Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Acadia National Park, one of the photos in my new National Parks Project
Please check out a new photography gallery representing my National Parks Project.
Over the past few years I visited several national parks. Along the way, I have taken some amazing photographs, and this gallery represents the best of the best (in my opinion).
It should be noted that during this time I started volunteering as a photographer for the National Park Foundation (a fine nonprofit to support), which included a special volunteer trip documenting the Find Your Park Expedition to Yosemite last year. The National Parks Foundation also hired me to do a smaller job, too.
This project will continue over the years as an ongoing effort. Nothing captivates my heart more than being out in the wide open in one our country’s protected amazing spaces. And there are so many to see.
What the Parks Mean to Me
The Golden Gate Bridge, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
There so many interesting National Park Service properties to see. In addition to the big parks, historical sites and recreation areas like the Golden Gate National Recreation Area remind me of where we have come from, and our many accomplishments.
Then there are the nature vistas. A sense of great calm overwhelms me when I visit our magnificent parks incredibly well known sites, as well as less well known scenes. Nature demonstrates its sheer power, humbling the soul, making me realize that I am but a tiny part of this incredible history that continues to expand over millions of years.
The sadness of a nation seen at Yosemite.
Though I am photographing people more often these days, I wish I could transport all of my subjects to mythical places that I have never seen like the Great Sand Dunes National Park or Denali. And then there is the Grand Canyon, which I have visited, but am desperate to revisit now that my photography skills improved. Wherever you are, the sense of self invoked by a great natural scene powerful overpowers the soul.
More to Add to the National Parks Project
Yes, I have already seen some amazing places like Yosemite on the 2016 FYPx Expedition and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. There are so many more to see.
One of the most incredible parks I visited was Acadia on a family vacation with my wife and daughter. They both loved it so much we are returning this coming summer, in what will hopefully be a family tradition.
In the end photographs are either memories or promises. They remind of us of where we have been and with with whom we experienced those times. And for those scenes that have not experienced, they offer a promise of what could be, the elusive hope of good meaningful moments.
But whether you are a photographer or not, I encourage you to visit one of our national parks. You will leave inspired.
And do visit my new National Parks Project Gallery for a taste of what could be. ;)