The following photographs were taken at various locations in the 32,000 acre Cuyahoga Valley National RPark located between Cleveland and Akron in northeastern Ohio, USA. I've spent much time tramping through the more remote areas of the park and although I visit regularly throughout the year, the colder months of late autumn, winter, and early spring have become my favorite seasons. Due to geographic constraints and my own interest in abstract expressionism, I shoot relatively few landscape photographs. Instead, I prefer to concentrate my attention on the frequently overlooked ordered-chaos of nature, a fascinating subject that is most often captured best by using moderate close-up techniques.

In his book "Overlooked In America", photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum says "The Cuyahoga River is one of America's shortest and most historically interesting waterways. Flowing slightly less than 100 miles from its source to its outlet, it begins under state protection as a scenic river. Near the middle of its total length, it becomes a federal property - a national recreation area - paralleling the historic Ohio and Erie Canal, one of the first transportation corridors to connect the Midwest and the Gulf states to the eastern cities. And, at its outlet, it flows through the municipality of Cleveland, where between 1936 and 1970 industrial outflows so polluted the river that it caught fire numerous times, often burning unchecked for several days.

Needless to say, the present Cuyahoga river valley is not a wild park, like Yellowstone. It has only recently been created, mostly from lands bought back by the federal government or reclaimed from abandoned farms and forest tracts. Much of the property acquisition generated considerable animosity between the Park Service and the land-owners, and to this day there are still many private holdings in the park that are a sore point of contention with both parties. Even now, as the park grows in popularity and evolves into a first-class recreational area, it remains encumbered by the legacy of its past, which includes contaminated waters, leased subsurface oil and gas extraction sites, and the aforementioned private inholdings - not situations most people expect to find in a park experience."

The National Park Service - Cuyahoga Valley National Park - The Cuyahoga River was a retreat from the last glaciers ever seen in the United States. It is called an "infant glacial river", because it is young compared to all of the other rivers formed by glaciers. The river was formed about 13,000 years ago, but the Cuyahoga Valley has been there even longer. The Native Americans named it "Cuyahoga" meaning "crooked river".

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park encompasses 33,000 acres between Cleveland and Akron and features a wide variety of natural, cultural, and historical resources. Visitors enjoy picnicking, hiking, bike trails, bridle trails, winter sports, golf, fishing, and ranger-guided programs.

Ohio Canals - The Ohio Canal System is an essential part of Ohio history. It was of great significance in the economic growth of what had been until this time a relatively undeveloped, under populated region of the United States. Ohio's canal building years from 1825 to 1848 were of great significance to the growth of the State's economy prior to the Civil War. Approximately 800 to 1,000 miles of canal were built by state and private enterprise. As early as 1787 Thomas Jefferson had suggested a canal system between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, between the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie and The Big Beaver Creek on the Ohio River to connect the Mississippi with the St. Lawrence and the Atlantic.

Buckeye Trail Association - Founded in 1959 the Buckeye Trail Association is a non-profit group of volunteers, dedicated to the construction and maintenance of a hiking trail approximately 1200 miles long, that generally follows the state boundaries,goes through state forests, nature preserves, and metropolitan parks in many of the areas it traverses. The Buckeye Trail (BT), in fact, is the only trail that encircles a state. We don't have mountains in Ohio, but there are many rolling hills and wooded areas, canals with towpaths, waterfalls, rivers and lakes, all of which allow satisfying outdoor experiences. The BT links with, and forms part of the North Country Trail and the southern 300 miles of the BT are part of the American Discovery Trail.