Mike Walker Photography

During the winter, when trees are bare and grass is brown, it’s a good time to concentrate on photographing birds and streams and waterfalls.  This morning I drove to Shenandoah National Park to hike to Rose River Falls, but when I arrived at the park’s entrance station I was disappointed to find the park road closed due to snow and ice conditions.  I remembered that another trail to White Oak Canyon Falls started outside of the park boundary, so after spending 40 mins. Googling my iPhone for directions, I made the trip to the trailhead.

The hike was fairly strenuous, with steep, rocky terrain covered in snow and ice much of the time, but the scenery was a great reward.  The streams and waterfalls along the way still had good water levels and there were lots of opportunities for photography.

Prince William Forest, operated by the National Park Service, has a nice scenic roadway which loops through the park. The road has a dedicated lane for bicycles and people who just want to get outside and walk. The roadway was clear of snow but the trails were another story. I hiked to the Quantico Falls trail which required slogging through a lot of snow but the effort was rewarded with great views along the stream.

 On the trail, I came across a group of leaves floating in a large puddle from the melting snow which gave the leafs a layered look.

On the hike back to my car, I snapped a multiple exposure image of a nice stand of trees surrounded by snow, creating a painting-like effect.

I checked the backyard today and was surprised to see a number of Bluebirds at my feeders.  Surprised because I hadn’t seen a Bluebird in my backyard since 1991.  I don’t know if this is because of the snow on the ground reducing food supplies or if this is maybe a sign that Spring is just around the corner (I’m hoping it’s the Spring thing…).

Well, there WAS plenty of bird seed in the feeders and on the ground and many other birds were taking advantage of an easy meal, like the Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren below. I also saw Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, White-throated Sparrows, House Sparrows, Dark-Eyed Juncos, White-Breasted Nut Hatches, European Starlings, Goldfinches, Red-bellied and Downy Woodpeckers, and an American Robin all grabbing some seed.

To think that, back in early December, I wondered if this area would get any snow this season…. The second large snow storm arrived today dumping 20+” and was quickly dubbed “snowmageddon” and “snowpocalypse”.  Like most folks here, I stayed indoors during most of the storm but did venture out to photograph some of the great scenery around me.

Lately I seem to be fascinated with taking photographs of objects found on the ground.  With a fresh layer of snow here, my attention is drawn even more to these artifacts that have been left behind by the fall season. The white background really helps focus my attention on these objects.

Maybe I spend a lot of time looking down when I’m out hiking around because the view above ground can be less attractive at times…. although maybe the graffiti of today will be the petroglyphs of tomorrow with the photography workshops of the future crowding around to photograph.