Adventures from Behind the Glass

Road to an Old House, Ohio 2013

There are two themes to this current blog post. (1.) Research your location prior to shooting and (2.) Don’t ever underestimate the scenic beauty of a place, case in point…Ohio.

First, the best way to increase your chances of coming back with some good images is to research the location before you arrive. I always look for a book or two on the area in the travel section at Barnes and Noble www.BN.com. Better yet, go to the B & N in the place you are shooting and they may have, as Ohio did, an entire section dedicated to their State. I look for books that are well illustrated, preferably with color photos so I can get an idea of what the scenic locales look like and whether they are worth shooting, always keeping in mind the images may be taken in a different season than I am traveling. Such was the case in the book I purchased entitled: A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio by Ian Adams http://amzn.to/VnpOY0. It gave me (literally) a roadmap to numerous waterfalls located in the area I would be traveling, and these are clearly one of my favorite subjects to shoot. Following the book, my GPS and a trusty old map (remember those?), I successfully located all of the falls in my area, and was pleasantly surprised by the strong, rushing cascades created by recently melting snow.

West Milton Falls, Miami County, OH 2013

One other good idea in researching a location is asking a local, or former local, who really knows the lay of the land. In my case, it helped that one of my best college buddies originally hailed from Ohio and he turned me on to a magical place known as Hocking Hills. HH is so beautiful that I am saving it for the next post to include several images, so stay tuned.

White Farm, near Dayton, OH 2013

Finally, as for the scenic beauty of rural Ohio…judge for yourselves here and in a new section I have devoted to it at www.barrystevengreff.com entitled Magical Midwest. From the farms, most of which have an old barn on property, to the trees, to the waterfalls, who knew? …I do now.