Getting things rolling

Welcome!

Welcome to the first edition (finally!) of the Photographing National Parks weekly Q&A newsletter.

It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of work since my Photographing National Parks book was released on August 1. I was thrilled when National Parks Traveler ran a nice review, I had a fantastic time as a speaker at the PhotoPlus Expo in NYC, and I’ve been excited to be working with four great photographer friends and partners to launch the National Parks at Night workshop program.

Also of interest

Now that I’ve gotten through the whirlwind of the book release, I’ve finally had a chance to start posting some articles on the PNP website.

The first article is the first of an indefinite series of Top 5 lists of national parks that are the best for various photography subjects. The inaugural list, I’m excited to announce, is the “Top 5 National Parks for Photographing Mountains.” (Hint: No. 1 was formed with the help of Ansel Adams.)

I have a lot more to post in the coming weeks and months, especially as the centennial of the National Park Service approaches in 2016.

Onward…

This Week’s Question

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Q: We want to take a road trip that would encompass a few national parks, as opposed to going to just one park for a week. Do you have any suggestions? Area of the country doesn’t matter.S.B., Vermont

A: Absolutely. It’s a great idea, and I can suggest a few road trips based on national parks.

A north-to-south road trip through California could bring you through several parks, including Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Redwood and Lassen Volcanic.

A similar trip can be made from the Grand Canyon north into the loop of Utah’s five parks (including Zion, Arches and Bryce Canyon). This is probably a trip best avoided in summer (you don’t mention when you’re traveling), as all of those locations can get quite hot. Still, for bang-for-the-buck per mile, this itinerary is hard to beat.

Another choice in a more temperate summer climate: Drive a loop through the parks of the northwest U.S. These include some of the real gems of the park system for landscape photography — Crater Lake, Olympic, Mount Rainier, North Cascades, Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Lest we forget, there are some great parks on the east coast, too. A nice trip could bring you to Acadia, Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Congaree and Everglades. (Also, Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains are connected by the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a great drive—about 700 total miles with not one traffic light!)

Have a great time. Please write back to report on what you decided to do and how the trip went.

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