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My kids and I are very excited as we are leaving this weekend for our trip to Europe which will include stops in England, Scotland, Amsterdam, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Finally Paris, France with 2 nights at Disneyland Paris before coming home. But as I was looking for a couple more shots to post this week before taking a two week break, I kept finding shots that I haven't posted yet from LAST year's vacation. (Doh!) So this week, I thought I would feature a few neglected shots that I found in my pile from our trip back East last year. .

This shot was taken at our friend's home in Round Hill, Virginia. This is relatively close to where Mike Besant lives as I believe he is located just on the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. My kids and I have fallen in love with this part of the world, with it's rolling hills, split rail fencing, and miles and miles of rock walls, some of which were built in the 1700's. We won't be back this way again this year as we will be travling in Europe, but we hope to be back next year. Mike said he would show me some great places to shoot, so I'll be counting on that a year from now! The owner of this property is a real estate agent, and I keep telling him to find me a home each time we visit. I honestly think if I could find the right job, I would move tomorrow.

Shot taken with the Sigma 10-20.

Tags:   Round Hill, Virginia Sunset Blue Ridge Mountains Farm Nikon D90 Sigma 10-20

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On my recent trip to visit our good friends in Loudoun County Virginia, I knew I wanted to do quite a bit more photography compared to my last trip, so I spent some time online bugging folks like Mike Besant in order to find out where the good spots were within driving distance of Loudoun County. Mike suggested Black Water Falls, West Virginia, so on my second day of our trip, off I went in search of the Falls, After a couple of missed turns, I found a beautiful state park FULL of gorgeous waterfalls after a 2 hour drive. I found this particular waterfall right before I left and had to race a family with four small kids to this location in order to get my shots finished before they arrived. While I was rushing to get to the falls, I jumped on to a loose rock and fell. The good news was that I didn't break any bones. But I landed with my full weight on the Sigma 10-20, which was attached to my Nikon.

Who knew that the Sigma was built to withstand that kind of punishment? I banged up the housing a little, but after limping over to get this shot, the Sigma seemed as good as new! I fired off a few brackets and then escaped before the four kids defended en masse.

The Sigma 10-20: Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

Tags:   Elakala Falls Blackwater Falls West Virginia Sigma 10-20 HDR Nikon D7000

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I tried to make it a habit to get up early to catch the sunrise almost every morning while we were on vacation in Loudoun County, Virginia. On most mornings, I was up at 4:15 and out trying to get a shot before 5 AM. On this particular morning, I had very high hopes, but they were dashed as I drove up the Snickersville Turnpike and it began to rain. After realizing that I wasn't going to get anything, I stopped at the 24 hour McDonalds to pick up a McMuffin. While I was in the drive through line, sudennly the clouds parted a bit and the sun came blazing through. It was all I could do to make sure I paid the nice lady at the window before I peeled out of that parking lot and drove back to the outskirts of town looking for a shot. (It didn't help that the speed limit in most of Loudoun County is 25!)

As I drove back down Lincoln Ave in the rain, I suddenly slammed on my brakes, grabbed my camera, and bolted across the road. I didn't bother with the tripod as it was beginning to pour but just spent the next few minutes trying to get as many bracketed shots in as possible before the sun disappeared behind the clouds again.

This shot is very typical of what I saw during my stay in Loudoun County, and it pretty much explains why I'd love to pick up and move there as soon as possible. There would be a couple of minor issues to deal with first, like....finding a job, moving my entire extended family, etc, etc, but given the choice, I would move here in a heartbeat. Nothing but rolling green hills, miles of horse fencing and old stone walls - some of which date back to the revolutionary war, the way the fireflies dance along the roadside at night, deer wandering into your yard....and these amazing skies. I live in North Orange County where we have miles of freeways, traffic jams, brown hills, power lines, and stray cats wandering into my yard. Not quite the same thing.

Maybe some day.

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Tags:   Purcellville Virginia Sunrise Loudoun County farmland farm silo Nikkor 28-300 VR HDR

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By midday on July 3, it really didn't look like much was going to happen in Loudoun County. There was a 90 percent chance of thunderstorms according to the NWS, but there was plenty of sunshine and only scattered clouds over the Blue Ridge Mountains. But suddenly, around 2 PM, the wind picked up, the sky grew dangerously black, and by 3 PM, lightning lit up the sky and the rain was coming down sideways. By 4PM, the power was out for most of Round Hill and we sat on the front porch watching the deluge.

After a few quick slices of pizza for dinner, George Fletcher and I hurried off to the Bear's Den as it offers one of the finest views in Northern Virginia. As we arrived, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds lighting up the steam and mist rising from the valley and Shenandoah River below. Thunderstorms every other day and views like this are why I would LOVE to move to this part of the country.

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Tags:   Bear's Den Sunset Loudoun County Northern Virginia Storm

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Another shot from the Lincoln Memorial that was taken during my mad dash from the Iwo Jima Memorial down to the Jefferson before arriving at the Lincoln. This angle turned out to be a bit wonky, but I loved how the light was reflecting off of the pavement and steps. It really turned out to be a spectacular morning, and I shot for well over two hours before finally heading back to Loudoun County for some much needed sleep.

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Tags:   Lincoln Memorial Sunrise Washington DC

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