Lingered on the Shores to Watch the Waters of a River Float By (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view over Brandywine Creek on the trail loop in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. What drew me into this setting was the water flowing downstream with the forest of greens and yellows all around. Given the overcast skies, it also seemed better to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to minimize any of those skies and allow for a more sweeping view with the creek.

#Azimuth 279 #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Looking West #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast #Portfolio #Project365 #Tall Trees #Tall Trees All Around #Travel #Trees #Trip to Gateway Mammoth Cuyahoga National Parks

[thorsenmark]

Rapids and Waters of Brandywine Creek (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Here I used a variable ND filter but didn't bring it down all the way...just enough so that I could capture a slightly longer exposure and add some silkiness to the waters flowing by me. I worked with control points and color control points in Capture NX2 to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted. I then added a Foliage and Sunshine CEP filter to give that little bit extra for the final image.

#Azimuth 120 #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Looking SE #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast #Project365 #Tall Trees #Tall Trees All Around #Travel #Trees #Trip to Gateway Mammoth Cuyahoga National Parks #Ohio

[thorsenmark]

I Found So Many Pleasures to Give Life in the Forest and Woods (Black & White, Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A conversion to black & white using Capture NX2 where I used some color filters to bring out a much richer tonal contrast for the final image. Captured at Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

#65' #Azimuth 85 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Black & White #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Long Exposure #Looking ENE #Looking through Trees #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside

[thorsenmark]

Across the Waters of Brandywine Falls and the Nearby Landscape (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens

#65' #Aurora HDR #Aurora HDR Pro #Azimuth 117 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Exposed Rock #HDR #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Layers of Rock #Looking East #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains

[thorsenmark]

I Found So Many Pleasures to Give Life in the Forest and Woods (Black & White, Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A conversion to black & white using Capture NX2 where I used some color filters to bring out a much richer tonal contrast for the final image. Captured at Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

#65' #Azimuth 85 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Black & White #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Long Exposure #Looking ENE #Looking through Trees #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside

[thorsenmark]

Waters Flowing Over Brandywine Falls (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A sideward view looking across the creek and then falls. Because of the rains the day prior, I didn't need to close have a longer shutter speed even with a variable ND filter I was using. Composing the image was a matter of lining of the creek and waterfalls while using some of the nearby trees and plantlife to complete this setting in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I worked with control points and color control points in Capture NX2 to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted. I then added a Foliage and Darken/Lighten Center CEP filter to give that little bit extra for the final image.

#65' #Azimuth 357 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Long Exposure #Looking North #Looking through Trees #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast

[thorsenmark]

Water Falling Across Brandywine Falls (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Another angled and sideward view across the falls while including some nearby trees and plantlife to complete a setting in this part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

#65' #Azimuth 355 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Long Exposure #Looking North #Looking through Trees #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast

[thorsenmark]

I Started Out from a Restful Sleep and Realized That Today Was a Beautiful Day! (Black & White, Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I decided to try out this "Ansel Adams Look" I'd read about in Jason Odell's book on Capture NX2. The idea is to work with the LCH editor, making some adjustments, and then use a Black point and White point before converting to black & white.

#65' #Ansel Adams Look from Capture NX2 #Aurora HDR #Aurora HDR Pro #Azimuth 117 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Black & White #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Exposed Rock #HDR #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Layers of Rock #Long Exposure #Looking East #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy

[thorsenmark]

Across the Waters of Brandywine Falls and the Nearby Landscape (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens

#65' #Aurora HDR #Aurora HDR Pro #Azimuth 117 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Exposed Rock #HDR #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Layers of Rock #Looking East #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains

[thorsenmark]

I Headed out into the Woods Alone with Only a Joyful Song to Sing! (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: After a long drive the day prior from Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, it felt amazing to get out and walk a few miles along a few of the paths in this national park. This was a forest setting while walking the Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop. Obviously my first focus on this trail was the famous waterfall, but afterwards, it was time to enjoy this stroll in the woods. That's what I wanted to capture with this image and the forest. A path leading ahead with the greens on the tree leaves all around and above me.

#Azimuth 251 #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #Capture NX2 Edited #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Hiking Trail #Landscape #Looking West #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nature Trail #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast #Portfolio #Project365 #Tall Trees #Tall Trees All Around #Trail #Travel #Trees

[thorsenmark]

Bubbles Turn into Spirals (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I'd come across this article on a photography web site a few years back (digital-photography-school.com/9-top-tips-for-shooting-wa...). Much of my interests had been in using longer exposure with waterfalls, wanting to capture that silky water look. But there was a "hidden gem," if you will, in that article that I'd wanted to capture for a long while but never seemed to have that chance: spirals in water. I'd come to appreciate that it quite often depends on many things such as the flow rate of water and the water being forced to move around in circles (rather than flowing straight downstream). So when I was walking the backside of Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop, I came across a creek that seemed like it might work for a first time practice. I set up my Nikon SLR camera on a tripod and used my CamRanger hooked with my iPhone to both compose and meter this image. I then adjusted until I found the spiral of bubbles! I was then able to work with control points and color control points in Capture NX2 to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted.

#Azimuth 210 #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Ideas I Got From Others #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Looking WSW #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E #North America Plains #Ohio-Wabash-Erie Area #Outside #Overcast #Project365 #Small Creek #Spiral Pattern in Water #Travel #Trees #Trip to Gateway Mammoth Cuyahoga National Parks #Ohio

[thorsenmark]

I Started Out from a Restful Sleep and Realized That Today Was a Beautiful Day! (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: My first stop upon entering Cuyahoga Valley National Park. To say this was a show for a waterfall might be a little bit of an overstatement. With the recent rainstorm that had passed over this area, the streams and rivers were quite filled with water! So that's what I came across when I walked up to this overlook point to Brandywine Falls and decided to try out a longer exposure with a variable ND filter I had in a hiking buttpack I was walking with. I felt I could take advantage of the flow and practice on capturing an image with a longer exposure (and not blow any highlights!). The next thing I set up was a CamRanger that I'd played around with earlier this trip. I found it was easy to control the exposure and focus with that using my iPhone and then get immediate feedback with a bigger screen than that of the LCD on my Nikon D800E. I liked how that then made for more visible adjustments. I initially brought the NEF/RAW image into Aurora HDR Pro so I could pull out the dynamic range seen without any color casts I'd experienced in Capture NX2. I was later able bring an export TIFF image back into that program and use control points and color control points to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image here.

#65' #Aurora HDR #Aurora HDR Pro #Azimuth 117 #Bedford Shale #Berea Sandstone #Brandywine Creek #Brandywine Falls #Brandywine Gorge Trail #Brandywine Gorge Trail Loop #CamRanger #Capture NX2 Edited #Cleveland Shale #Cloudy #Color Efex Pro #Creek #Cuyahoga Valley National Park #Day 6 #Exposed Rock #HDR #Image Capture with CamRanger #Landscape #Layers of Rock #Long Exposure #Looking East #Lower Peninsula-Heartland #Midwest-Great Lakes Area #Mostly Cloudy #Nature #Nikon D800E