Mini Challenge #335: Loving our National Parks

bfluegiebfluegie Registered Users Posts: 736 Major grins
edited April 20, 2022 in The Dgrin Challenges

It’s National Parks Week in the US, so for this mini I’d like to see pictures taken in national parks. Any national park, anywhere in the world. I tend to take pictures of the scenery, but this mini is also open to pictures of wildlife, or people enjoying the parks. And what the heck, lets also include National Monuments, National Seashores, and National Historic Parks. State and regional parks too if you prefer. They’re all great so they’re all welcome in this mini. I only ask that whatever other caption you choose, you also include the name of the park. Here are a few of my examples, but I’m hoping to see much better in the entries.

Yosemite NP

Rocky Mountain NP

Hawaii Volcanoes NP

Great Smoky Mountains NP

This challenge will run until 10 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, 6 May 2022

OUR UN-OFFICIAL GENERAL RULES
1. Have fun sharing and seeing what others share!
2. The host supplies a topic and you post 1-3 images. The host judges the winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and is not eligible to enter.
The 1st place winner then chooses the next topic, judges the winner and then passes on the baton to the new champion.
3. Any photo you’ve taken is eligible, regardless of when taken or camera used.
4. Any amount of post-processing is allowed, including making composites as long as everthing you put in the photo is taken from a photo made by yourself. However, it is helpful if you list your camera and lens along with your photo.
You may comment on other contestant's images. If you want someone to leave you some critique or criticism, just ask within your post.
5. The winner has up to three days (72 hours) to begin a new mini-challenge, or the honor goes to the #2 finisher and so forth.
Guidelines:
1. Enter 1-3 photos and put them in a single post.
2. Either embed your image in the thread or, if you must, supply a link to it. Keep in mind, however, most people don't want to click to open photos hosted elsewhere (i.e. on your website).
3. Also try and resize your photos prior to posting so they're sized appropriately for viewing without having to scroll (~800 pixels on the longest side works best.)
4. Give each image you enter a title.
5. Enjoy discussion with members about their images, don't let this just be an entry thread!
6. When quoting a post change the IMG urls to a 200x200 size picture so it is clear your post is feedback and not another entry. (see here for help)
7. Don't be hesitant, share'em and enter!
Mini-Challenge pointers:
1. Upon winning a mini-challenge round your first step is coming up with a new theme, and start a new thread using the same format as others have used.
2. Make sure to notify the admin of this thread to update the main thread links with your entry thread.
3. Feel free to watch the thread as it grows or wait to the end time and look at all the entries all at once.
4. After the time/date has passed, then officially close the thread with a single post notifying everyone of the fact.
5. After you're finished judging start a new thread (again use the prior formats) and post your Winner and runners-up, it is important to have runners up incase the winner does not show within the 72hr window.
6. PM the winner with this info above and let them know they have 72hrs.
7. After the 72hrs and the winner does not show up, notify the next runner-up and post a message on the Winner thread of the fact.
8. Remember, if you're the Winner, you run the show.

~~Barbara

Comments

  • JAGJAG Super Moderators Posts: 9,088 moderator

    I had to be careful not to add State Parks, as there seems to be a difference! LOL! Hard to pick out just one image of each park, although I am trying to choose images I haven't posted before.

    1 Grand Canyon NP Arizona

    2 Denali NP Alaska

    3 Kilauea Volcano NP Hawaii

  • bfluegiebfluegie Registered Users Posts: 736 Major grins
    edited April 20, 2022

    Thaks for getting us off to a great start, Joyce. I did mention that state parks are OK. Well, I said if you don't have national park photos. I've changed it to make it more inclusive. So if you want to change some of your photos to state parks that's OK.

    ~~Barbara
  • moose135moose135 Registered Users Posts: 1,413 Major grins

    Great theme, Barbara! I've been to a number of national parks, and they are all beautiful! Hope to get to more in the years ahead.

    1 - Horseshoe Bend - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

    2 - Blue Ridge Parkway

    3 - Grand Canyon National Park

  • pegellipegelli Registered Users Posts: 8,756 Major grins
    edited April 20, 2022

    Great theme Barbara!

    Europe has National Parks but nothing in number, scope and size comparable to the USA, so I took the opportunity to go back to some colour slides I took on a tour through the Sout-West of the USA in 1982 with my girlfriend (now my wife) and another befriended couple who lived in New Jersey at the time. We stayed around 3 weeks in the area and had a super time and saw landscapes we never saw before. Here's my selection for this mini:

    1: Badwater, ~85 meter below Sea Level, Death Valley National Park

    2: Sunset from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

    3: Painted Desert in Petrified Forest National Park

    Pieter, aka pegelli
    My SmugMug
  • DavidRGillespieDavidRGillespie Registered Users Posts: 819 Many Grins

    Great Mini Barbara! Since you said "anywhere in the world" ...

    1. Where else but Galapagos National Park, Ecuador?

    1. Sierra Nevada National Park, Spain - These are the ancient waterways (>1000 years old!) that are throughout the park.

    1. San Rafael Glacier Lagoon National Park, Chile

  • CavalierCavalier Registered Users Posts: 3,030 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2022

    Love the topic!

    1) A little piece of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

    2) Blue Mesa Trail - Painted Dessert in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.

    3) Different view of Yosemite National Park, Ca. Tioga Pass runs over the top and to the east side of Yosemite, and Olmstead Point affords a view of the back side of Half Dome. There is a cable hiking trail that one can climb to the top of Half Dome.

    Just for reference - (not for judging in mini) shows a closeup of the cable trail on Half Dome with climbers actively making their way to the top (circled areas).

  • sapphire73sapphire73 Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 1,942 moderator
    edited April 23, 2022

    Here are my contributions to this fun theme!

    1) Grand Tetons National Park - Wyoming, USA
    This was taken just as the smoke from the California wildfires reached this area. It was clear when my sister was kayaking here just a few days before my visit, and then smoky when my husband and I arrived.

    2) Yosemite National Park - California, USA

    3) Sabino Canyon Recreation Area - Tucson, Arizona, USA

    If the recreation area in Tucson is outside the parameters of this challenge, then this is my third entry:
    Point Lobos State Park, California, USA

    Turns out that I am having Lightroom issues after upgrading the Mac OS on my computer, so I am relying on photos that I have already uploaded to SmugMug! Will get it all sorted out eventually, but glad I had easy access to some photos for this mini challenge!

  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,942 Major grins
    edited May 5, 2022

    I suffered from a paralysis of choice and some of the ones I thought of using, I might have used before. So I just decided to stop worrying and go for it. (Leaving out the one that I know I won a mini with previously of Yellowstone and State Parks, and UNESCO geoparks (like the Cliffs of Mohr) and National Parks like the Grand Canyon and the Galapagos that other people have used)

    1. The crater on a clear day at Haleakalā National Park

    2. Serengeti National park in Tanzania

    1. Sequoia National Park (which I am sure I have used before)

    And an extra set of historic photos which I can't use for the mini because I didn't take the phtoto (I'm driving the car) - Wawona Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, - photos taken in 1966. It fell in February 1969
    My Dad's photo

    My Mom's photo

    My photo

    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • bfluegiebfluegie Registered Users Posts: 736 Major grins

    Wow, great entries so far. Thanks @JAG, @moose135, @pegelli, @DavidRGillespie, @Cavalier, @sapphire73, and @grandmaR for posting wonderful photos. I can see judging isn't going to be easy. And if there's anyone thinking about entering, there's a little over a week left to decide. Please DO make my job even harder. ;)

    ~~Barbara
  • bfluegiebfluegie Registered Users Posts: 736 Major grins

    Just two more days left in this challenge. The entries so far are really great, but I wouldn't mind seeing a few more.

    ~~Barbara
  • sarasphotossarasphotos Registered Users Posts: 3,822 Major grins

    In the spirit of participation, I'll enter my shots but please don't consider these for judging as we're leaving for vacation quite soon. Since the big American parks are quite well represented, I've chosen parks in Italy and France

    1) This was taken a few years ago on "Dolomites Bike Day" and as I took a break riding up one of the many climbs, I am looking across at the peaks of Puez-Odle Regional Natural Park

    2) On last year's trip to France we spent a day riding through the Camargue National Park, known for its flamingos

    The surprising highlights of our trip last year were the spectacular Gorges of the Jonte and Tarn rivers.
    3a) On a bike ride through the Jonte Gorge

    3b) Boat ride in the Tarn Gorge

  • bfluegiebfluegie Registered Users Posts: 736 Major grins
    edited May 8, 2022

    Thanks for posting your lovely photos of European parks Sara @sarasphotos.
    And, this mini is now closed. I hope to have results up by Sunday.

    Sorry. I wrote this Friday night but forgot to hit enter...

    ~~Barbara
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