02/11/16 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Wintertime Vista from the summit of Pinnacle Mountain

View from the summit of Pinnacle Mountain in Pulaski County Arkansas

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Taken with a Canon 5d MKII, Canon 24-70 lens, @ 24mm and F 8 ISO 100 with a Circular Polarizer, Panorama taken in multiple vertical stitches

One of the most noticeable landmarks in Pulaski County, Arkansas is Pinnacle Mountain.  The mountain is approximately 550 feet tall and has a commanding view of both Little Rock and the eastern approaches to the Ouachita Mountains.  In fact the Ouchita trail starts at the Pinnacle Mountain Visitor center which is not far at all from the base of Pinnacle.

There are many trails up to the summit of Pinnacle, but the most common is the trail that goes up the west face.  Here you get a great view of the slate rock that makes up most of the mountain and you can get some great views of the surrounding countryside.

This shot was taken after a heavy snow fall in February of 2009, and I was very lucky to catch the mountain right after the skies cleared.  There was no one else there so the snow was totally undisturbed.  My goal on this day was to get about 1/2 way up the mountain where the hard rock face starts to show up.  The pitch of the climb can be upwards of 30 degrees, maybe a bit more and on a normal day this is not a problem.  But on a snowy day things were a bit more difficult.  Once on the summit I realized that the view was amazing and I wanted to take some panoramas. I did not have my tripod, but just shot away in multiple vertical hand held series and then stitched the images together later on with Photoshop.  Now, I would most likely want to use Lightroom as it offers a lot more possibilities and power.  But for this shot Photoshop was able to get the job done.

There was no wind and the snow was perfect in that everything was nicely coated.  I did use a polarizer on the shots and wondered if I would be able to get an even sky but overall I like what I was able to produce.  Pinnacle mountain is in western Pulaski county, in Arkansas and is well worth a hike if you have the time.