For the last few years, I have spent more time in America’s National Parks than most park rangers, though often I’m standing there in some field, waiting for the light to get just right or doing photo-yoga on river rocks as I try to get a great angle without falling in. Over the this time, I’ve put together a collection of images of many parks and places we recognize but especially many we do not. People always equate the parks with the Yosemite’s and Yellowstone’s, but beyond the big 58 national parks there are over 330 other park units comprised of national lake shores, seashores and historic sites. In addition to big classics, I’ve been proud to photograph many of the lesser known places and lesser known sites – though no less spectacular – in many of our national parks. Below are just a few of my images from both the big 58 to the lesser-knowns:
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin
Footpath through spring grasses, Channel Islands National Park, California
A Lord of the Rings view in Alaska, Mt. Iliamna, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana
Great Cypress National Monument, Florida
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Glacier National Park, Montana
Moonrise, Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, California
Giant Sequoia, Sequoia National Park, California
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California
Under the sea, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Shadow of the mountain and moonrise, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii
Climbers ascending Mt. Rainier at 1am, above Muir camp, Mt. Rainer National Park, Washington
The birth of mountains, Denali National Park, Alaska
Detail of ferns, Volcanoes National Park, Island of Hawaii
Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Montana
Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Everglades National Park, Florida
Grinnell Glacier Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Looking out over the Rio Grande into Mexico and the US, Big Bend National Park, Texas
Last light, only light. Winter in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
Ian Shive Photography 