Angel Windows - Left Window - 1A

Angel Windows Left Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Wolfe County Kentucky

Angels Windows - Left Window - 2A

Angel Windows Left Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Wolfe County Kentucky

Angels Windows - Right Window - 1A

Angel Windows Right Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Wolfe County Kentucky

Apex Arch - 1

Apex Arch Private Property Christian County Kentucky The day before the eclipse myself and some of The Static Brothers made the drive to Apex Arch in Western Kentucky. Ever since I saw the first picture of this arch, which was posted by fellow hiking enthusiast Renee Errett, I have wanted to shoot it. Located on private property, the hike to the arch isn't long, and you'd think that the walk in 90+ degree heat would be punishment enough. But, nooooo, upon our arrival to the arch we discovered that we walked through a patch of Turkey Mites (aka seed ticks) that had attached themselves to our pants. Then Chris goes to make his way to the bottom of the arch and seriously injures his knee. Aggravated and completely creeped out that had just dusted off a ton of pin sized ticks off my pants, and knowing I didn't get them all, I decided to make the decent to the base of the arch. I hands down think this is one of the coolest arches in the state. The deck is no more than a few feet wide and a couple feet thick, but the graffiti and trash here is unbelievable. I mean, there's graffiti all over everything, and in places you'd never imagine. Once I got past the abuse and disrespect, I looked at the lonely arch for what it was, one of Kentucky's most unique and beautiful natural landforms.

Apex Arch - 2

Apex Arch Private Property Christian County Kentucky Though covered in itty bitty baby ticks I wasn't about to head out from the desecrated Apex Arch without getting some photos of what I think is one of the more beautiful arches I've ever seen. The tragedy here is the senseless defacing of the surrounding sandstone and arch which was covered in layers of graffiti. Below the arch trash was everywhere (some of which I cloned out). I'll never understand what drives someone to do such things to something that is so unique, beautiful and ancient. Though saddening, I'm glad I got to visit here and though myself and The Static Brothers had 100's of tick on us, most the size of a pin head, I'm going to tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than driving to a Rite-Aid Pharmacy picking up a lint roller and seeing all those little jerks get stuck to the tape.

Bald Rock Natural Bridge - 1A

Bald Rock Natural Bridge Tributary Of Fall Creek Daniel Boone National Forest Laurel County Kentucky

Bear Pen Branch Bridge - 1A

Bear Pen Branch Bridge and Falls Bear Pend Branch Private Property Wolfe County Kentucky

Bear Rock Arch - Lighthouse Arch

Bear Rock Arch (Foreground) Lighthouse Arch (Background) Longhunter Trail Pine Mountain State Park Bell County Kentucky

Bolton Branch Arch East - 1A

Bolton Branch Twin Arches East Arch Cane Creek Wildlife Management Area Daniel Boone National Forest Laurel County Kentucky Another cool place that Chris and I visited on our arch overdose trip a few weeks ago were the Bolton Branch Arches. Located in the Cane Creek Wildlife Management Area of the Daniel Boone National Forest, Bolton Branch is actually a twin arch. Featured here is the East arch, which is much larger and far more photogenic of the two. I did take a photo of both arches in the same shot and eventually I'll share a photo of both arches. Although it's been said that I'm just complaining into the echo chamber, this was another arch we visited which had some trash as well as a massive fire pit under it. I didn't keep count but I know that Chris and I destroyed numerous fire pits throughout our trip and it's pretty frustrating. Arches are fragile things. Sure they're made of rock but that rock is soft sandstone. The heat rising from a fire will blacken the sandstone and cause the rock to become fragile, damaging and weakening a rare natural landform that took eons for wind and rain to create. I would like to ask all of you, if you are out chasing arches and you come across a fire pit, destroy it, Throw the rocks far, disperse the ash and toss the logs too. If you find trash, pack out what you can. If you see someone is camping beneath an arch respectfully explain to them why the should not. And regardless of what anyone says I'm going to continue to preach on how we need to respect, not only our arches, but our waterfalls and our forests too. Together we can make a difference!

Bolton Branch Arch East - 2A

Bolton Branch Arch East Cane Creek Wildlife Management Area Daniel Boone National Forest Laurel County Kentucky

Buzzard Creek Arch - 1

Buzzard Creek Arch Daniel Boone National Forest Whitley County Kentucky

Carter Caves Natural Bridge - 1

Natural Bridge Of Carter Caves Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Carter Caves Natural Bridge - 2

Natural Bridge Of Carter Caves Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Cascade Bridge - 2

Cascade Bridge Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Cascade Bridge - 1

Cascade Bridge Carter Caves State Park Kentucky With the exception of an unplanned stop by Horn Hollow Cave Falls, my intention on this early spring weekend was to visit the two remaining arches that I had not visited yet in Carter Caves State Park. Years ago, 12 to 15 years ago, myself and my good friend Jason Haley visited Box Canyon and the Cascade trail. I don't remember much about it other than I wasn't impressed for some reason. Recently when looking at a park map I noticed there was a natural bridge on the trail. I didn't remember a bridge when I was there last, so I was really curious how I missed it. Returning, we headed out to find the arch and after a short ascent; bam! It's right there in your face! Apparently, I must have been staring at the ground when we passed by here way back when. Maybe it is because it's kind of inconspicuous as there is only a few feet separating the bridge and the wall. It's not small either, I'm not sure of footage but it's quite impressive to view. As a photographer, there was something that absolutely amazed me about this arch, it's really photogenic and from several angles. Photographing arches, to me, is one tough subject to shoot, and there's several times I've walked away from one scratching my head and asking myself, "how?" Not this one though, nature has plenty of personality here and it was a true pleasure to visit it, and to top it off, just around the corner, is Box Canyon. I'm not sure why it left a negative taste in my mouth but my memory of this unique natural formation is way off. It's pretty flipping awesome. What a great place to walk and soak in our beautiful world.

Cascade Bridge - 3

Cascade Bridge Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Cascade Caverns Natural Bridges

Cascade Caverns Natural Bridges Cascade Caverns Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky my good friend Chris and I were invited to join the Lexington Camera Club to photograph Cascade Caverns in Kentucky's Carter Caves State Park! I'm not big on caves, they're so hard to photograph and my camera really isn't all that good in very low light conditions, but it was a rare opportunity to be unrestricted in a place that normally requires a guide. I didn't realize it a first but it turns out I had been to this cave before several years ago and I became even more excited at having a second go here with a tripod and flashlights. Though there was light in the cave Chris and I together light painted shots using caving flashlights. Imagine my excitement when I discovered there were two natural bridges in the main tube of the cave, one of which is featured here in this photo, I'm standing on the second natural bridge while composing this shot! It was awesome to finally meet Facebook friends Parham Baker (who organized the event) as well as Judy Cox and it was great to meet them members of their camera club who joined us! What a great time with some good people!

Coal Branch Natural Bridge - 1A

Coal Branch Natural Bridge Coal Branch Daniel Boone National Forest McCreary County Kentucky It's unusual for me to take a trip to Kentucky's Cumberland Falls/Big South Fork Area and come away with more natural arch photographs than waterfalls but it happened on this latest journey that we went on, in fact I shot 13 new to me arches. Featured here is the Coal Branch Natural Bridge and it was one of my favorites I visited on the trip, at 34 ft. tall and 80 ft. across it's larger than average. The journey to the bridge was just as much fun as getting to see it, as it is located just 100 ft into the Daniel Boone National Forest from a private land owner. Not to be the trespassing type Chris and I decided to park on a forest road about 1/2 mile away and skirt the National Forest boundary off trail. A light drizzle was falling as we began our journey which began downhill, crossing a small stream where we came to a 20 ft. tall cliff line, while following cautiously behind us 3 local dogs barked incessantly at us. Massive boulders that had separated from the cliff made for an interesting landscape as we made our way through the rhododendrons that had grown between them. Eventually we came to a place where we could scramble up the cliff and eventually on to a plateau. Fighting through God's Barbed Wire (as Chris likes to call them) aka thorn bushes we made our way across, then down off the plateau and then back up to onto another where after a short distance we found the bridge nestled in the cliff line. When you first look down on it you don't realize how large it is as the rhody's obscure the base below. At this point I was a little worried that my fear of heights was going to kick in but the scramble down wasn't as bad as it looked. Although the trek in was pretty aggravating it was well worth the effort to see this beauty. Something else that impressed me about this arch was the massive poplar you can see through the opening. Seriously, the base was huge! All in all this was a great arch and a great experience and I do look forward to a return trip to this arch if I ever get the chance!

Copperhead Twin Arches - 1

Copperhead Twin Arches Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Copperhead Twin Aches - 2

Copperhead Twin Arches Carter Caves State Park Carter County Kentucky

Devil's Markethouse Arch - 1

Devil's Markethouse Arch Daniel Boone National Forest Frenchburg Menifee County Kentucky

Dick's Tobacco Barn

Dick's Tobacco Barn Dick's Tobacco Barn Triple Arch Kentucky One of the awesome places we visited on our Western Kentucky Eclipse Trip was another bucket list arch that had been in our sights for some time. Located on private property, this unique triple arch is located at the mouth of a short cave that also houses an arch complex of windows, pillars and another smaller arch. While shooting from inside the cave, Chris began working with some flash photography while I was still working with long exposures, essentially screwing up my shots. I hadn't worked with flash photography in this capacity so instead of arguing with him about it I decided to join in. Timing my camera to coincide with his camera and flashes, surprisingly I was able to create some photographs that I really liked. This one here was my favorite of the bunch. I think what was most disappointing about this visit to this beautiful landform was our limit of time. The sun was sinking fast and I know that myself, Bryan, Chris and Jeff would have loved to have had another hour or two here experimenting with all this awesome place had to offer! There will be a next time for sure!

Doorway Arch - 1A

Doorway Arch Daniel Boone National Forest Pulaski County Kentucky

Double Arch - 2A

Double Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Powell County Kentucky It was so cool to finally make the hike to Double Arch in Kentucky's Red River Gorge back in December. Years ago I had been close but opted to hike to Courthouse Rock instead. It was a warm late autumn day and after a month of no hiking action I was a bit out of shape for the 5 + mile round trip hike that included a stop by Star Gap Arch. It's hard to tell but there's two arches here, one on top of the other, the upper one is very thin and hard to see unless your over on Auxier Ridge or you scale the incline to the right. Definitely a must visit when you are in the area and one I'm glad I finally got to see!