Tank Hollow

The weatherman reported Friday night that the fall foliage would be at its peak this weekend. Sarah and I woke up with one thing on our mind. Take advantage of the beautiful autumn weather while going on a hike! We wanted to check out somewhere new so we opened the Alltrails app looked for something within 2 hours of Harrisburg. The online pictures made Tank Hollow stand out from the rest. 2 hours and a few car duets later we arrived. We Parked at the trail head at the first parking lot. We then had about a .75 mile walk to the trail head. Next time I think we’ll park at the trail head. It saves so much time. At first we walked past the trail head as it’s poorly marked. So I put the drone up to 200 feet attempting to locate the trail. Luckily it worked! We walked back to the trail head and down the narrow trail to the overlook. I decided to only use my drone here. The takeoff area was very small and uneven. I was worried about annoying the other families with the drone. However once I was in the air you couldn’t see or hear the drone. They actually seemed entertained by it. Once in the air I was high above the Lehigh river. I definitely got some great shots and it was only my second time out with the drone. So the trail was beautiful, the weather was amazing, and my drone didn’t fly away uncontrollably into the sunset. All in all it was a great day.

Elysha @ Chickies Rock

This is my first photoshoot in a very long time. Definitely the first since switching to Fujifilm from Canon. I have only concentrated on nature and landscape shots for years it seems. So after plenty of family shoot requests, I'll be slowly dabbling into portrait photography. Maybe this is a new chapter for me. Whatever it is, I'm excited for something fresh. Today I'm meeting up with Elysha and we are heading to Chickies Rock Overlook in Columbia PA. This is my first time going to Chickies Rock. The plan was to get there for golden hour. Unfortunately traffic had us running a little late and we were racing the sun. It is a light walk with a 20-30% grade from the parking lot to the overlook. The trail is wooded and slightly rocky, so make sure you wear sneakers. Once you're at the overlook you get a great view of the Susquehanna river. For the shoot I used all natural light with my Fuji X-T2. The lenses for the shoot are the Fujinon 50mm F2 and Fujinon 16mm F1.4. Unfortunately I had the grain on during the shoot. Yeah it's been awhile! 

Pinnacle Overlook

This is my first blog of of many I hope to be posting on the site. The blogs will be about photography, graphic design projects, and mostly day trips I have planned. This is new and exciting for me so please comment and share with your friends.

Today I would like to write about my trip to Pinnacle Overlook and the Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve in Holtwood PA. Located just 30 minutes south of Lancaster city, Pinnacle Overlook is a quick drive to kick back, relax, and take in nature. On the way to Pinnacle (via rte 325), the flat Lancaster county farmland quickly becomes hilly and the roads are get slightly tighter with each rolling corner. I joke that it looks like we are on the set of Twilight with plenty of lush trees and a very remote location. It's really beautiful out here and looks more like northern Pennsylvania then Lancaster county. Within 10 minutes of the overlook I start to see signs that point me in the right direction. This is invaluable as my GPS apparently loses signal in this part of the county. Pulling up to Pinnacle and you'll notice the parking lot goes to about 30 feet within the Overlook. Today is 80 degrees, mostly sunny, and there is a slight breeze coming off the water. About 30 locals from the amish community are enjoying an afternoon picnic on the provided picnic tables. Going up to the overlook fence, you realize you're really high above the Susquehanna and the view is very picturesque. I encourage anyone reading this to bring sneakers and go to a lower rock formation for a closer (but lower) view of the river. It may be pretty steep for some but is definitely worth the view.

Just a few Minutes down the road from the Pinnacle overlook is the Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve. There are a few wooded hiking trails of varying difficulty for everyone. A few of the trails go clear to the river. The trails are pretty rocky but safe, so wear hiking boots. The blue and yellow trails follow a stream the whole way to the Susquehanna river. We decided to follow both the blue and yellow trail, crossing the stream whenever we got the chance. Along the way there are benches to rest or eat on. You may even pass the occasional turtle and see plenty of minnows in the creek.

If you want a quick day trip to get out in nature or have a picnic, I would recommend making the short trek to Holtwood PA to visit both sites. Fall would be the most beautiful time of year but really this is a great trip at anytime. With the Tucquan family campgrounds a 1/2 mile away, a great weekend camping trip is waiting for you and with your family. Enjoy