07/23/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Lightening Strike over Pinnacle Mountian in Pulaski County Arkansas

Lightening stike over Pinnacle Mountain in Pulaski County Arkasnas
Lightening stike over Pinnacle Mountain in Pulaski County Arkasnas

Lightening strike over Pinnacle Mountain in Pulaski County Arkansas

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 24-70 Lens at 24mm, F2.8, Bulb exposure, tripod mounted camera. This image will be added to my favorites, mainly because of just how hard it was to take.  I had been photographing the sunset from the other side of Pinnacle mountain when this storm started to blow in.  The early lightening drove me off and I headed around to the west side hoping to get a shot of lightening over the mountain.  By the time I made it over, the rain was starting to fall and lightening was flying all through the air.  At first I thought I could stand outside my car, with my tripod and take the shot, but soon I started to notice my arm hairs standing up so I choose to move back to my car.  I put the tripod outside the car window and then setup my remote release so that I could hit the shutter when I first started to see lightening out of the corner of my eye.  I just set the lens to infinity and F2.8 hoping to get the most light as possible.  I captured this shot on the 3rd attempt.  What amazed me was the different colors of blues that were in the sky as the lightening went off.  The orange color off to the left of the image I didn’t notice until I looked at the shot.

 

Equipment in Use–Nikon MB-D12 Grip for D800

Nikon MD-B12 grip with L bracket installed

Click on any of the thumbnails for a larger view of the image.

Since I purchased my Nikon D800, I have added the new Nikon MB-D12 battery grip.  I am planning to write a full review of the grip in use with the D800, but this is a quick view of the grip.  The pictures show the grip installed on a Nikon D800, the various battery holders that come with the grip and the grip and an L bracket.  Overall the grip is nice addition to the D800 and with it installed you gain quite a bit of extra run time by using either another Nikon battery or a series of 8 AA batteries.  It’s a nice feature to be able to use AA batteries as if you are in the field/remote parts of the United States, you can almost always find somewhere to purchase AA batteries.  Also if you used the energizer AA lithium AA batteries, you may be able to last for 3 to 4 days without having to change out the cells.

There now appear to be several clones available for this product costing hundreds of dollars less.  You can find both of them along with the NIkon MB-D12 on Amazon.com  The early reviews are that both the clone grips seem to have similar build quality to the Nikon MB-D12.

From my daily usage I have found that the MB-D12 adds a good deal of heft to the entire D800 camera when carried.  The grip is rather wide at the bottom, considerable wider than the build in grip in the higher end Nikon D4.  When you add a L bracket like the one from Really Right Stuff, the camera, Grip, AA batteries, and L bracket with a Nikon 14-24 lens mounted are close to around 5 lb. total weight.  I have not yet tried the standard Nikon Lithium battery in the grip yet, but it will have a bit less weight than 8 AA Ni-Mh cells.  I was able to use a Nikon D4 for a few days and the weight/heft of the D4 is much more manageable however at a much higher price point with considerably less pixels.  The run time with both the internal Nikon Lithium battery and the batteries in the grip allows for a tremendous amount of shots and review of those shots.  It also makes the use of live view in the field a bit more manageable since with only one battery installed live view seems to drain the camera pretty quickly.

 

07/20/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–on the Edge in Hemmed in Hollow near the Buffalo River

Jim and Marshall on the edge of Hemmed in Hollow
Jim and Marshall on the edge in Hemmed in Hollow

Jim and Marshall on the edge in Hemmed in Hollow

Taken with a Canon 5d MKII, 24-70 Lens, iso 100, @ 50mm F 8. This was day was a bust as far as catching the waterfall at Hemmed in Hollow but we still had a good time.  This photo and the one that is below shows just how steep is is around the rim of Hemmed in Hollow.  There is a bit of a trail that runs around the upper rim but in places it gets a bit on the close side!.  We had hiked in from the Compton Trail head hoping to catch some good water in the 200 foot Hemmed in Hollow waterfall but on this day it was basically a dripping falls.  Not much to photograph.  The hike down from Compton Trail head is about 2 miles all downhill, and the trail gets a bit tricky in places.  You have to know where to look to find the spot where you can catch the rim trail.  It’s not an official trail but has been hiked enough now that it’s easy enough to find.  This trail will take you all the way around the rim of Hemmed in Hollow.  Note, the trail past the main waterfall is a bit tricky and has a lot of exposure.  I hiked it alone in 2008 and found myself wondering if I should continue to my overlook spot.  I used to hike it all the time but back then I was in my late 20’s and things always look a bit different now and then.  Still it’s a great hike and offers a view that most people don’t get to see as they all tend to look up from the bottom.  Also the corkscrews above the falls are well worth the trip.

Jim and Marshall on the edge of Hemmed in Hollow

Jim and Marshall on the edge of Hemmed in Hollow

07/16/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Jigsaw Blocks in Lost Valley on Clark Creek, Buffalo National River

Jigsaw Blocks in Lost Valley, Newton County and Buffalo River
Jigsaw Blocks in Lost Valley, Newton County and Buffalo River

Jigsaw Blocks in Lost Valley, Newton County and Buffalo River

Taken with a Phase One P45+, Mamiya 35mm lens @ F14, iso 50, Exposure 2 seconds.  The Lost Vally part of the Buffalo National River has to be one of the most scenic areas in the entire state.  I have been hiking, camping, and photographing Lost Valley since around 1970.  I can remember Lost Valley when it was still only a small state park and the logging had just been stopped with a injunction. This photograph was taken during the huge rain even in 2010 during late April and May.  For over 3 weeks Clark Creek ran close to full capacity and some features that almost never have any water in them were available for photographic capture.

Now Lost Valley probably gets close to 250 visitors a day during the week and 3x of that at times on the weekends.  Now there is no campground as the National Park service is totally unwilling to replace the wonderful campground that used to be on the far side of the creek.  There was a heavy rain in 2011 that caused a flood and the rest is history.  At least they reopened the area to hiking.

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07/14/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Butterfly and Thistle in the Boxley Valley

Butterfly and thistle in the Boxley Valley, Buffalo National River
Butterfly and thistle in the Boxley Valley, Buffalo National River

Butterfly and thistle in the Boxley Valley, Buffalo National River

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, iso 1250, Canon 100-400 zoom lens @ 400mm, F6.3.  Sometimes you find subjects that you don’t expect to find.  On this day, I was working around the Boxley Valley, near Ponca Arkansas along the Buffalo National River.  The day was overcast and I was waiting for the local elk to make their evening appearance.  While leaning up against a fence post, I noticed a lone butterfly that was working some thistles out in the field.  He was about 15 yards away but I was still able to get a good series of shots at 400mm hand held with the aid of Canon’s Image stabilization.  This photograph is crop from the original and is about 1/3 of the full sized file.  The Bokeh of the Canon lens at this focal length was very nice.

07/08/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Haw Creek Falls in Better days (before the drought of 2012)

Haw Creek Falls in north central Arkansas ozark mountains
Haw Creek Falls in north central Arkansas ozark mountains

Haw Creek Falls in north central Arkansas ozark mountains--Click on photo for a larger view

Taken with a Canon 5d MKII, Canon 16-35mm lens @ 16mm, iso 100, taken in 5 exposures ranging from 1/5th to 5 seconds. Haw Creek will always be one of my favorite spots in Arkansas.  I try to go there many times during the year.  I spent 3 nights there in late March and early April in 2012 working the night skies.  It’s a great spot for this as you can get a waterfall and not have to walk too far into the woods.  Of course you always have to work around the usual Arkansas locals and their flashlights and cigarettes. As the night wears on most of them will leave or pass out.  The best times to work Haw Creek are during the week nights as the number of people will be much less.  The campground at Haw Creek is open through the fall and is one of Arkansas’s best small campgrounds.  NO HOOKUPS for those who prefer to bring along the house, but you can still drive your RV’s into the campground.  Note, if there is a locally heavy rain, be prepared to wait out the creek.  I would not attempt to cross Haw Creek if you can’t see the metal posts that the forest service has by the concrete slab.  These are about 18 inches tall and if you can’t see them then the water in the center of the crossing will be over 24 inches deep!. Enjoy this spot.  However right now it’s dry as a bone as are all the creeks in Arkansas right now as we endure one of the worst droughts in recent history.

 

07/05/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Night skies over the Narrows on the Buffalo River

Night skies over the narrows on the Buffalo River in Arkansas
Night skies over the narrows on the Buffalo River in Arkansas

Night skies over the narrows on the Buffalo River in Arkansas

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 14mm lens, iso 250, F 5.3, for 35 minutes.  Not the easiest place to get to now, due to the flooding that occurred in 2010.  The Narrows is a unique part of geography in Arkansas.  On one side you have the Buffalo River and off in the distance, Richland Creek.  Richland runs into the Buffalo not far from here, but way back hundreds or thousands of years ago, Richland ran right up along the other side of the Narrows and the two streams almost met!.  The ledge is only about 2 feet wide in places and it’s quite place to walk.  The view downstream featured Skull bluff and then around the bend is Woolum Ford.  Be careful if you try to get to the narrows or “nars” as the locals call it by crossing the Buffalo at Woolum ford.  The actual ford has changed quite a bit over the past few years and is deeper and a bit tricky at most water levels.  Due to the excessive drought Arkansas has going right now, it may dry.  Once you cross the ford be VERY CAREFUL IN THE SAND. This is great place to get stuck!.  The best way is to use 4 wheel drive and go straight up the hillside and cut across the field, don’t try to stay in the ruts as they are now full of sand and very tricky.  Even with four wheel drive.

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07/02/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Monarch in the Boxley Valley

Monarch Butterfly in the Boxley Valley
Monarch Butterfly working in the Boxley Vallery

Monarch Butterfly working in the Boxley Valley

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, 100-400 Zoom lens @ 300mm, F11, iso 100, with image stabilization. On this day I was up in the Boxley valley to photograph the 5 tame swans that tend to populate the old mill pond.  For some reason on this day the swans were nowhere to be found, but as I was walking around in the scrub bushes, I found a group of Monarch butterflies that were working a plant at the edge of the pond.  I still don’t know what this plant is, but they were all over it.  In fact they were so interested in the plant, that they let me get within 4 feet of them before spooking.  I spent over an hour photographing them and most of the wait was on good light.  That day the sun kept going behind the clouds.

07/01/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Moonset over the Boxley Valley on the Buffalo National River

Moonset over the Boxley Valley along the Buffalo National River
Moonset over the Boxley Valley along the Buffalo National River

Moonset over the Boxley Valley along the Buffalo National River

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, 45 second exposure, Iso 100, Canon 24-70 Lens @ F6.3, Single Exposure. With modern Digital Cameras, it is amazing just how long you and work with a single exposure.  I was on my way to photograph Elk in the Boxley valley and as I came around the corner on Hwy21, I saw moon was setting over this field.  The temperature around 10 degrees that morning, much cooler than right now! I knew I had to work fast as the once the moon starts to set, it seems to move very fast so I rushed to set up all my gear.  I took this shot on a tripod at around 45 seconds.  I was amazed that I didn’t get too much movement with the moon as it was setting.  I used the tree in the foreground to help block out the center of the moon but it still came out pretty bright.  The sky is a blue color which is normal when you work with the moon.  If you look closely you can see the moonlight reflecting off of bits of ice on the ground.  The amount of light that was available can be seen by the shadows along the fence row.

 

06/29/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunrise over Lake Maumelle in Western Pulaski County

Early Morning Lake Maumelle in western Pulaski County Arkansas
Early Morning Lake Maumelle in western Pulaski County Arkansas

Early Morning Lake Maumelle in western Pulaski County Arkansas

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 24-70 Lens at F11, 3 exposures bracketed allow for a combination in Photoshop, Iso 100.  You have to get up early to catch a shot like this on on Lake Maumelle.  I was headed to Petit Jean Mountain to work Cedar Falls but as I crossed western end of Lake Maumelle, I caught this shot looking back to the east.  I liked the way the early morning fog was pulling up off the lake towards the opposite shore.  There was just a bit of breeze on the lake, but I still liked the outcome.  Lake Maumelle is the water supply for the city of Little Rock and is about 10 miles outside of the city limits. Not a long drive.

Copyright © Paul Caldwell, Photos of Arkansas