Hanging Leaves Part 2

This is a continuation of my photography of 2024 fall leaves that have been arrested on their way to the ground, hanging tenuously onto some natural object.

Hanging Leaf 10
Hanging Leaf 11
Hanging Leaf 12
Hanging Leaf 13
Hanging Leaf 14
Hanging Leaf 15

Thanks for following,

Ken

Special Edition – Defending our National Parks and Public Lands

Trump and Musk Take Aim at the National Parks and Public Lands

Is indiscriminate firing of park service employees, forest service employees, and others that manage our public lands a first step at destroying our public parks and public lands?

It sure looks that way. Trump and the far right have made no secret of wanting to scale back our public lands and fully open them to commercial development.

There are many U.S. citizens, regardless of their politics, that love our public lands and great National Parks. Many spend much time camping, hiking and exploring the wilderness areas that this nation has protected and conserved. These lands and parks are national treasures set aside for a reason. But Trump and his people only think in terms of how much money they can make by exploiting those lands.

Here are a few examples of the current chaos being created by Musk’s unwarranted, indiscriminate firing of the people that manage our precious public lands:

The only locksmith at Yosemite NP fired. He is the only one available to rescue a visitor that gets locked in a public restroom in the park or let people get back into their rental room in the park, if they lock themselves out. The only one with keys to all of the secure places (federal court, administrative buildings, toilets, closets, gun safes, …) in this very large (about the size of Rhode Island) park and the knowledge to maintain the many locks and the keys in the park facilities.

The wait time at the Grand Canyon NP entrance doubled over a weekend, due to the firing of four employees that worked the entrance gate. The gate where 90% of the 5 million annual visitors enter the park.

Reservations were canceled for stays in historic farmhouses in Gettysburg National Military Park, after the staff there was gutted.

Employees working to replace a pipeline, built in the 1960s and subject to frequent failures, in Grand Canyon NP were fired. This pipeline supplies water for shower and laundry facilities.

A ranger at Effigy Mounds National Park, who helped teach elementary and middle school science students about our public lands and the natural world, was fired.

The Park Service was already understaffed before these Trump/Musk firings. The Park Service workforce had already declined by 15% since 2010, while park visitation has increased by 16% over that same time period. I have noted the effects of the understaffing and undermaintained facilities in some of my visits to a number of National Parks over the past few years. The effects of the current firings of critical staff are already evident and the peak season for visitors is not here yet.

Glacier NP can have 30,000 visitors in one day. That is about half the size of a typical Taylor Swift concert. There is no way to handle that many visitors each day with a greatly reduced staff.

We cannot allow our public parks and lands to be trashed.

Please protest these unwarranted moves toward destruction of our most precious lands with your congressional representative and Senators.

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – Hanging Leaves – Part 1

I’m always amazed at how falling fall leaves are caught, often in a tenuous manner, by something on their way to the ground. This series of posts is dedicated to images of such hanging leaves.

Hanging Leaf 1
Hanging Leaf 2
Hanging Leaf 3
Hanging Leaf 4
Hanging Leaf 5
Hanging Leaf 6
Hanging Leaf 7
Hanging Leaf 8
Hanging Leaf 9

Stay tuned for Hanging Leaves Part 2,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – Grounded Leaves

I published a number of Substack posts (kenkemp650.substack.com) with images of fall leaves. This post contains a subset of images from my Substack series “Grounded Leaves”.

These photos depict ordinary scenes one can see in the fall, especially on a forest floor. Which means these are not unique artistic creations and are only a capture of the ordinary, natural beauty we often take for granted, while we trample these fallen leaves beneath our feet.

Grounded Leaf 1
Grounded Leaf 2
Grounded Leaf 3
Grounded Leaf 4
Grounded Leaf 5
Grounded Leaf 6
Grounded Leaf 7
Grounded Leaf 8
Grounded Leaf 9
Grounded Leaf 10
Grounded Leaf 11
Grounded Leaf 12
Grounded Leaf 13
Grounded Leaf 14

Stay tuned for “Hanging Leaves”,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 9

Continued from part 8 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk 47 – Forest Road
Fall Fish Walk – Forest Gold
Fall Fish Walk 48 – Submerged 2
Fall Fish Walk – Dense Forest
Fall Fish Walk 49 – Forest Portal
Fall Fish Walk 50 – Grim Reaper
Fall Fish Walk – Cascade
Fall Fish Walk – Laggards

This wraps up this fisheye photo hike.

Until next time,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 8

Continued from part 7 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk 40 – Snorkeling Tree
Fall Fish Walk 41 – Red Delight
Fall Fish Walk 42 – Forest Edge
Fish Walk 43 – Submerged

 

Fall Fish Walk 44 – Forest Heart
Fall Fish Walk 45 – Tree Forks
Fall Fish Walk – Just the Forest
Fall Fish Walk 46 – Rosy Cascade

To be continued,

Ken

 

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 7

Continued from part 6 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk – Long Shadows
Fall Fish Walk – Forest Barnacles
Fall Fish Walk – Sky Cover
Fall Fish Walk – Tree Framed Fall Leaves
Fall Fish Walk 36 – Rosy Leaves
Fall Fish Walk – Bouquet
Fall Fish Walk 37 – Cascade
Fall Fish Walk – Cascade 2
Fall Fish Walk 38 – Rosy Canopy
Fall Fish Walk 39 – Preening

To be continued,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 6

Continued from par 5 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk – Sunlight Dappled Trail
Fall Fish Walk 31 – Warming Light
Fall Fish Walk 32 – Trees of a Leaf, Gather Around the Chief
Fall Fish Walk – Forest Delight
Fall Fish Walk – Downhill Forest Trail
Fall Fish Walk – Shadows and Light
Fall Fish Walk 33 – Tree Light
Fall Fish Walk 34 – Naked and Surrounded
Fall Fish Walk 35 – Tall Trees, Bright Leaves

To be continued,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 5

Continued from part 4 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk – Forest Valley
Fall Fish Walk – Hill O’ Trees
Fall Fish Walk – The Path Less Traveled
Fall Fish Walk – A Fork in the Forest
Fall Fish Walk – Shadow Path
Fall Fish Walk 26 The Path by the Crooked Tree
Fall Fish Walk 27 – Tranquility Path
Fall Fish Walk 28 – The Tall and The Short
Fall Fish Walk 29 – The Tall and the Short 2
Fall Fish Walk 30 – Forest Portal

To be continued,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2024 – A Fish Out of Water – Part 4

Continued from Part 3 – a fall forest photo hike with a fisheye lens.

Fall Fish Walk – Forest Couple
Fall Fish Walk – Sunburst Shadows
Fall Fish Walk – Forest Light
Fall Fish Walk – The Bright One
Fall Fish Walk – Tree Bowl

Images 34 and 35 are essentially the same scene, with 34 a vertical shot and 35 a horizontal.

Fall Fish Walk 22 – Log O’ Leaves 1
Fall Fish Walk 23 – Log O’ Leaves 2
Fall Fish Walk 24 – Log O’ Leaves 3
Fall Fish Walk – Leaf Swimmer
Fall Fish Walk 25 – Forest Child

To be continued,

Ken