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Death Valley (National Park) has been labeled a land of extremes: record heat, continuous drought, and the lowest point in North America. Yet, just adjacent to the lowest point at Badwater Basin, snow covered Telescope Peak rises to more than eleven thousand feet with a vertical drop of more than twice the depth of the Grand Canyon; a striking contrast. The geological phenomena of the ‘racetrack’, the potential of fields of wildflowers after a rare rainstorm, the nearby ghost towns, sand dunes and the wonderful multicolored rock formations provide great photographic venues. Images in this portfolio were obtained in February, 2012.
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Layer after layer and ridge after ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is renowned for wide diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, Fall color change begins above 4,000 feet and progresses to lower levels. Peak color display at mid and lower elevations occurs between mid-October and early November and includes an amazing diversity of deciduous trees: sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple, and hickory. These images were obtained at peak fall color change (October), and at the peak of the spring rebirth (May); 2012 and 2016 respectively.
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Autumn color change is difficult to predict. We structured our trips with a combination of the coastal attractions of fishing villages, oceanscapes, light houses, as well as the yellow, orange and red backdrops in Acadia National Park. Images were obtained in October of 2012 and 2014.
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The San Juan Mountains represent the most extensive mountainous region of the Rocky Mountains – rugged, remote and wild. They lie in southwest Colorado and contain 328 peaks over 13,000 feet, 14 over 14,000. Undoubtedly they are Colorado’s finest mountain range with unsurpassed beauty and enough peaks, lakes, waterfalls, and open meadows to nourish one’s mountain climbing, 4-wheeling, backpacking and photography desires. Add in ghost mining towns and hopefully some wildflowers and the photographer’s venue is complete. Our trip to the San Juans (and other locations including the Maroon Bells) in July of 2012 lacked the typical volume of wildflowers, but the weather was great and the scenery was beautiful.
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The Grand Teton National Park takes its name from the Grand Teton, the highest mountain in the 40 mile long Teton Range (13, 775 ft.). It represents over 310,000 acres of a near-pristine echosystem in northwestern Wyoming just south of Yellowstone National Park. The park also boasts numerous lakes and a huge wildlife population. Photos in this portfolio were taken in June of 2012 and 2016.