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The Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park is one of the most photographed sights in West Virginia drawing more than 200,000 people every year. You�ll find pictures of the mill at Babcock on calendars, postcards, magazines, and travel brochures. Most of the visitors to Babcock have a camera in their hands wanting to take home their own photos of this West Virginia icon. In photographing the Babcock Mill and the Glade Creek Falls for the last 15 years, I�ve learned that many points of view (pov) can be found to capture the falls and the mill, but generally most people settle for two traditional views. View from the Rocks at the End of Stairs For their first shot of the falls and the mill, most people traditionally take the stairs behind the lodge down to the pond and shoot from the rocks at the end of the stairs. From this pov both the falls and mill are close and produce good composition. View from Sewell Road Opposite the Dam Another traditional point of view is to walk down Sew

If you like waterfalls, you�ll love the Big Branch Trail of the New River Gorge. Depending upon how you count them, you�ll see six or seven waterfalls in the space of � mile. For the sheer joy of seeing water descend over rock, the Big Branch Trail is hard to beat. I won�t describe all the waterfalls in this blog, but we�ll take a look at most of them. Big Branch Falls Trailhead The trailhead is about 4 miles from Hinton on the River Road�the road that takes you to Sandstone Falls. Look for the trailhead across the road from the Brooks Falls overlook. Starting at the trailhead, take the left-hand fork, which after about 500 feet of woodland walking leads to the streambed of Big Branch. At this point the trail crosses Big Branch for the first of four times. Since this stream doesn�t have a large watershed, it�s generally a trickle in summer and fall. But in winter and spring, it�s full enough that you should plan to get your boots wet when crossing. First Waterfall First Waterfall Befo

Since spring is here, some tips on the art of wildflower photography might be appropriate. Let me begin by saying that I am only expressing my opinions about the subject. In my view, the qualities of a good wildflower photograph are those that: exalt the beauty, uniqueness, and character of a wildflower as seen and felt by the photographer in its natural setting. Delving deeper into the art of wildflower photography, I believe a good image employs the wildflower as a means of evoking emotions, provoking thoughts, and inviting the observer to explore the nature of self and the world. In this blog, I would like to share eight images that illustrate my approach to the art of wildflower photography. Purple Fringed Orchid Focus on the unique:   This image of a purple-fringed orchid highlights the intricate fringes of the orchid. By taking a profile view of the flower head and by eliminating any background detail that would distract or obscure the blossom, the fine structure of the fringes a

Hey there freshmen! Welcome to Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP)! NYP will be your home for the next three years and you will definitely enjoy yourself here! Be prepared to gain important knowledge, meet new friends and learn more about the world. To help you out, here is a quick guide that includes important information and some campus tips. Without further ado, let�s get started! 1) LAPTOP ROADSHOW 2017 Every year, there will be a laptop roadshow in NYP for all students and staff. If you do not have a laptop, you are encouraged to purchase one as there will be e-learning assignments and project work to be done throughout your three years.         The roadshow will feature devices at special prices for students. TIP! Do your research on the laptops� specifications before purchasing. You can view the models available by clicking this link .  Laptop Roadshow details: Date: Mon, Apr 17 �  Sat, Apr 22 Time: 9am to 6pm (Monday to Friday), 9am to 3pm (Saturday) Venue:  NYP Auditorium Function Room

Live Audio doing their thang �A CCA in polytechnic is not compulsory. Don�t waste your time joining one.� I heard this as a freshie, just coming into NYP. And to be honest, I was going to forgo co-curricular activities altogether but fortunately my Personal Mentor (this is a lecturer assigned to a small group of students) encouraged me otherwise.   So I went down to Club Crawl last year to find out more about the different CCAs offered. Wait, you may be wondering, what is Club Crawl?! Club Crawl is NYP�s very own CCA Open House where all CCAs are given a booth to showcase their activities in the Polytechnic�s atrium. Students, especially freshmen, are encouraged to talk to seniors from the different CCAs to learn more about what they do. They are also encouraged to sign up with a CCA they are interested in. When I attended Club Crawl last year, I was amazed at the number of CCAs NYP had to offer. I was initially confused and a little overwhelmed because I did not know the difference b

The Big Branch Trail of the New River Gorge is another spring wildflower hot spot. Located on the River Road to Sandstone Falls, the Big Branch trailhead lies opposite Brooks Falls about 3.8 miles from Hinton. Across the road from Brooks Falls pick up the Big Branch Trail and take the left-hand fork when the trail divides. Before it reaches Big Branch, the trail, for a short stretch, parallels the River Road. In mid-April, along this part of the trail you can find Jack-in-the-Pulpit in bloom. After a short descent you meet Big Branch for the first time and must cross the creek. Since the stream does not have a large watershed, it�s generally a trickle in summer and fall. But in winter and spring, it�s full enough that you should plan to get your boots wet when crossing. In the lower stretch of Big Branch before the first stream crossing, bloodroot blossoms. As one of the first wildflowers to bloom, it really stands out among the colorless forest floor.  Spring Beauty After the first st

As the last snows of winter linger, it�s comforting to know that spring will come and flowers will bloom. And it�s true what they say about spring wildflowers; they sprout up out of nowhere. As chaotic and uncertain as the world seems to be, we can still count on spring wildflowers to carpet the forest floor. The best place to spot spring wildflowers are on the trails that run along the bottom of the New River Gorge. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains many such trails. In this blog I�d like to feature one of these trails and point out which spring wildflowers to look for. Rounded-leaved Ragwort The Rend Trail Hiking the NPS Rend Trail will reward spring wildflower seekers. The Rend trailhead is on the road to Thurmond and is not far from the Stone Cliff trailhead. Directions according to the NPS are as follows:  �From U.S. Route 19 north of Beckley, take the Glen Jean-Thurmond exit. Take an immediate left, and go 0.5 miles to Glen Jean. Take a right and follow the signs to Thurm