Fall foliage at Starved Rock State Park near Oglesby, IL
On this day, I visited Starved Rock State Park and Matthiessen State Park to add to my 2013 fall collection. I would later make a couple trips back over the next week or so as fall colors began to peak in this area. I've always wanted to visit this park during autumn and also have a few days to photograph the park. It finally worked out this past year with my schedule which was long overdue. I was able to walk nearly the entire park over the few days I spent visiting this park. It's an adventure for sure if you have never been here especially if you hike along the trails all day. My feet were killing me by the end of day(s)! Plus, add the ever growing camera gear in my backpack I was quite pleased to rest after I made the short trip back home to Peoria, IL. It was quite a successful few days of photography at this park however, and I'm sure I'll be back...soon. I've added quite a number of photos from these few visits to the park below:
"Red, burning red"...
"On the road to autumn"
Beautiful colors here along this trail...
A cool scene illustrating the upcoming change
in season to autumn on this day...
One of the 18 canyons in the park...
Great contrast here!
A cool perspective...
Another colorful fall scene!
A very colorful trail here...
A rather photogenic statue with
the autumn colors as a backdrop!
Canyon walls and more rock formations...
Amazing red(s) here!
A personal favorite!
Another interesting perspective!
"Staircase to autumn"
Some color change along this wooden fence...
Fall colors peaking along this trail!
"Fall along the Illinois River"
More vibrant red color here...
Another cool path...
One of my favorite trails in the park...
A "hint" of fall in this shot!
River Trail along the Illinois River...
One of the best trails in the park!
I thought this was an interesting shot! (wide-angle)
Another nice walk though the woods and trails...
Another awesome perspective!
LaSalle Canyon once again...
Rather interesting boulders and rock formations in this canyon!
Color change near LaSalle Canyon...
The beginning of autumn!
Yellow(s) beginning to show themselves...
A neat portrait-shot showing the changing colors...
More canyon walls...
Fall colors going wild here...
Last shot of the day as the loss of "good light" forces
me to wrap up a successful day of photography at the park...
me to wrap up a successful day of photography at the park...
This was a rather long post, but long overdue. I'll revisit this park I'm sure in the upcoming years. It was a successful few days of photography at this park and I was quite pleased with the results. I also continued to photograph locally over the next few weeks as the fall colors peaked. I'm working on another post that will wrap up my 2013 fall collection and I will post that at a later date. Stay tuned.
