Fall is finally here in Southwest Virginia and what a beautiful season it is warming up to be. Our Lord, the greatest painter of all is showing His glory all over the region and it is a sight to behold. A couple weeks ago I headed north to Babcock State Park in West Virginia for what I thought was going to be a practice session for the upcoming leaf change. Much to my surprise, as I neared the West Virginia line I found the colors getting more and more abundant. I arrived at the park to find an absolutely stunning array of oranges, yellows and even some reds.
Babcock State Park is a beautiful park that is situated about 60 miles north of the Virginia state line. The park includes over 4,100 acres of incredible scenery, but the park is best known for The Glade Creek Grist Mill, which is a fully functional replica of the Cooper's Mill that originally stood on the site. The park has some pretty interesting history as it was the original site of two CCC camps in the 1930s. Reading that on the park website, my mind immediately questioned, well what is a CCC camp? I have never heard of such a thing. According to the National Park Service website, the camps were an effort by Roosevelt to lift the United States out of the Depression by establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps. The corps allowed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks.
Arriving at the park that day, the place was packed with visitors from all over the United States as well as around the world. On a day like that you're bound to trip over photographers, which I always enjoy. One photographer I ran into was Reggie Root, he is incredibly talented and yet so humble. We shared our work with one another for a few minutes and I was stunned, you should definitely check out his work.
While standing there shooting with Reggie, an outgoing couple happened by. What caught my eye watching them approach was the teddy bear sticking out of the husband's jacket, it looked like a toddler peaking out. Not seeing a child with them, I had to ask what's up with the bear. Trisha and Robin introduced themselves and proceeded to tell me the story of their travels with a stuffed bear in tow.
If I remember correctly, the story went that it started as a joke while they were traveling in Europe on vacation. They started taking pictures of the bear at various sites they visited and before you knew it, the bear had a life of its own. Now wherever they travel, they carry a bear and grab pictures of him visiting the sites along with them, what a fun idea. There have been multiple bears in their travels, the bear they are currently traveling with is named Smokey.
Throughout the morning I moved around the creek's edge trying different compositions. Here is the only other landscape shot that made the cut.
As I went to close out the day and head back south towards home, I noticed a group of bikers. I'm not sure why yet, but I'm drawn to photographing bikers, maybe because the groups usually have such a wide array of interesting stories. These guys were no different, one thing that stood out was their being brothers in Christ. I chatted with them for a couple minutes and then we snapped a couple frames. As you can see they were members of the Azusa Street Riders, a Christian motorcycle ministry. They are a huge organization with chapters all over the United States.
After leaving Babcock State Park I went about making my way back to Roanoke, but took back roads as much as I could. I was in search of other inspiration along the way, and I was not disappointed. A local farmer, not far from the park had the foresight to park a tractor on a hill with a gorgeous fall scenery as a backdrop, it made for the most American picture I have seen in some time. I hope to get back up to West Virginia some time soon, with the fall colors in full swing back in Roanoke, I might not make it before winter.
コメント