Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park offers some spectacular views, awesome sunsets and sunrises as well as an abundance of wildlife. I spent three days in the park and was able to photograph deer, bear sunset, sunrise and the full moon rising over the meadows. All this without having to walk more than just a few hundred feet from the road or parking areas.

The wildlife is busy feeding, fattening up for the winter. They are so accustomed to humans that they allow you to come within feet of them. They are so curious as to what you are doing that they will come right up to you to check out your tripod and food coolers. I had one particularly bold buck attempt to open my cooler while I was cooking and standing only five feet or so away. Clapping and waving my arms at him to leave did little more than earn me a look from him like I had lost my mind. Perhaps that thought alone persuaded him to move on. However, prior to this incident I was able to obtain some shots of him in the surrounding grassy area along with some does feeding.

The photo to the left was shot with an iso 400 at 400 mm. The photo to the right was shot with an iso 400 at 220 mm. Both were hand held with the image stabilizer on.

With the conclusion of the meal I went over to the Meadows and staked out my spot on the top of a hill to await sunset. I was not disappointed. The deer were feeding all over the meadow and I captured this doe standing on a ridge. 

This also was a hand held shot using an iso of 400 and 400 mm lens.

While I was waiting for the sun to set a group of about 15 deer came running up and when they crested the hill and saw me sitting there they all came to a halt and just starred at me. One doe's curiosity got the best of her and she walked up to the tripod to give it a good inspection. After concluding that it nor I was any harm, they began grazing on the grass paying absolutely no attention to me. Soon the sunset began a wonderful and ever changing light show. I shot numerous sequences for HDR processing. 

Shot from a tripod with and iso of 200 at 22 mm.  A sequence of 5 exposures was used for the HDR processing.

Also shot with a tripod with and iso of 400 at 19 mm. A sequence of 5 exposures was used for the HDR processing.

After the sunset mother nature provided an additional treat, a beautiful moon rising in the east.

This is a single exposure shot from a tripod with and iso of 800 at 30 mm.

The next morning mother nature proved again that she isn't finished with her displays of beauty and she delighted me with an equally fantastic sunrise. I went down into the lower sections of the meadow and found an old dead tree that is a fitting tribute to the Halloween festivities. Armed with my tripod and bag full of lenses the choices were unlimited. I shot so many of these I had difficulty choosing which shot to post.

Shot with a tripod, a series of 5. iso 200 at 43 mm.

Shot with a tripod, a series of 5. iso 200 at 22 mm.

After such a glorious sunrise I was sure that I had seen the best of what the day could offer. Yet again mother nature rose to the occasion and delighted me with even more. I decided to drive along the skyline parkway just to see what the park had to offer. I had not gone but a couple of miles and there in the trees was a mother bear with her three cubs. I pulled over grabbed the camera and just started to shoot away. The lighting was below poor, the bears were in thick leaves moving all over feasting on acorns. However, I stress, this isn't about perfection but about having fun and fun I did have. I'm posting only a couple of shots here for your enjoyment, but if you want to see more I'll be posting on Flickr as I can get them processed.

 

The shot on the left is the mother bear and the shot on the right is her rebel child. He was off on his own, a dare devil climbing out on twigs that I was sure would not hold him. Meanwhile the other two cubs remained  close by mom and were well hidden in the leaves.

I hope you enjoyed this and will chose to continue to follow me as I have Fun with Photography, and don't forget to visit me at my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauralee733/