Many of you visiting a unit within the National Park System capture photos for more than just Instagram, right? Maybe those shots will accompany a blog, report, or other online/paper publication. How you photographically document your subject determines the extent to which your viewing audience will understand and appreciate that feature, concept, or process.

How many times have you viewed someone’s national park images and one shot in particular pulled you into the composition? This shot invited you in. This is the power of an intimate composition. Traveler contributing photographer Rebecca Latson explains the photographic elements of this type of composition.

According to NPS.gov, “the National Park Service manages 424 individual units covering more than 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories.” With so much to learn about each unit, there’s plenty of material for more quiz and trivia pieces like this Quiz and Trivia #59.

The ongoing series of storms that has dropped more than 400 percent of the normal amount of rain California might expect has impacted multiple National Park System sites in the state. Here's a glance of some of the impacts and closures: