09/02/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Cedar Creek on Petit Jean Mountain
Taken with a Phase One P45+, Mamiya 35mm F3.5 lens @ F14 for 2.5 seconds. When hiking along Cedar Creek one must always consider the views of the creek below Cedar Falls. I like to call this area the rock fall as so many large rocks have fallen down from the area bluffs. The best time to photograph here is after a good rain which will give you the best water features. When shooting water like this, I will always use a slower shutter speed, in the 1 to 5 second range. To accomplish this I use a circular polarizer and a neutral density filter. The ND filter allows me to reduce the amount of light coming into the camera to allow for the longer shutter speeds. The main issue you will tend to have here is the blur caused by wind. To compensate for that, consider taking a shorter exposure at around 1/60 of a second. This will help to stop the leaves and reduce the blur. Later in post, combine the two images. You may have to remove your ND filter to gain a fast enough shutter speed. Petit Jean is about a 45 minute drive from Little Rock and is great place to go and spend a day exploring.
08/13/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Fall Scene on the Cossatot River
Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, Canon 24-70 lens @ 70mm and F 14, iso 100, Shutter speed 1/160 of a sec. With the fall season just about here, actually in many places it’s already here in Arkansas as a lot of the trees have turned brown due to the excessive drought. This shot was taken during one of my many hikes along the Cossatot River in the southwestern Ouachita mountains. The Cossatot is a great stream, just takes a while to get there from Little Rock. When the levels are right, the Cossatot is one of the best kayaking spots in Arkansas. The area known as Cossatot Falls is the real mecca. Here you can find 6 distinct rapids each of which has a unique name. Along the banks of the Cossatot you can find wonderful displays of maples, oaks, and gum trees. I found this shot on my hike back out as the sun was starting to set and I was able to position the sun so that it back lit the leaf just the way I wanted. I used a polarizer to help block out unnecessary reflections and to give the sky a deeper blue hue. Fall is definitely one my favorite times to photograph Arkansas.