Hiking in Sequoia & King's Canyon National Parks - Part 1

Hello!

I'm trying to write a few posts to schedule before I begin my residency training.

I was able to take a trip to Sequoia & King's Canyon National Parks recently, so I thought I would share some of my photos, and some advice, with you.

Like I talked about in my Niagara post, there are some unique challenges presented by "over-photographed" locations. One of the difficulties you might encounter is crowds. Popular national parks can become just as crowded as Disney World during peak season, making it difficult to get the shots you want. You may fare better visiting off-season, even though certain elements of the park may be inaccessible or closed due to weather.

(Parts of Sequoia & King's Canyon are closed through the middle of May for winter).

By visiting off-season, I was able to get this classic photograph without any tourists in the frame. Of course, if you like studying humanity's interactions with nature, going during peak season may be just for you!

To an extent, by visiting Sequoia/King's Canyon instead of the more popular (and very close by) Yosemite, you'll be dodging some of the tourist traffic.

Another way to deal with overcrowding is to avoid the "big ticket" locations. Taking less-traveled trails may bring you unique vistas without having to fight through 20 tourists to get your images. The picture above is taken from the Hump Trail in Sequoia National Park. (The same view can be seen from the more popular Watchtower Trail, but this trail is closed until the end of May.)

Whatever you do, don't forget to experiment. A park may be "known" for particular features (Sequoia is, obviously, known for its sequoia trees), but don't feel obligated to dedicate your time to these landmarks if you don't want to. As evidenced by this post, I had more fun shooting mountain landscapes from Sequoia than I did shooting forests, even though this is not the "notable" feature of this park.

As a follow-up to this post on composition, notice how the trees in the foreground lend interest to the mountains behind them. It's always a good idea to include foreground elements in landscape photographs to "ground" the images and give them a sense of place.

Okay, that's it for me right now. Like I said, unfortunately, my posts will continue to be short and somewhat sporadic for a while. But, on to you -- what did you do this summer?

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Tidepooling in California & Some Updates

Hello all!

Thanks to all of you who have been reading along! I am sad to announce, if you had not noticed, that my posts will continue to be sporadic. Soon I will be starting my residency and won't have that much time for photography, let alone blogging. That being said, I will try to post when I have content. I will also be posting my images on 500px (you can find and follow my page here) so you can keep up with me that way.

In other news, I have re-opened my redbubble account (actually I just made a new account), so if you are interested in purchasing prints or gifts, you can do so here. If there's something that isn't available that you would like, feel free to message me!

All right, on to the tidepool critters.

Tidepools are something we don't really have in Florida, so I was excited to get a chance to explore some while visiting my friend in San Francisco.

The key thing with tidepooling is, of course, going at low tide. You'll want to check a tide chart before you head out, because higher tides will submerge the more interesting animals.

Be persistent and observant. Many tidepool animals, like this lined shore crab, are shy and are very sensitive to movement. If you wait (still) and watch, they may feel bold enough to scuttle out from their lairs, offering you the opportunity to capture their glory.

I would recommend a macro lens.

Here is another lined shore crab. Incorporating their habitat into the shot lends context and interest. Tidepools are pretty unique places, so there's no reason to leave them out of the shot!

All right, so this isn't pretty and it isn't a tidepool critter, but I thought it was interesting so I wanted to include it. Always keep an eye out for other subjects, even if you visit a locale with a particular shot in mind!

Okay, again, apologies for the continued sparse postings and brief postings, but life must go on.
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