Back to the lake.

Could barely see the top of the eagle's head on the way in. Didn't see her at all on the way out. I did climb up and get to this nice waterfall though (we have had a lot of rain).

Put too many up, need to be more selective.

Along first creek trail.

Went for a slightly soggy hike on the first creek trail in Mammoth Cave NP. Actually I only did the section from the First Creek Trailhead to a little past second creek. Enjoyed a little thunderstorm on the way out.

I hadn't noticed this particular chimney on the trail before. I had seen photos of it, but didn't know exactly where it was. Anyway, the flowers added a little to the photo.

30 seconds

1/750th second, notice the holes in the water.

Pull Over.

Was driving along, saw a great rainbow. Needed an interesting spot before it vanished. I think this location is interesting enough.

Belted Kingfisher (maybe)

Bought a bigger lens. Want to get better shots of bald eagles, and this is the time of year to get them.
Was playing around with the big lens shooting from the kayak. This is not a great shot, but here you go anyway. Didn't know what kind of bird he was, looked around online and myabe he is a Belted Kingfisher. Make that she. If I identified it correctly, it is a female. Male or female, I really dig the groovy hairstyle.

Looking for Bald Eagles.

Went back up to Nolin Lake early Sunday morning. Thought I would play around, then look for eagles. I did play around and wade in knee deep mud in some areas. Also had to power through an ice sheet. Then a little later, I went by the nest. At first I didn't see the eagle. I had the big lens ready and looked up at the nest with the camera. There it was on a limb a few feet from the nest. As I was watching through the lens, it dove and flew away. I have the dive shots, but there are many many limbs between the eagle and the camera, and they did not make the cut. The shot below is not good either, but it is a bald eagle. The light was low, it was a little foggy, I was too far way, and I stink at photographing eagles.

I do consider this a work in progress. I will get more and better eagle shots eventually (definitely more, hopefully better).

Overdoing Nolin Lake a little, but it could be worse.

Befpre Daylight

Oh, was hoping to see the eagle again, but did not. While hanging around, I took a few photos of a neat rock formation, with its reflection. I do like patterns.

Less ice. More water.

Finally back out on the kayak. The lake has thawed and the water was running. Good day.
A kayaker told me this area on Nolin Lake is called 'Big Piney'. Will be using that name the next time I am here, and I will be back soon.

More fun with headlamps and ice!

30 Seconds

2 Minutes

Well, I am having fun with my headlamp and the ice at Shanty Hollow. Might not move on until the ice melts.

Both of these shots are long exposure and are illuminated by 'painting' with my headlamp.

'No park for you!' or 'All I got was a train.'

Well... snowy day, I'm bored. Throw chains on truck, take off (I need a four wheel drive!). Stopped by the Railpark in Bowling Green on the way up to Mammoth Cave.
Did a big hike walking into park (Mammoth Cave NP), as the roads in the park were closed. Lots of photos. None made the cut. Nice hike though.

Still out with the ice. The waterfall at Nolin Lake State Park.

Close up of the ice.

Resting. Was out most of the day!

Ice still here!

Illuminated with my headlamp

Playing with HDR

The bottom photo is composed of three photos at different exposure levels. Using Lighroom to create a high dynamic range photo. Lightroom is not so good at it though. Need to look for better HDR software.

Bluff Cave Falls agin - colder this time. Also, the Historic Entrance with a little ice (was hoping for more).

Looking for ice. Found ice. (Wasn't hard to do.)

Gotta get there sooner. Bluff cave falls.

Well, I was hoping after the big rain we had had yesterday and overnight that there would be a good flow of water over the falls and into the cave. It was still raining when I took the photo, but not very heavily. Anyway, I will try again.

The leaves are gone, but the bare sycamores are nice.

Moon and contrail.

Was on the kayak out on Shanty Hollow Lake. The half moon was nice, the contrail made it better. This is not a great shot of the moon or a contrail - I do like the combo though.

I have taken A LOT of liberty on the post processing, actually it looks very little like what came straight of the camera. There you go.

From the AHATT (all heron all the time) channel - here you go.

Approaching the end of the fall color shots.

Well, hopefully I will grow tired of Nolin Lake soon.

Still liking the new kayak, still liking the lake, still liking the herons.
So... will probably not grow tired of the lake anytime soon.