Recently, two friends and I traveled to Idaho to hike the Alice-Toxaway Loop in the Sawtooth National Wilderness. Over the past few years, we had been gathering to section-hike the Appalachian Trail. Upon deciding we would be well into our 100's at the rate we were going, we decided to take a break and explore some of America's other trails. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE the AT. It is beautiful (and we had not even made it to some of the more scenic sections yet), and, we will return to the AT. But, after some research, we found the Sawtooth Mountains. I had been to Idaho on other occasions, but somehow had never heard of the Sawtooths. What an amazing place. Actually, every spot I have been in Idaho has been amazing.
I am not writing a travel or hiking log. I just want to pass along a few thoughts about our trip. I do not wish to bog you down with too much at one time and hope you will check back for occasional updates. I will add photos thoughts as I add to this blog and maybe try to get my hiker trash friends to add their two cents and some of the images they captured on the hike.
The images above are from when Bryan and I first arrived. I flew in from Baltimore and Bryan from Nashville. Scott joined us the following day. Bryan and I made the same connecting flight out of Denver into Boise. We had an almost 3 hour drive ahead. The Pioneer Fire was still burning but the road we needed to take (to save an additional hour and a half) had just opened that morning. The drive was beautiful until it became surreal once we got into the fire zone. At one point, 2,000 firefighters were working to contain the the forest fire that burned in excess of 188,000 acres. There were shots I wanted to get, but signs warned not to stop and on the winding ID-21, there weren't many places to stop. We stopped for one shot (above) but made it quick and continued on. A big thanks to those who worked the fire.
In addition to the Pioneer Fire image, pictured are the Smiley Creek Lodge where we stayed for two nights before the hike and a shot from the lodge at sunset.
I will add more over the next few days, just getting started......
Take Care,
Stephen
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The hike was awesome. We could not have asked for better weather. I believe the warmest day was our last day and temps stayed below 80. For the other days, temps hovered around 72 and a nice breeze blew through the trees.
We picked up the trail on May 21 at Dicks' Creek Gap on Rt 76 in Georgia. We weren't looking to hurt ourselves and took our time getting to Plumorchard Gap Shelter. We met a lot of other hikers, some THRU and others Section Hikers like us. Great people TLC, Jundar, and many others with names that escape me at the moment. We had a great time in camp.
I was purifying water as another hiker, TLC, approached. We were talking and she paused, saying, "oh my." I turned, in my knelling position, to see a timber rattler slithering past. If TLC had not seen him, he would've past right by without me ever knowing. I believe it must have been 26 ft long!!! At least that is how long he looked when I first saw him. He/she was actually only 3 or 4 ft long, I was not going to measure.
The next morning, after thawing out, (temps dipped into the upper 30's) we hit the AT and made our way to Muskrat Creek Shelter, crossing into North Carolina on the way. The camping area was great and we were with pretty much the same group we had met the night before. Near the shelter, there was an overlook that provided a pretty nice view (sunset image below).
The final day was a shorter hike. We made our way from Muskrat Creek to Deep Gap where we had parked Smith's truck and headed home.
As I said, the weather was amazing. The whole trip was amazing. Our next section is planned for October of this year. I cannot wait to get back on the Appalachian Trail again.
For now, I will just post a few images and try to write more and post more images later.
Click here for the full gallery: http://www.stephencherry.com/p644324449
Take Care,
If you would like to see more, click this link: http://www.stephencherry.com/p644324449
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This is my favorite image from the evening.
With her highly trained ear, Kiddo is enduring our best attempt at singing "Happy Birthday."
Take Care,
Two above images: the Kalmar Nyckel, out of Wilmington, DE. http://www.kalmarnyckel.org/
The USCG Barque Eagle, WIX 327, out of New Loundon, CT. http://www.cga.edu/eagle/
View of the The National Aquarium and the Inner Harbor, Baltimore. http://www.aqua.org/
Photographing the National Aquarium.
Pratt Street and the Inner Harbor, Baltimore.
Fireworks over the Inner Harbor, Baltimore.
Set up for some shots before the fireworks.
Sailors enjoying a bit of leave.
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I grabbed a few quick edits. When I have time, I will return to the images and edit more.
Take care,
Take Care,
I find this last one funny. Ella showing her muscles with a cheese stick in one hand and a powdered donut in the other.
]]>The girls had a blast and were joined by a good friend and ran from ride to ride giggling and yelling 'let's ride this one next.'
I was finally able to drag them to car begging 'just one more daddy, just one more.'
Take Care,
FYI (Mom) I shot from the relative safety of my truck.
Take Care,
I do miss my dad greatly, especially on days like this.
Take care,
From the Lewes Historical Society (which is home to the club):
Lewes Base Ball Club is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League and the Vintage Base Ball Association. It is an educational program at the Society designed to tell the story of baseball in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also demonstrates the history of social and athletic life in Lewes.
It was a great assignment. Not having access to a camera from the era, I applied filters to the images in post production for the old-time feel.
More information about the team and a schedule for the 2014 season can be found at: Lewes Base Ball Club
Take care,
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The Little Ones and I do quick hikes to the rapids when the weather is nice. This is one of their favorite spots. They love to walk the trails, climb around on the rocks and play on the beach along the pool formed at the bottom of the rapids. Its a great place for family hikes and picnics. On other days, without the Little Ones, there are longer trails I like to kick around on.
I used a neutral density filter to allow for a longer exposure which causes the motion of the river to blur the water. The water was fast. I made some exposures as long as 30 seconds, but didn't need that long to blur the rush of that rain swollen river.
Take care,
MORE IMAGES FROM MAY 1, 2014 McKeldin Area
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Shot on way home tonight.
Take care,
Rain is coming, but at least it is not snow.
Take Care,
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Sat., April 12, 2014
Residents and fans of Berlin, MD celebrate the Eastern Shore town being named "America's Coolest Small Town" for 2014.
A great time in a small town. The family and I lived just outside Berlin for years. It was nice to return to cover the event.
I was shooting for The Globe restaurant, https://globetheater.com/, covering the celebration and also photographing new images for them.
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As the first clown appeared, Ella disappeared. Then, I felt her squeezing my leg.
"What's wrong honey," I asked.
"I didn't realize I was so scared of clowns."
She was fine the rest of the show (from our seats) and we had a great time.
Take care,
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I shot this in Times Square. It was a great night, not very crowded. I cannot imagine being there for the New Year's Eve party. That would be a few too many people for me.
Take Care,
Take Care,
It was a great shoot with lots of interesting dishes to photograph.
Take Care,
Take care,
I shot this of Grant setting up his rig for video. I stayed under the cover of the entrance to the amusement rides.
As we got back to the inlet parking lot, we saw five trucks and one Mercedes doing donuts and slides through the snow covered lot. We shot stills and video of that before moving on. I called it a day. Grant stayed out getting more for his assignment.
Take care,
Take Care,
Take Care,
I shot this in Times Square in New York City late last year. Grant Gursky and I were kicking around Manhattan while attending the PhotoPlus Expo.
Take care,
This is a shot from our last snow here in Woodstock, MD (Howard County, MD). Nasty night made for good photos. The following days were made for a lot of lifting while digging out. No fun for adults, but the kids had a blast.
Take care,
Stephen
This is from Baltimore's Inner Harbor; the Domino Sugar plant.
Take care,
Although I am sure it has been done before, next time it snows, I know where I want to be for a shot...
Take care,
Like many other places, it has been very cold her in Maryland. No better time to make chili. I made it last night for tonight's dinner. Chili is always better the next day and now we do not have to worry about cooking.
This is not my typical food photography or restaurant photography. No lights. No prep. No staging. Just beans (and meat and onions and peppers and etc...).
Take care,
Shot a few photos for the blog, once again using the D40x. I have got to stop playing with that camera and bring out the big dog. That old technology is just too grainy in low light.
I love going to watch our little ones in swim class. It is amazing to see them progress. Does not seem that long ago that Ella did not want her face getting wet. Now, she is learning proper breathing in freestyle. She wants to join a swim team. That is Awesome!! Our neighborhood pool has a team so maybe she can join in this summer.
Also, in free time at the end of class, Ella loves jumping in and splashing. Now I just have to teach her proper cannonball and can-opener technique.
Take care,
With what time I had yesterday, I shot a few different images wherever I happened to be standing. I shot some at the YMCA while Grace had swim lessons and I stopped to shoot a Flag snapping in the frigid wind in front of St Johns Church in Ellicott City, MD. I will post 3. That might very well be my biggest professional flaw; EDITING MYSELF!
I photographed these images with my "pocket" camera, a Nikon D40x that I have had for years. (I took it on one of my Appalachian Trail hikes last year because it is lite and small). Its technology and chip are outdated but it is still a camera, fits in my coat pocket (with a 50mm f 1.8 lens), and creates better images than any cell phone. I pushed it to its limits, jacking up the ASA, and shot full manual including focus. I did not keep track of the settings. I know that data is in the image data fields, but it doesn't matter, as long as you get the exposure right.
Take care,
Stephen
Outside the YMCA
The YMCA at dusk.
American Flag at St Johns Church, Ellicott City, MD.
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It is meant to push myself and to learn; either about whatever/whoever I photograph or about me. I do not want to just grab an old edit from my portfolio of food photography or architectural photography, I want to shoot an image just for this daily blog. I will shoot the image and post the following day.
JANUARY 27, 2014
GRACIE
This image is from Grace's 5th birthday dinner last night at Mommom and Poppop's home. Unless something comes up to prevent it, we have Sunday dinner there every week. When there is a birthday near a particular Sunday, that person gets to choose the meal and pick a cake. Mommom and Poppop did a wonderful job preparing Grace's meal: two kinds of chicken fingers, baked potatoes, green beans and salad. Grace's cake of choice: a Minnie Mouse marble cake. It was all wonderful.
Take care and keep checking in,
