Local Travels: West Moreland State Park

Iso 200, f/13, 65mm, 5 image HDR

For the first time in ages, I decided to actually leave town during my vacation. Monday morning I drove up to meet my parents and my Uncle Earl and Aunt Diana's cottage in West Moreland State Park. It goes to show that even a short trip can lead to a new source of inspiration. Only 3 hours from VA Beach, WMSP is a world apart from our busy beach town.

Iso 200, f/22, 18mm, 5 image HDR

Earl and Diana own one of the few privately-owned cottages within the park. The front of the cottage overlooks the Potomac River. Because most of the park services are closed on weekdays following Labor Day, there are very few other people in the area. All told, I counted no more than 20 others. Wildlife abounds. In the evening and early morning hours, deer come out from their daytime thickets to graze in the open spaces. Blue herons guard their territory along the shorline. The greatest show, though, comes from the bald eagles. Their primary nesting area is on the Horsehead Cliffs but they can be seen silently gliding up and down the river's edge, their massive wings carrying them effortlessly on the slighest breeze.

Iso 200, f/22, 18mm, 5 image HDR

It was a great couple of days spent in a very scenic park with family and great food (no one will ever go hungry there!) Last night I processed some of the take from the weekend and was pleasantly surprised with the images. There are few here in the post and the rest can be seen at my galleries. In future posts, I will go into more detail on how the images were created but for now I need to get ready for a kickball game.