So last weekend photographed Great Falls in the evening using the long exposure techniques shared by my fellow photographer Chrissy Donadi on The Visual Wilderness photography website. I used these same tips to capture the early morning shot of Blackwater Falls in Davis, West Virginia that I shared back in early July.

Now, both times I shot in both JPEG and RAW, but I didn’t use the RAW file to edit that Blackwater Falls photo. It turns out that I needed to make a series of updates to my Adobe Photoshop Elements software in order for it to let me access the RAW photos.

So with the necessary updates to allow me to open and edit RAW photos I decided to take the plunge and see what I could do with one of my earliest darker captures of Great Falls and this is what I came up with. I have other images I took later on that I think may be sharper, so once I choose which one to edit and accomplish that, I’ll share it. But I think for a first attempt at editing from RAW files, this isn’t so bad!

Now I just need to get Adobe Lightroom and make editing in RAW a consistent practice.

Great Falls, VA

This year the idea of staying in DC for all of the Fourth of July craziness, the heat, and the crowds held little appeal to me and my husband. So my husband – the king of finding off the radar destinations that appeal to our simple and odd tastes – got online and found us an overnight getaway in Davis, West Virginia.

We have always like waterfalls, so the main focus of this outing was to travel to Davis to visit Blackwater Falls State Park. And as I am currently reading up and practicing long exposure landscape photography, this was a perfect destination for me to put my new knowledge and equipment to good use!

We arrived in Davis, shortly before noon. So we checked in to our B&B, had some lunch and then headed out on the first day’s mission – scouting out the falls to see what we were dealing with.

There were plenty of people at Blackwater Falls on the 4th, but it wasn’t overly crowded. Everyone was courteous and good at sharing the views. And the falls themselves were spectacular. After spending about an hour at the falls, we drove around, taking in the natural beauty of the state parks in the area and scoping out possible activities for the next visit to Davis.

We drove out to a smaller, more remote waterfall near Davis’ sister city of Thomas. It would be an understatement to say that the gravel road was in bad shape. But we made it out to the end of the road with the car intact and set out on foot in search of Douglas Falls. Douglas Falls is not as visitor friendly as Blackwater Falls – a knotted rope helps you not tumble down the steep path to the bottom (as compared with the well maintained wooden staircases and platforms of Blackwater) and the vantage points for those of us not terribly sure footed enough to travel a little downstream were rather limited. So after a few shots with the phone’s camera, we headed back to home base.

Bike Trail Along the Canyon

Douglas Falls

Oh, this is why I couldn’t get further downstream (google for better views of Douglas Falls!)

Small Falls Just Above Douglas Falls

The dog refused to pose with Denver near the falls.

The real show for me was the next morning. After reading a couple of tutorials and buying a neutral density filter and a remote release trigger, I was ready to try my hand at long exposure photography. We left the B&B bright and early and headed back to Blackwater Falls. The storms from the previous afternoon had swollen the rivers and the amount of water flowing over the falls increased dramatically. Gone were the rocks jutting out of the falls that you could see the day before. And the spray kept us from going all the way down to the main viewing platform.

Blackwater Falls after the previous day’s rain. Notice you can’t see any of the rocks visible in the first photos.

Instead we headed up to the other viewing site just off the road to the lodge and set up for the shot I was looking for there. I set up the tripod, put the neutral density filter on my lens, and attached the remote release trigger to the camera. Luckily we had the platform to ourselves and I had the freedom to play and experiment with the settings until I was relatively sure I got the shot I came for.

Blackwater Falls – shot using long exposure, a neutral density filter, and a remote trigger release.

Our little adventure was a perfect, short getaway for us. Davis and Thomas are both great little towns to stay in, giving you access to state parks, a national forest, a ski resort, bike trails, river activities, and even artistic ventures. Our bed and breakfast, the Brightmorning Inn, was SUPER dog friendly and the food was excellent (I didn’t expect the European quality pastries!). I can’t wait to go back to explore more of the towns, with their historical buildings, unique shops, art galleries, and delicious restaurants!

Davis, West Virginia

     After breakfast at Lynette & Jerri’s itty bitty diner the next morning, we left Winchester, Virginia (check out Wandering in Winchester if you haven’t yet!) and headed for Harpers Ferry. Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, you can imagine the importance of Harpers Ferry, even if you can’t quite remember from your high school history class why that place sounds familiar.

     I won’t bore you with a history lesson (though you really should read up on the town, it has quite a past!). I will say come to town and be prepared to learn a little. Most of Harpers Ferry is a National Park and there are plenty of museums, exhibits and historical sights. You might even see someone in historical dress giving a talk or a demonstration on some long forgotten tradition.

     There are several B&Bs, cute little restaurants and adorable boutique shops. I had the best cinnamon roll I’ve eaten in years at one coffee shop and I’m actually quite glad I don’t live nearer, or I’d be eating them all the time. Definitely be sure to visit the old timey candy shop too! No wonder I don’t lose weight…

     Aside from the gorgeous little town, Harpers Ferry is also a perfect place for outdoor recreation, from strolls along the river and canals, to hikes across the old railroad bridge to Maryland Heights and the cliffs overlooking the town from that side of the river. The Appalachian Trail goes right through town and while it’s not exactly the midpoint on that journey, many see it as such. Biking, fishing, rafting, and other outdoor sports are popular activities in the area as well. And you can already see that it’s a great place for history nerds with a photography problem!

     Even though it was the first day that the weather REALLY decided to think about changing to its winter act (I was not prepared, lol), I had a great time and can’t wait to go back. I’d love to brave that climb on the other side and get a bird’s eye view of Harpers Ferry from up there. The town is so tiny, but reminds me a little of my adopted home town of Eureka Springs, AR. Lots of history, but also lots of heart and pride from the residents who choose to call Harpers Ferry home. Fingers crossed next time I will get to stay at a B&B in town!

PS: The 48th Annual Harpers Ferry Olde Tyme Christmas and Winterfest gets going on November 30th and continues on into December. Check out the details at Historic Harpers Ferry’s website!

     Back in October, just before the leaves made their grand change ( literally – like 3 days before), my dear husband whisked me out of town for a spontaneous weekend away from the DC metro area. Note to self: spontaneous weekends to the Shenandoah in the fall are nigh impossible to book last minute without large sums of cash and at least 2 nights/3 days to work with. But with some readjusting of our expectations we secured a hotel room in Winchester, VA and planned to spend the next day in Harpers Ferry, WV.

     I became a little fascinated with Winchester back in September. I was on my way to my first training center to learn the ins and outs of preschool photography and while driving through the gorgeous, historic downtown area, had to fight down the urge to ditch the preschool portraiture for a photography stroll through Winchester’s quaint streets.

The first thing that caught my eye driving into Winchester, VA.

     The first structure that really caught my eye was the ornately domed, Beaux-Arts style  Handley Library. It was a building worthy of any old world European city and I had to check it out. The library was funded by Judge John Handley from Scranton Pennsylvania, who, in his will,  left the city of Winchester $250,000 to build it. It was built to resemble and open book, with the dome representing its spine, and two wings stretching out to either side resembling the pages.

     The view of the dome from inside was equally impressive and I was not the only visitor that gasped a little at the unexpected view. Tours are given regularly, but if you happen to miss it, the librarians are friendly and welcoming and will invite you to wander the halls to admire the prized building.

     Our next stop was Winchester’s historic downtown. A three block section of Loudoun Street is now closed to vehicle traffic and makes up Winchester’s pedestrian mall, lined with restaurants, historical sites, and lots of interesting little shops selling various things. If you like to buy from small, local businesses, this is a great place to go.

     We did not by any means exhaust all the interesting and beautiful sites of Winchester, Virginia. More things are calling out to me to explore further, but they will have to wait for another weekend adventure – preferably during their annual Apple Blossom Festival in the Spring!

     The next morning, after having breakfast at what could possibly be the tiniest, popular diner in Winchester, we hit the road and headed for Harpers Ferry. More on that next!