The Terra Galleria Blog – QT Luong

The two parks typical of the North Woods, Voyageurs National Park and Isle Royale National Park, present different challenges. While Isle Royale is a hard-to-get island explored on foot, the core of Voyageurs National Park is a system of interconnected lakes. Getting to the edge of the Voyageurs is easy, however travel within the park requires a boat.

Since the two previous park spots were kind of involved, this week we’ll keep it simple. Without a boat, you are limited to the three access points where you can come to the shore, Rainy Lake visitor center, Kabetogama Lake visitor center, and Ash River visitor center.

Of those three, the last one is my favorite. From the visitor center, walk down towards the water. While many shore views just show vast expenses of water, here a small island offshore adds a focal point to the scene. You can photograph at mid-day, using vegetation or flowers as a foreground, capturing the curving beach with a wide-angle lens. At sunset, the view is particularly effective with the rocks in the water as a foreground, especially if the sky is colorful.

There is also a lake overlook on the other side. Since the opening between the trees is small, a telephoto lens is best.

Even if the weather does not look promising and the views unremarkable, it is worth to come to the shore of the lake for sunrise. On two separate occasions, fog was present. The interaction of fog and light can transform any scene into a spectacular sight.

July is the most rainy month. Most of the short summer is plagued by biting insects. Mid-August to mid-September usually offers the most clear days. Fall color in general arrives towards the end of September.

View all images of Voyageurs National Park

As regular readers know, I am posting a weekly series about the US National Parks: each week, I write about a different National Park. I pick a specific location in this park that I find particularly interesting, and with great photographic potential.

Since there are currently 58 US National Parks, we have reached the mid-way point of that National Parks Photo Spots series. In addition to the post of this week (delayed by one day, to Friday), I am marking this point with a contest.

The first reader to (a) identify the logic behind the order of the parks in the series, and (b) predict the park in the next posting (#31), will receive a free 12×18 print of his choice. Those prints are issued in editions of only 25 and represent a $350 value.

To participate, simply email me (QTL at terragalleria.com) your answer to both questions. The contest will be open for one week only, until the actual posting of #31, at which time I will announce the winner (if any). Good luck !

Also, if you have any suggestions for the second half of the series, please feel free to leave them here as well.

PS: The initial version of the contest was to guess #30, however Larry Gebhardt has pointed to me that a draft of #30 Voyageurs National Park had appeared in the past in the RSS feed – as a result of hitting the wrong keys. Also, initially , I asked for answers to be posted, but then realized it didn’t make sense for them to be public.

I have posted new images of Coastal Maine.

Unlike in the western coast of the US, where much of the coastline is public land, almost every parcel of the 3500 mile-long coastline there is privately owned. The slogan that appears on Maine license plates is “Vacationland”.

However, with a bit of exploring, it is still possible to find places where the buildings and way of life have changed little over the years. Two such places are the lobstering villages of Stonington and Corea.

I saw only two places where one can stay in Stonington, both right on the harbor and facing each other. After completing my sunset shot, I found out that one of them, the Boyce Motel, was full (despite being a March week-day), while to contact the owner of the other one, the Inn on the Harbor, I had to walk down the street to use a payphone, since there was no cell signal. It was fortunate I had a few quarters, because all of the few businesses in the village were closed, which also meant that I would have to skip dinner, since I didn’t bring food with me, assuming wrongly that I’d find a open restaurant somewhere. Corea is even smaller. The lack of convenience was more than compensated for by the quietness and authentic character of the villages, a trade-off that I’d take every time.

After North Cascades National Park, the second least visited of the National Parks in the continental US, we turn our attention to the least visited, Isle Royale.

While at first, the visitation numbers for North Cascades may sound surprisingly low, it is easy to see why Isle Royale sees so few people. Isle Royale is a large island in Lake Superior. After a crossing lasting between 3 and 7 hours (Grand Portage to Rock Harbor) on the often rough Lake Superior waters, you are on your own as soon as you land in this wilderness, roadless park. Everything that you need must be packed in (and out). Day visitors must hurry for a few hours of sightseeing, much less than the time they spend on the boat. Although there are fine day hikes from Windego and Rock Harbor (the two main landing spots), to truly explore the island, you need to backpack. Indeed, Isle Royale visitors stay on average on the island for 4 days, while the average visitor to a national park stays for just 4 hours.

To acknowledge that fact, instead of describing just a spot like in the other posts, I will describe an entire itinerary. While crossing the entire length of the island requires four to five days, mine is a shorter route that includes some of the most scenic trail portions, and allows you to sample the various environments of the island in only three days, with ample time for photography. It takes advantage of a mid-island stop made by the ferry M.V. Voyageur II from Grand Portage. Be sure to notify the captain so that you will be picked up at Chippewa, otherwise, you may be stuck in the backcountry ! In addition to the backpacking days, there are two days of travel on the ferry, typically Grand Portage 7.30am- Rock Harbor 3pm, and Chippewa 9am – Grand Portage 3pm. On your day of arrival on the island, I recommend a hike from Rock Harbor to Coville Point instead of going to the Three-Mile or Daisy Farm campground.

• Day 1: Rock Harbor to Mount Franklin (8.5 miles): Follow the shore of Rock Harbor (some interesting views betwen Suzy’s cove and Three mile campground) , then ascend to the ridge (about 1000 feet elevation gain) through the Mount Franklin trail, passing a beaver marsh. Mount Franklin has a few rock formations and great views looking towards the North, beautiful at sunset. There is no established campground nearby, however you can bivy on hard surfaces.
• Day 2: Mount Franklin to West Chickenbone (10 miles). Follow the Greenstone Ridge. Although the trail runs on the backbone of the park, it is mostly forested, except for the mile around Mount Ojibway. From near the tower, you have especially fine views towards the West over the lakes within the island. The West Chickenbone campground is situated in a pretty area near the shores of West Chickenbone lake. Check also views over Lake Livermore to the south of the trail.
• Day 3: West Chickenbone – Chippewa Harbor (7.9 + 4 miles). From West Chickenbone, consider an optional early morning hike towards Mount Siskiwit on the Greenstone Ridge (leave overnight gear at trail junction): for maybe a mile, the trail is in a thick forest, but but after a steep climb, you reach a good view of the inland lakes, and then a long stretch of an open crest not obscured by trees that continues to Mount Siskiwit. Back on the main route, on the way to Chippewa Harbor, you will follow the shore of Lake Ritchie. Chippewa Harbor is particularly interesting at sunrise, with an isolated group of trees on a small islet. There are open cabins with mosquito nets and tables, so you don’t need to pitch your tent.

The best time to travel the backcountry of Isle Royale is towards the end of September, when fall colors start. After mid-october, there is no more ferry service to the island until spring. The various biting insects (mosquitoes, flies, gnats, and no-see-ums) that can come in thick swarms, peaking in June and July, are killed off by the first frosts. Although I normally try to re-visit at a different times of the year, I took both of my trips in the fall.

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Rangefinder Magazine has an article about my National Parks project in their June 2010 issue. Here is a link to the PDF.

If you weren’t aware of Rangefinder magazine (which is not widely distributed in stores), take a look: calling themselves “The magazine for professional photographers”, they deliver on this promise. You won’t find the entry-level articles or emphasis on gear typical of many mainstream magazines. Instead, the emphasis of the magazine is often on profiles of photographers who discuss not only their vision, but also their working methods and business. Since the magazine is targeted towards professional photographers, many of them are wedding, event, or portrait shooters, but other specialties are represented as well, including nature and fine art. Best of all, if you are a professional (in a loosely defined way), you can apply online for a free magazine subscription delivered to your door. Just click on “subscribe” from the magazine home page to get started.

Despite preserving some of America’s most beautiful mountain landscapes, only three hours from Seattle, North Cascades National Park remains one of the two least visited parks in the lower 48 states. It receives less than 20,000 visitors per year, the same amount as Yosemite receives in two days.

The greater unit, referred to as North Cascades National Park Service Complex, includes the North Cascades National Park North Unit and North Cascades National Park South Unit, separated by the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and flanked in the South by Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Facilities can be found only the the two National Recreation areas. The North Cascades Highway (Washington State Route 20) runs in Ross Lake National Recreation Area. For that reason, most of the visitors to North Cascades actually stay in Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Visitation statistics for North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreation Area are separate. North Cascades National Park, as a rugged mountain kingdom, a wilderness playground for backpackers and mountaineers, needs to be explored on foot by climbing over steep passes.

There are only two roads that reach North Cascades National Park. One of the them starts from Stehekin, in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, a community so remote that it can be reached only by boat or floatplane.

The other, which is the subject of this post, is the Cascade River Road, which branches of highway 20 in of the town of Marblemount. Where highway 20 makes a sharp turn, cross the bridge instead, and you will be following the Cascade River Road. The first third of the road is paved. Beyond that, a well graded section, passable by any car, leads past two campgrounds to the Cascade Pass Trailhead, 23 miles from Marblemount, of which only the 5 last miles are in the park. The road typically opens by the end of June, except in heavy snow years when it may not open until early July. It closes after the first winter snows in October. This is a very short season. High in the mountains, fall colors succeed summer wildflowers within a few weeks.

From the trailhead parking lot, look for tall waterfalls (after which the park is named) descending like ribbons from ridges below jagged peaks. The Cascade Pass trail provides the shortest and easiest access in the park to the alpine environment. The distance from the trail head to Cascade Pass is 3.7 miles, with a elevation gain of 1700 feet. But once you’ve finished the steady climb to the pass, why stop here ? You can continue on the Sahale Arm Trail for 2.3 more miles, and an additional elevation gain of only 500 feet. Alpine meadows, and spectacular views of peaks and glaciers surround you. Deer and marmots can easily be spotted.

While the trail could be done as a day hike, you may find it preferable to camp in the backcountry. Because of its relative ease of access, the Cascade Pass trail is one of the most popular backcountry destinations in the park, therefore permits can be difficult to obtain during busy periods. Such permits are required, and can be picked up at the North Cascades National Park Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount. When hiked towards Cascade Pass in raingear, in early July, we met a ranger on the trail, and she checked our permits. On the first day, clouds enveloped us, a thick fog reducing visibility to a few dozen yards. However, the next day, we found ourselves above that layer of clouds, treated to the view of the peaks that we missed the first day.

View all images of North Cascades National Park

I’ve posted new images of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Cape Cod, being home to some of the most popular beaches in America, is quite crowded during the summer, when for instance the population of Provincetown swells from 3,000 to 60,000. However, during my March visit, the huge beach parking lots were mostly empty. I found the place to be quite peaceful and unhurried.

The Cape was so much off-season that most of the motels that I saw on the way to Provincetown were closed. On the first evening, after photographing past sunset on the beach, I drove around for over an hour, looking unsuccessfully for a motel. I realized only latter that there are surprisingly none in town, only rather pricey Bed and Breakfast lodges. Fortunately, a woman at a pizza restaurant in Truro pointed me to the Cape Inn (508-487-1711) found by taking Snail Road (first on left after the sign “Entering Provincetown” on Rte 6. The place appeared ran down from the outside, but the room was actually fine. It is out of the way of the main road, so you’d be unlikely to find it by accident, but it’s the only inexpensive lodging during the winter.

I found it particularly challenging to try and capture in a short amount of time the beauty of the Cape, which is a gentle mix of scenery and human presence. I imagine that one needs to spend enough time there to appreciate the soft variations of light. It didn’t help that Joel Meyerowitz had captured this atmosphere, in his landmark, and defining work “Cape Light” that helped establish color photography as a contemporary art form in the 70s. Eventually, I think I captured the sense of the place mostly through the modest sand fences that border most beaches on the Cape.

Shenandoah National Park stretches along the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles. Only one mile wide at places, at at most thirteen miles wide, for many visitors, the Park is the Skyline Drive. The winding road offers uncountable numbers of scenic overlooks on both sides. However the topography is gentle rather than spectacular, the immediate surroundings look at bit too manicured (the National Park Service cuts down trees to clear vistas), and in many instances, the hand of man can be seen in the form of pastures, farms, and small towns in the distance.

To experience the real beauty of the place, you must get off the road and walk into the woods. There are two type of trails in the park. The first consists of sections of the Appalachian trail, which parallels Skyline Drive. They are well marked with white blazes, and relatively level, but do not lead to places of particular interest. The second consists of park trails, marked with blue blazes, which in general run perpendicularly to the Skyline Drive, following streams, and leading to waterfalls. Those trails are often steep. Since you are starting at the top, do not underestimate the return trip, which can be strenuous.

The easiest of those trails is the Dark Hollow Falls, which is 1.4 miles RT with an elevation gain of 440 feet. The trailhead is 50.7 miles from the north entrance, at the Dark Hollow Falls Parking. Although the waterfall is impressive, I found its photographic potential to be limited.

However, it gets better. At the bottom of the Dark Hollow Falls Trail, you will see a bridge that leads you to the Hogback Branch Falls Trail. This section of the trail from there, down to the junction with the Hogcamp Branch of the Rose River, follows the stream for about a mile. The fast-flowing river creates hundreds of small cascades and falls of great beauty. From there, you could hike back, or continue onto the Rose River Trail. After maybe another mile and half, you will spot the highest waterfall on the stream. Continuing up let you follow the stream for maybe a quarter miles of more waterfalls and cascades. The last mile is in the forest, then the trail meets the Skyline Drive at the Fishers Gap Overlook, at mile 49.4. The total elevation gain is about 1000 feet. For an easy shortcut, you could skip Dark Hollow Falls, and walk directly from Fishers Gap Overlook to the junction of the Dark Hollow Falls Trail and the Hogback Branch Falls Trail through a well graded fire road.

Spring is when the streams and waterfalls are at their best, before drying out as the season advances. Fall on this trail is spectacular, as in many places in the park. In general, the two middle weeks of October are the best for fall color. When I was there, there was only a trickle of water left, but it was sufficient to create beautiful images with longer exposures (tripod required !). As in many deep forest scenes, the even light of an overcast day is much easier to work, however, on sunny days, you can wait for the hillside to go in the shade in the late afternoon.

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Stream Pictures, all taken during the previously described hike

CPS is a great service that used to be under the radar for many Canon photographers, because it is not widely advertised, and membership requirements were strict. CPS offers expedited and discounted repairs, as well as free equipment loans.

I’ve read of people waiting weeks for their cameras to be repaired. On four occasions, I sent out equipment for repair through “pro rush”. Each time, I shipped through Fedex Ground on Monday, and received my equipment back on Friday.

You can request “service loaner” equipment to replace the one you send out for repair, as well as for evaluation. I used this program to borrow a 600/4 for a week and half. I had to pay only for return shipping. A similar rental cost is about $400. The only catch is that you can request the same piece of equipment for evaluation only two times.

For membership approval, you had to submit documents attesting of your status of professional photographer, such as promo pieces or tear sheets of published work. The membership needed to be renewed every two years. This changed about a year and half ago. Although the CPS website still states “Applicant must be: An individual, self-employed or an employee of a professional imaging business, that, as a full-time profession, is directly involved in the creation of images; either moving or still.”, no credential verification seems to take place anymore, and there is even a checkbox for “part timer”.

While membership was free, there are now three tiers of membership, Silver, Gold, and Platinium, with increasing benefits, the latter two requiring an annual fee of $100 and $500 respectively. In my opinion, the $100 fee for Gold (which offers benefits similar to the old free membership) is a good value. Instead of submitting credentials, you just need to prove ownership of pro-level gear (1 or 2 bodies and 3 lenses) by entering their serial number. Even those requirements have been diluted. When I signed up, a year and half ago, you needed two pro-grade bodies. Checking their web page for this post, I noticed that now a single 1Ds3 or 1D4 is sufficient.

1DsIII, 600/4 + TC 2x

In Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the same 250-million year old limestone reef that forms the Guadalupe Mountains has been dissolved into caves. The gypsum that forms the rare sand dunes – last week’s photo spot – is one of the by-products of the dissolution of limestone by sulfuric acid.

Most of the caves are formed from top to bottom by weak carbonic acid entering from above. At Carlsbad, sulfuric acid is generated where the hydrogen sulfide from the deep petroleum reservoirs meets the water table, forming the cave from the bottom up. The strength of the sulfuric acid leads to unusually large chambers in Carlsbad Caverns, such as the aptly named 8.2-acre Big Room (4000 feet long, 625 feet wide, 350 high), the third largest cave chamber in the Americas.

If I was to visit only one cave in the National Parks, it would clearly be Carlsbad Caverns. Not only are the underground chambers some of the largest anywhere, they are also filled with decorations of great beauty. While some of the most decorated sections (such as the Kings Palace, Queen Chamber and Papoose Room) can be visited only on guided tours that leave little time for photography, the Big Room can be explored at your own pace on a mile-long self-guided tour. The Big Room is graced with numerous formations, including the Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages, and Painted Grotto, that provide a variety of compositions. Unlike other caves where tripods are strictly prohibited, there is no limitation on their use there.

Working in large format, my exposure times often ranged in the fifteen minutes. On my first visit, the film popped and shifted during the long exposures, resulting in unusable double images. On my second visit, I combated the problem by sticking double-sided tape to my film holders.

The cave is open all year, and the underground temperature constant. However, if you want to observe the daily mass exodus of Mexican free-tail bats (400,000 +) that leave the caves to feed at night, you have to come from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, as in late October the bats migrate to Mexico for the winter. The best bat flights normally occur in July and August. At this time baby bats, born in early summer, join the flight along with migrating bats from colonies further north. Note, however, that photography requires a special use permit that must be obtained from the park at least two weeks in advance. This is because white light disturbs the bats, and the average tourist cannot be trusted to prevent his point and shoot camera to fire its flash when it gets dark.

View all images of Carslbad Caverns National Park