China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Shack with Prayer Flags

Being a fan of rustic shots, couldn't pass this one up.  Note the prayer flags, some of which are in tatters, along the roofline.

Different perspective of same below:

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Posing Girl

We see here some period costumes rented for the purpose of getting some pics for families back home.  Though I exercised caution, it's easier to sneak in these kinds of pics of others because everybody's taking pictures everywhere anyway.

And there was the one that got away.  A few moments later the girl sitting on the rail in the background was by herself, posing for the photographer.  She had such an angelic look, and I was angled to capture her profile perfectly.  The backdrop was perfectly situated also from my perspective.  But unfortunately I didn't think fast enough to compose a shot, and the opportunity was lost...

Two more pics below of the girl in the foreground:

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Bird

This guy barely, barely made it into the blog, being the best bird pic captured on the trip.  My more-serious photo bud specialized in awesome bird pictures, and had an app on his phone that would readily identify the species using either a photo or recording of the sounds they make.  Amazing.  As for me, I'll settle for wresting the best image the iPhone 15 Pro Max can provide.

See this post for comparison with what the D850 can deliver under similar circumstances.

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Shallower Falls

How nice it would've been to do this one at 1/10th or even 1/6th shutter speed.  1/6th of a second would certainly require a tripod, but if given the time and circumstances would gladly haul one around.

And tripods do make a huge difference.  Since we drove up to Nashville back in August of 2012, I was able to more freely bring equipment along, so had the tripod for pictures taken indoors at the Gaylord Resort.  When Chenjean was done with meetings for work, she watched the kids while I carried the tripod around to capture pics such as these.  I'll get a neutral density filter for better falls pics outdoors if we ever settle down enough in retirement to devote serious time to take my photography to the next level.

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Another Wide Waterfall / Mr. Waguespack and the Beer

Another stop for waterfalls.  Think of the millions of photos taken of these falls over the years.  Well, here's one more, with different perspective of same below:

_______________

        I mentioned that Dad liked telling stories.  One of his that I still repeat today is the story of a neighbor across the street, Mr. Waguespack.  Mom and Dad were over there one afternoon on a social visit.  They were sitting around talking when a car door was heard closing on the street in front of the house.  Mr. Waguespack got up and looked through the blinds to see who it was.  Upon seeing that it was a deacon from his church, he raced around the room collecting everyone’s beer and cigarettes, putting it all in the refrigerator.  This he accomplished before there was a knock on the door.  After answering, he greeted this deacon and cordially invited him in.  They sat down and everyone resumed visiting, including the new visitor in conversation, albeit without the aforementioned accoutrements.

        Then, after the deacon left to make more church visits, Mr. Waguespack returned to the refrigerator, retrieved and re-distributed everyone’s items, and resumed as they were before.

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, All the Little Fishies

As can be seen, the water is clear but we didn't see a whole lot of life in the lakes...perhaps because it was so cold, as snowmelt sources most of them.

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Cross-Lake Reflection with Walkway and People

The presence of people make for more interesting reflection shots.

The sparse presence of individuals in this pic betrays the throng milling about immediately behind me.  Hiking across to the other side of the lake and back would require an extra hour, time that most people in tour groups simply don't have.

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Lake Reflection Shot #3

 

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Lake Reflection Shot #2

 

China - Juizhai Valley National Park, Lakeside Reflection Shot with Foggy Mountain Background

The surrounding mountains block the stronger winds at these altitudes, so the lakes were normally smooth.  This offers some pretty good reflection opportunities, in this case with a cloud-shrouded mountain serving as a backdrop.