An aimless pursuit of beauty.

What do you do when a day of scouting for photography locations doesn’t yield anything? That happened recently on a trip to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. We spent the afternoon hiking the Cliff and other trails to check out overlooks and waterfalls. My plan was to find the best ones and spend the next few mornings photographing them.

Nine miles of hiking didn’t yield much. The overlooks weren’t what I expected and the recent lack of rain had the waterfalls running at a trickle. With nothing to plan for, I did something I hadn’t done in a long time. At 5:30am I started driving around to find a photograph, somewhere. It didn’t take long to realize why I don’t do this anymore. Not knowing where to go or what you are looking for can be quite frustrating. Here I am in the beautiful Delaware Water Gap and nothing beautiful is making itself known.

Then I saw the mist. It was coming from a small lake. Then I saw the kayak. Some guy was enjoying the morning fishing and could not have been more cooperative if I had radio communication and told him where to go and how to pose.

Misty Morning in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Misty Morning in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis 2016

Shortly after leaving the lake, a glimpse of light caught my eye deep in a dense pine forest. I wandered over to find beautiful opening in the forest with a light mist providing a glow to everything.

Misty Forest in the Delware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Misty Forest 1 by Richard Lewis 2016

Reclaiming The Trees in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Reclaiming The Trees by Richard Lewis 2016

Forest Carpet in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Forest Carpet by Richard Lewis 2016

Misty Forest 2 in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Misty Forest 2 by Richard Lewis 2016

As if this wasn’t enough, while heading back to the hotel I turned down a gravel road just to see what was there. A break in the forest framed by two well placed trees made for another photo opportunity.

Quiet Forest Road in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis

Quiet Forest Road in the Delaware Water Gap by Richard Lewis 2016

I normally like to plan out a shoot to maximize the time when the light is at its best. However, sometimes a little randomness and serendipity can lead to special new places.

Enjoy