Happy Valentine's Day, folks! When I lived in Upstate South Carolina I drove NC-107 frequently to access the Chattooga River and to get up to the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Silver Run Falls, a small waterfall near Cashiers, North Carolina, was just off the roadside. The...
Photo of the Day: February 9, 2022
In 2013 I lived in an apartment in Upstate South Carolina. Whenever the forecast showed snow for the mountains of Western North Carolina, Whiteside Mountain is where I would rush off to. It was a straight shot up the sinuous NC-107. Whiteside Mountain is the...
Photo of the Day: January 14, 2022
Becoming a full-time landscape photographer was a real thought at this point in my life (2014). It was risky for me. I had invested heavily--both time and finances--in my degrees and work experience within the construction industry. Cutting the cord was going to be...
G. Richard Thompson WMA Virginia Spring Wildflowers
The virus eventually shut down access to all local parks in Fairfax County. Shenandoah National Park was shuttered tight. Travel was strongly discouraged; campground gates locked. I only had one wildcard in my back pocket: a small Wildlife Management Area in...
Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) Spring Ephemeral Wildflowers Virginia
One of the back burner projects I've always wanted to tackle was a photo essay of the spring ephemeral wildflowers along the Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) in Northern Virginia. As the Corona Virus began to tighten its grip in March of 2020, I found myself in Northern...
Photo Essay: Pinkshell & Flame Azalea 2016
In March 2016, while I was photographing the annual spring bloom in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Our State Magazine--a North Carolina periodical--reached out to me and offered an opportunity to complete an assignment to be featured in the April 2017...
Photo Essay: Oconee Bell Wildflowers 2017
I lived in the Upstate of South Carolina for nearly ten years while I pursued various degrees at Clemson University. Neighboring Oconee County was where I went to find my "away." I've always loved books and learning. To this day, when an Amazon delivery arrives on...
Photo Essay: Virginia Bluebell Wildflowers
Each year, a small gap in my travel schedule allows a return to my hometown of Northern Virginia to witness and photograph the Virginia Bluebells. Much of the early spring hype is focused on the nearby Japanese Cherry Trees in downtown Washington D.C., where visitors...
Photo Essay: Spring in the Smokies 2016
Each year, as spring rounds out towards mid-April I make a pilgrimage to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I'm never alone; the who's who of outdoor photography will be in the same place. Friends, mentors and those who I've only followed...
Photo Essay: Roan Highlands Gray’s Lily Wildflowers 2015
The grasses I travel through are far taller than the mid-height of my hiking boots allowing the moisture to wick down through my socks. My feet are soaking despite the Gore-Tex lining within my boots. It's just after sunrise on the temperate grassy balds of the Roan...
Photo Essay: G. Richard Thompson WMA 2015
Thompson Wildlife Management Area is an acreage of property (4,000+) owned and operated by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in Fauquier County, Virginia. Located about one hour west of the Northern Virginia suburbs outside...
From the Field: Virginia Bluebells 2015
Each spring around mid-April I rattle off several hundred frames that I never show anyone. Frames of Virginia Bluebells. There's really nothing in my landscape calendar each year that wrecks my confidence as a photographer more thoroughly than Virginia Bluebells,...