Woods Fork – Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
Woods Fork - Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
06 January 2012 | Copyright © 2012 Gary Allman
Sunset at Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri
The wind blew hard and unpredictably most of the evening, making sitting round the campfire hazardous at times, but the sparks made up for the absence of fireworks.
Sitting round the campfire on Guy Fawkes night
Bucksaw campsite in the moonlight
05 November 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Dead tree, Bucksaw, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri
White Pelicans on Harry S Truman Lake at Bucksaw
Camping at Bucksaw Campground, Harry S Truman Lake, Missouri
05 November 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Autumn color on the road to the South trail head at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
When we arrived home the fall color was just as impressive
01 November 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Fall color at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Missouri
Gary and Ginger stopped for lunch on Woods Fork, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
Woods Fork Crossing
01 November 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Fall color at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Missouri
The the colour of the trees on the trail by the Carter Cemetery were breathtaking.
Woods Fork crossing, Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area
Fall color at Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, Missouri
01 November 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Waiting for the weather and tide
Multicoloured layered cliffs at Hunstanton, Norfolk, UK
The play of light in the sky and the humps of the the eroded sandstone boulders which were arranged in lines pointing out to sea, was wonderful. I made a couple of attempts to capture it, and this is the one I like best. The green of the seaweed was a great bonus. It really was that vivid. Even though it was accurate, I had to take the saturation down just a tad as it was looking unreal.
The picture was taken looking West from the beach at Hunstanton, where there are some wonderful layered and coloured cliffs. While setting up and taking this picture I knew there was a chance of the sun breaking through and lighting up the cliffs behind me. But after a seemingly interminable wait, we gave up. Sure enough later on the sun shone through but I wasn’t in a position to get the shot.
Sun burst over the Wash
08 July 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Guile Point leading Marks. Lindisfarne, UK
You can also see Bamburgh Castle on the horizon.
An attempt to get a picture of Lindisfarne Castle and use a wall to frame the castle and obscure an ugly lamp post on the quay.
Lindisfarne Castle
07 July 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Dunmore hill and Melville monument
Taken on our Comrie hike, looking North towards the granite obelisk on Dunmore hill which commemorates Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville.
There was a tad too much water vapour in the atmosphere for a really clear picture, but I liked the way the light was playing on the field and trees.
The 18mm – 105mm kit lens that came with the camera is very good – though as I shot this at 50mm I could have used my prime lens and got an even sharper image. Checking the image in detail I was very surprised to find that details of the obelisk can be seen.
29 June 2011 | Comrie | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Looking North along Glen Lednock – Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland
Looking North from the road while on our Glen Lednock hike.
Gary seen in a ditch getting ready to take a picture - Photograph by Ginger
29 June 2011 | Glen Lednock | Comrie | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Pastures and derelict buildings – Dumyat, Stirling, Scotland
Keith, Gary and Ginger on Dumyat, Stirling, Scotland
28 June 2011 | Dumyat, Stirling, Scotland | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Scottish hills
We’ve been hiking in Scotland. Taken from Dumyat, Stirling.
28 June 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Little Sac River from the Sac River Trail
This afternoon we decided to enjoy the sunshine, brave the snow cover and go for a short hike on the Sac River Trail. The hike was fine, proving our gear is up to a winter hike, getting to the trail and away again was not so good.
On our way to the trail I nearly ‘T Boned’ a pick-up and trailer as it sailed through a stop sign without stopping; the driver was too busy chatting on his cell ‘phone to notice the stop sign. A couple of hours later at the parking lot for the trail I made the mistake of trying to turnaround to get out and got us well and truly stuck in the snow. I had to resort to digging down through the snow and ice to the ground using my pocket knife. Note to self: Snow shovels aren’t worth a damn for digging out a stuck van.
05 February 2011 | Copyright © 2011 Gary Allman
Mist at the Pines Overlook Campsite
Just enough time for some pictures and to enjoy the daybreak before packing up camp and setting off to pick up the girls.
07 August 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Red Bluff on Huzzah Creek, Davisville, Missouri
Once more the lighting is challenging, and I’m still not 100% happy with the results. I do like the person at the bottom of the frame – he really serves to give an idea of the scale of the bluff, though I had to rush the shot to catch him in the sunlight.
05 August 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Huzzah Creek and Red Bluff, Red Bluff Campground, Missouri
Red Bluff is one of our current favorite camping destinations. However, getting a decent picture of the bluff is proving a bit difficult. The red coloring on the bluff is actually a stain from the red topsoil. In places where there’s no soil the bluff is white. At around 150′-200′ the bluff is quite impressive.
22 July 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman | Davisville, Missouri
Big Bay Recreation Area, Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri
19 June 2010 | Big Bay Recreation Area | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Jacks Fork, Blue Spring Campsite – Ozark National Scenic Riverway
Jacks Fork and Blue Spring at the campsite where we spent Memorial weekend.
Today I confirmed that taking the Nikon camping is not necessarily a good idea, as the humidity caused problems, with a whole load of images spoiled due to internal fogging on the optics.
A complete slideshow of the weekend (22 Slides)
31 May 2010 | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Bluff on Jacks Fork – Ozark National Scenic Riverway
Ginger and I were invited to join Tom, Rebbie, Dash and Leslie camping and on a float trip this Memorial weekend. They even borrowed a canoe for us to use. We’d planned on a couple of hours float back to our campsite, but our planned put-in point was overwhelmed with people, so Tom took us further up river, and we had a much longer trip.
I discovered that taking the Nikon on a float trip is not conducive to taking pictures. Ziplock bags managed to keep the camera dry even when we took on a load of water, but it was very difficult trying to get the camera out of the bags. A small waterproof point and shoot is required.
A complete slideshow of the weekend (22 Slides)
29 May 2010 | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman
Cutting Wood
We had just finished cutting wood and loading the pick-up, when I spotted this picture of Tom, his son, and the truck silhouetted against the sky. I deliberately under exposed the picture with this treatment in mind. I think the composition would be a little better if we hadn’t already loaded the wheel barrow.
We’ve spent several Saturdays working at this location which is around 25 miles South of Springfield. It has a wonderful view of the Ozark hills, albeit spoiled by Highway 65 and the advertising hoardings that stand alongside it.
05 March 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Gary Allman | Off Hwy 65, South of Springfield, Missouri
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
We had to ford the creek at the end of the hike. The creek bed was stoney again, so I went ahead and got Ginger’s sandals from the van. Of course that meant I crossed the creek four times, while one couple got a horse ride across.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
Cutting wood with Tom on Saturday I noticed a state park on our way back. I did some investigating and found we had some details in our hiking guides. Sunday afternoon, waiting for the bus with the Youth Group kids (and Katie) to arrive I was chatting to a friend who had visited the Park the previous week.
It took a bit to persuade Ginger to give up a Sunday afternoon nap for a hike, but I succeeded and off we went.
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area is 18 miles south of Springfield, so it’s nice and close. Recent rain has washed out the bridges so we had to ford the creek – no problem for me in sandals, but as Ginger had to take her hiking boots off, she had problems in her bare feet.
The best of the fall color is gone and the leaves hid the trail in places the red blazes made it fairly easy to keep on track. There were quite a lot of people on horse back – which was useful to some as one person ferried a couple across the creek.
The hike was a bit long for Lanie, but Ginger and I enjoyed it. we’ll be going back.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
We should have forded the creek here, where there is a rock creek bed. Instead we opted for a place where the banks weren’t so steep. The stoney creek bed caused Ginger a lot of pain.
Crossing the creek at the end of the hike, I went ahead and got Ginger her sandals from the van.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman |
Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area, South West Missouri
It is surprising how quickly the trees have shed their leaves. this time last week the trees were full of leaves.
01 November 2009 | Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area | Copyright © 2009 Gary Allman
