Jay Patel
bio www.jaypatelphotography.com
Travelling Through Seasons
Travelling! The word can strike dread in some while
it’ll put a light in the eyes of others. Your perspective on travelling
depends upon whether you travel for a living or whether you live
to travel. But, what if you can do both? Imagine a job where you
can choose to travel to some of the most breathtaking locations
in the world and for sake of your business. Landscape photography
is one such job. Just for a minute, let your imagination take
you on a ride—
Spring has not yet arrived in the Northeast Ohio
and you are just putting finishing touches on your travel plans
to photograph the spring bloom in Southwestern deserts. Upon arrival
in Death Valley National Park you can’t believe what your eyes
are seeing. The clouds are lazily drifting past the Panamint and
the Amargosa mountains; there is still a bit of chill in the morning
air and as far as your eyes can see, the typical dry barren desert
landscape has been transformed into a sea of gold
by blooming flowers. Is this really a desert country? Eight hours
later, standing on Mesquite dunes in the middle of an approaching
sandstorm, you are jolted back to reality of being in the desert.
But, then the sun dips below the clouds and just before it disappears
behind the
Panamint Range, it puts on the light show of a life time.
And you are once again in fantasy land.
Summer is the traditional travelling
season as kids take break from school. The melting snow makes
it possible to reach the remote areas in the mountains. You are
busy fighting the summer travel crowds at the airport to visit
lush green rain forests on Olympic Peninsula where more then 100
inches of rain falls every year. Wait just a minute…a rain forest
in the continental US? Yes, a rain forest
where the fern hides the ground, where the moss covers the trees
like a blanket, where the plants are growing on the moss that
is growing on the trees, where every inch of ground that is not
walked upon is covered with vegetation. Less then three hours
later you are soaking yourself in the hot springs of Solduc Hot
Springs Resort located near the breathtaking Solduc
Falls.
Fall arrives with a chill in the air, and you are
looking forward to witnessing the last brilliant fiery display
of nature in Zion National Park.
On your way to Virgin River Narrows you can’t help
but marvel as the red walls of Zion accentuate the fiery display
of the trees growing along the bluish green Virgin River. Next
day starts early with a chance to travel to Bryce Canyon National
Park to catch a sunrise in one of the most unique rock formations
in the world: The Hoods of Bryce Amphitheater. At dawn you will
stand spellbound watching the hoods of the Bryce Amphitheater
display every possible shade
of red.
Just as the brutal and depressing winter
home in Northeast Ohio is taking hold, it is time to travel again,
this time to the warm waters of Florida Keys.
In Key West, the best place to watch sunset is a
cruise on board an old
style sailing ship while sipping champagne or hot chocolate.
Next day as your sea plane approaches the tropical paradise of
Dry Tortugas National Park, you are confronted with nothing short
of a stunning sight. Patches of coral and undersea vegetation
form a mosaic of the most vivid blue-green waters that
you have ever seen.And rising from the middle of this mosaic
is red-bricked, hexagon-shaped Fort Jefferson. And after
photographing the fan coral that was accidentally
washed ashore, it is time to go snorkeling and look
forward to the next trip.

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