Rated as one of America's top 50 state parks by National Geographic Traveler magazine, Cooks Forest is an 8,500-acre state park in northwestern Pennsylvania. Once called the “Black Forest,” the area is famous for its stands of old growth forest consisting of white pines and hemlocks. Cook Forest’s “Forest Cathedral” is a National Natural Landmark. I didn't carry my gear for photographing wildlife on this day. I focused on the naturalized forest displays of our June blooming state flower, the mountain laurel and the dark, moist area known as the Forest Cathedral.
This photo of the mossy covered fallen trees shows why it is known as the "Black Forest". As you can see in the photo information the shutter speed was very slow. Even though the 5D Mark III makes a very good photograph at higher iso's, I had my tripod so I chose to use a lower iso to reduce grain in the darkest parts of the image.
Forest Cathedral (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/8 @ 35mm, 1/6, ISO 200)
A lone mountain laurel stands in this forest with a carpet of ferns.
Ferns & Lone Mountain Laurel (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/10 @ 24mm, 1/6, ISO 200)
The mountain laurel in bloom.
Mountain Laurel (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/10 @ 70mm, 1/100, ISO 200)
Mountain Laurel (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 70-200 2.8L IS, f/10 @ 200mm, 1/125, ISO 200)
Each blossom on mountain laurel has 10 stamens with anthers attached in little pockets. When an insect lands on them the anthers pop out, throwing pollen everywhere. You can see the stamens (most still attached) in this enlargement of the photo above.
Along the Longfellow Trail you will find this stairway into the “Forest Cathedral”.
Stairway to the Forest Cathedral (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/8 @ 44mm, 1/13, ISO 200)
Stream through the forest.
Valley Stream (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/8 @ 24mm, 1/15, ISO 200)
View of Clarion River from Seneca Point.
View From Seneca Point (Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon 24-70 2.8L, f/8 @ 39mm, 1/500, ISO 200)
To view more images from Cooks forest, see my Cooks Forest Gallery.
If you get a chance to visit Cooks Forest State Park you won't be disappointed. Check out this link for its official website to learn more about the park.
Thanks for looking,
Dan
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