Hocking Hills Photo Shoot Schedule

Hi Everyone, here's a suggested schedule for the Hocking Hills Shoot..... since everyone is coming on different days and times I suggest we make the State Park Dining Lodge our meeting location, it has a large parking lot, a place to eat and restrooms.  We want to make sure everyone gets to enjoy all areas of the park no matter what day or time they get there. Places we're going to see are Ash Cave, Cedar Falls, Old Man's Cave, Conkle's Hollow, Rock House and maybe Cantwell Cliffs. Here's a link to all the trail maps, print them out if you like, also at the link will be a list of the parks on the left side of the screen, if you click on a park name it will show you photos and a description of the park.  Here's the link...  Hocking Hills Trail Maps

Here's a Tentative Daily Schedule, it's not set in stone and if you've been to Hocking Hills before and want to head out and explore on your own and just meet up for lunch or dinner or just to BS about photography that's fine.  For those that want to hang out in a group here's what's planned and could change depending on how the water's flowing.  Since people will be getting there at various times, we will meet back at the dining lodge a few times a day to meet up with people, depending on when you arrive you may want to give me a call to see where we are shooting when you get there.

Also for anyone staying at a Hotel in Logan that doesn't want to make trips back and forth to the Hotel during the day, you are more than welcome to stash your laptops and battery chargers in my Cottage, in case you want to charge batteries and download photos to your laptop during the afternoon lunch break.  What I usually do when I go to Hocking Hills is get up early go out and shoot, then during the afternoon yucky light period, eat lunch, download photos, then head back out for a late afternoon shoot.

Thursday:
   A few of us are getting there Thursday, call me when you get  there and we can go out and shoot if it's not to late.  (Either email me at ronskinner4435@sbcglobal.net or send me a message on Facebook and I'll give you my cell number)  I'll be staying in Cottage 24 in the State Park

Friday:

•  7am Meet at Dining Lodge  We will shoot Ash Cave and Cedar Falls
• 12:00 Noon Meet at Dining Lodge meet up with others, have lunch
• 2pm Meet at Dining Lodge - Afternoon Shoot - Conkle's Hollow
• 6pm (Optional) Either meet at Dining Lodge for Dinner or go back to Cottages, Hotel ...

Saturday:

• 7am Meet at Dining Lodge We will shoot Old Mans Cave
• 12:00 Meet at Dining Lodge. Meet up with late arrivals, Have Lunch
• 2pm Meet at Dining Lodge - Afternoon Shoot TBD
• 6pm (Optional) Either meet at Dining Lodge for Dinner or go back to Cottages, Hotel ...
• 7:30pm (Optional)  Hang out at Cottage 24 to relax and get photo tips on using Tripods, Ballheads, Reflectors, Camera Bags and equipment. Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket drawing.

Sunday:

• 7am Meet at Dining Lodge - Shoot TBD

The above schedule it just a suggestion to give some structure to the shoot and to make sure we meet up with everyone and that everyone gets to shoot all areas of the park. If you like a location and want to stay longer, feel free to do so, and if you want to head out on your own to explore a favorite place that's cool too.

Here's a map showing where the Dining Lodge, Cottages, Old Man's Cave Parking and the State Park HQ are located:

View Hocking Hills in a larger map

Super Moon Shoot at Marblehead Lighthouse plus Lakeside Daisy Nature Preserve

Hi everyone, as you know the Super Moon will be happening Saturday May 5th and a lot of people are wondering just where they should go to get a photo of the Super Moon. Well using the free program The Photographer's Ephemeris  I searched for places to get a good photo of the Super Moon. What I was looking for was a good foreground subject and I wanted it to be near a Lake so I could get a nice reflection of the Moon. The moon is going to be rising in the southeast at an azimuth of 114.4 degrees.  First I looked to see if I could get a good shot of the Cleveland Skyline with the moon behind it, to do this I would have to go down to the East Bank of the Flat's and shoot up at the city. This didn't look that great to me. Next I thought of Hinckley Lake, this would be ok, but there wasn't a very interesting foreground. I finally found what I think is the best opportunity to shoot the Super Moon and that is the Marblehead Lighthouse.

If you look at the photo below, the red balloon is the photographer and the light blue line shows the direction of the moonrise, and the orange line is where the sun will be setting behind you. As you can see the Moon will be rising behind the Lighthouse and will be front lit by the setting sun. The Moonrise at this location will be a 20:24 (8:24pm) and the sunset will be 9 minutes later at 20:33.  If you want to get the moon nice and large behind the lighthouse you will have to move back as far as you can from the location in the photo and use a telephoto lens to compress the distance between the lighthouse and the moon. I'm not sure how clear of a shot you'll get cause there are a lot of trees lining the walkway, but it might be worth a try. If you use a wider angle lens and move closer to the lighthouse, the Lighthouse will appear larger in the photo and the moon smaller. If you just want to get the moon rising over Lake Erie you can do that to from the rocks surrounding the lighthouse.

 Anyway this is where I'm going to shoot the Super Moon. Join me if you want!!!




Since the Super Moonrise doesn't happen till 8:24pm I'm planning on getting to Marblehead around 2:30 to 3Pm and checking out the nearby Lakeside Daisy Nature Preserve,

So here's my schedule of events:
 2:30 or 3PM Explore Lakeside Daisy Nature Preserve

 4:30 or 5Pm Get something to eat

 6PM Meet at Marblehead Lighthouse and scout out places to shoot the Supermoon

 8:24pm Supermoon rises
 8:33 Sunset

 Google Map Click the Blue Icon to get directions to Marblehead Lighthouse, Click the red icon to get directions to Lakeside Daisy Nature Preserve

 
View Marblehead Lighthouse and Lakeside Daisy in a larger map

Photography Road Trip to Dawes Arboretum and more....

The Facebook  Ohio's Nature and Wildlife Photographers group is heading to the Dawes Arboretum on Saturday April 7th for an informal photo shoot, all photographers are welcome to join in the fun. The early birds will be getting there at 7:00am but since everyone has a different schedule a lot of photographers will be getting there later in the day. We can all meet up around noon at the Visitor's Center to get to know each other and maybe head out to get something to eat.

For more info on this and other events please check out the  Ohio's Nature and Wildlife Photographers group page on Facebook. The group was set up by Debbie Dingus to allow Ohio photographers to post their nature and wildlife photos. Debbie is also setting up photo trips to various places in Ohio. The Dawes Arboretum is the one of the first trips. A trip to Hocking Hills is coming up the weekend of June 8th.  The group is open to all Ohio photographers feel free to join the group if you want.



Also, since it's a long drive to Dawes some people are planning on heading down a day early on Friday and staying overnight. For those going down early on Friday, some of us are planning on checking out the Newark Earthworks and meeting there at around 10 or 11am.


Here's a Google Map with directions to Dawes and the Newark Earthworks,  click on the northern camera icon for directions to the Earthworks, click on the southern camera icon for directions to Dawes Arboretum.  The bed icon is for the Best Western where some of us are staying on Friday night.


View Dawes and Newark Earthworks map in a larger map

Lake View Cemetery - Maps and Information

Every year in the spring hundreds of Daffodils bloom on Daffodil Hill in Lake View Cemetery, this year with the unseasonably warm temperatures the Daffodils are blooming early as well as the other plants and trees in Lake View.

I'm going to check it out on Sunday March 25th.  I plan on getting there between 7:30 and 8:00am to catch the good early morning light and the dew on the plants.

There are lots of famous people buried in Lake View and lots of interesting buildings and Crypts to photograph. Buildings you want to check out are the Garfield Memorial where President Garfield and his family are entombed.  Also check out Wade Hall.



Daffodil Hill (Click on the photo to go to the gallery)



Here's a Map with the locations of the Garfield Memorial, Wade Chapel, and Daffodil Hill and also the Euclid Ave entrance to Lake View. Click on the blue icon to get directions from your location.


View Lake View Cemetery in a larger map

Ohio Nature and Wildlife Photo Shoot at Hocking Hills 6/8 to 6/10/2012

Hi everyone the Ohio's Nature and Wildlife Photographer's group on Facebook is having a photo shoot at Hocking Hills State Park from Friday June 8th till Sunday June 10th, everyone is welcome!!!!

When: June 8 to June 10th   ( I will be there from June 7-10)  Come for all the days or the days convenient for you

Where: Hocking Hills State Park

Where to stay:  A lot of us are going to be staying in the State Park Cottages, they sleep up to six people, they are a little expensive but close to the action.  You can also stay at a hotel in Logan or at any of the nearby private cabins and cottages in the area, or even in the State Park Campground.  For those who make their own lodging arrangements, we will probably use the State Park Dining Lodge as a central meeting place.

For those of you that have never been to Hocking Hills you can hang out and go on  group shoots with everyone, for those that have been there before you can venture out on your own if you want and then meet up later for lunch and dinner and shoot the breeze and ask questions about Hocking Hills and photography stuff.

Here's a link to the Hocking Hills Trail Maps

Hocking Hills is a large park with lots of waterfalls and some of the best hiking trails in Ohio, here's some of what you'll see:
Ash Cave in Spring and Winter



Cedar Falls


Lower Falls and Upper Falls at Old Man's Cave


Other things to see and explore are Conkle's Hollow, Rockhouse, Cantwell Cliff's

More Hocking Hills photos can be seen here:  Hocking Hills Galleries

GPS Coordinates in Decimal Degree format:
Lat: N 39.4376
Long W 82.5379

To get directions to Hocking Hills from your location click on the Green State Park HQ icon:


View Hocking Hills in a larger map

Favorite Places to Shoot Fall Colors in Northeast Ohio

Well its that time a year again, when the leaves on the trees turn all sorts of beautiful colors. Luckily for those of us that live in Northeast Ohio, there are a lot of places to take beautiful Fall Color Shots. Listed below are some of my favorite places to take Fall Color Photos.

Mt Jeez located across from Malabar Farms



Mt Jeez is a large hill that overlooks Malabar Farm and the valley below, more Mt Jeez photos can be seen here:

Mt Jeez Photo Gallery


Tinker's Creek Nature Preserve



Tinker's Creek Photo Gallery

The Seven Pond Trail is a great place to take Fall Color photos, there are lots of ponds where you can get some great reflections of the colors in the water.



Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation



All of the Cleveland Metroparks are great places for taking Fall Color Shots, here's a photo of my buddy Denny aka Wood Duck Dude taking photos at the North Chagrin Reservation.

North Chagrin Fall Color Gallery

Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Blue Hen Falls



There's lots of cool places to take Fall Color Shots in the Cuyahoga Valley, but Blue Hen Falls is one of my favorites. (Also check out Brandywine Falls and the Beaver Marsh)

Blue Hen Falls Gallery

So get out to your favorite Fall Color spot before the leaves fall off the trees and have fun!!! You may even want to pull out your fisheye or super wide angle lens and get a couple of Fall Color Self Portraits!!!

Balloon Classic Invitational - 7/29 - 7/31

If you like photographing Hot Air Balloons then you might want to check out the Balloon Classic Invitational taking place in North Canton Ohio from 7/29 - 7-31.

I attended this event last year and had a great time, it's one of the largest Balloon Fests in the area. There will be 65 Balloons at this years event. Here's a slideshow from last years event:

Balloon Classic Invitational Slideshow
 

NOTE: Access on the field is not allowed except for pilots and crews, but you should still be able to get some good photos.


Click the photo to see more photos!

BALLOON CLASSIC ACTIVITIES:  Hot air balloons fly best in less than 8 mph winds, and the weather must be almost perfect for these beautiful balloons to take to the skies. Pilots are briefed on weather before each and every flight; flights may be delayed or cancelled due to weather conditions.

Helpful hints:  If you’re an early bird, come check out the morning flights!  For evening flights, traffic is especially heavy, so plan ahead.

FRIDAY, JULY 29

5:00 AM – Dawn Patrol

6:30 AM – Media Flight

6:30 PM – Balloon Launch

9:45 PM – Night Glow

SATURDAY, JULY 30

6:30 AM – Media Flight

6:30 PM – Balloon Launch

SUNDAY, JULY 31

6:30 AM – Balloon Launch

Here are some of my Balloon Photography Tips

Balloon Photo Tips:

1. See which way the wind is blowing then position yourself so the balloons will fly toward you.

2. Look for colors, shapes and patterns















3. Use people as scale to show how large the Balloons are








4. Show the crew at work








5. And of course show them in the air!!!








More balloon photos here: Hot Air Balloons

Here's the address and a Google Map

Kent State University Stark Campus &
Stark State College of Technology
6000 - 6200 Frank Road NW
North Canton, Ohio 44720

Convenient parking available
Enter public parking lots off Frank Road,
and pay only $5.00 per vehicle after 3:00 PM

For those with a GPS here are the Coordinates in the Decimal Degree format

LAT N 40.867810
Long W 81.441656

Click on the Camera Icon to get directions from your location.


View Balloon Classic Invitational - Canton in a larger map