West Virginia Photo Workshop

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a great photo workshop outside of Marlinton, WV in the Monogohela National Forest. The workshop was given by Bill and Linda Lane of Nature Image Workshops. It concentrated on manual exposure, tonal values and wildflowers and landscapes (esp. old barns). This area has an incredible number of great views, wildflowers and old barns.










The best discovery was the Cranberry Glades bog, formed by an ancient glacier that left seed remnants from the Artic. We arrived in the field before sunrise. While waiting for sunrise and the fog to lift from the bog I remarked I felt like I was on the Hollywood set of Jurassic IV. I could have spent the whole day just watching the light change, discovering the incredible flora diversity and just enjoying the visual pleasure and sounds of walking around on the boardwalk. Fortunately I did have my camera and tripod and thanks to the what I learned in the workshop got some good photos here and eleswhere. On top of all of the great photographic opportunities, nice group of participants and wonderful instructors, there were the delicious lunches and dinners prepared by Linda Lane.

Other neat places to visit in the area include the West Virginia Scenic Heritage Highway, Cass narrow gauge railroad, the National Radio Telescope Observatory, Pearl S Buck's home. Take time to also explore over in the Virginia Highlands from Monterey to Hot Springs (the Homestead and Garth Newell Music Center), to Lexington to Staunton to Harrisonburg and the many beautiful back country roads and historic districts and structures.