12/24/15 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Patterns in the Rock on the Cossatot
Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, and 100mm Macro lens, ISO 200.
The Cossatot River has some of the most unique rock formations in Arkansas. They are sandstone mixed with Quartz veins. The rocks tend to work their way across the river in rows and ledges and the river creates small channels through the rocks. The most famous of these would be Cossatot Falls, where there are 6 separate ledges going across the river.
I love to work the Cossatot, both in normal wide landscape shots but also like to spend time looking for macro shots. There are hundreds of spots like the one in this photograph, where the river has cut down the main ledge, and smoothed it over like sandpaper was used. Many of these will contain small depressions, that will catch rainwater.
This photograph was taken late in the fall season after a rain. The leaves were captured in the rock and the puddle just added to the scene for me. The smallish quartz veins that were running through the rock added some nice contrast. The rock in the Cossatot can appear pink when the sun is hitting it directly but there are some nice grey ones also to make for a colorful composition. In this photograph, you can see a bit of the pink showing up in the lower left corner.
The Cossatot is a long 3 hour drive from Little Rock but the area is remote so you can often find yourself working the falls all by yourself. If you are heading down that way, also consider the Little Missouri River, near Langley Arkansas. The Cossatot is in the southwest corner of Arkansas in the Ouachita mountains.
08/09/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–Swirls in foam on the Cossatot River
Taken with a Canon 1ds-MKII, Canon 24-70 lens, 24mm, F9 for 1/125 of a sec, iso 100. The Cossatot River has a wide range of photographic subject matter. When the water is running high you can make a trip down to catch the kayakers running Cossatot Falls, and when the water gets lower, you can look for unique spots along the riverbank to work. Most of the rock along the river is sandstone and tends to have a reddish hue in most places. The best place to catch the kayakers is at Cossatot Falls. Here you can perch on one of the rocks for the best view. The falls consist of 6 separate drops and each has a unique name. The most famous drop is the “washing machine” which tends to get the most attention. The only problem with the Cossatot is the fact that it’s about a 3 hour drive from Little Rock so a trip there makes for a rather long day.
Swirls in foam has been printed on both canvas and Canon Platine rag. It makes an excellent print and can be displayed in both the horizontal and vertical orientation.