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.

06/26/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Stary Sky over Pinnacle Mountain and Area 51

Stary sky over Pinnacle Mountain and Area 51 in West Pulaski County Arkansas
Stary sky over Pinnacle Mountain and Area 51 in West Pulaski County Arkansas

Stary sky over Pinnacle Mountain and Area 51 in West Pulaski County Arkansas

Canon 5D MKII, Lens Canon 16-35 @ F4.5, Iso 250, Exposure approx 45 sec (single image).  This image was taken in a series of photographs in a process called stacking. This is one method working night scenes where you are trying to capture star trails.  I have found this to be the best method when working with the moon.  The moon will provide excellent illumination to the extent that you can get a scene that looks almost like daylight except for the color of the sky.  The sky will take on a deep blue color, the blue is very dependent on both the amount of time you expose each stack and the amount of moonlight/position of the moon in the sky.  I have found that this type of photography, even though it takes a lot of processing in the background is my favorite way to capture a night sky.

06/24/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Image taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, Canon 24-70 F2.8 @ F11, ISO 100, 5 shot combination for exposure.  Back in 2009, which seems to long ago to remember, we were having almost nightly thunderstorms in July.  I can only hope that Arkansas gets some this type of weather soon in 2012.  We are about as dry as I can remember for this time of year and soon you will start to see tree going into stress, then dropping leaves.  The area around Pinnacle State Park is photographers paradise in that there are some many great vistas to work from.  One of mine is the view directly to the west from the summit of the quarry ridge at the Pinnacle State Park visitors center.  Here you get an unobstructed view of the summit of Pinnacle mountain and can often catch an evening storm coming in from the west.  This sunset was taken as 5 separate exposures then blended together to get the final image.

06/17/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Clouds over Petit Jean Mountain

Sunset sky over Pinnacle Mountain
Sunset sky over Pinnacle Mountain

Sunset sky over Pinnacle Mountain

Taken with a Sony Nex-7, Sony 18-200mm lens @ 18mm F5.6, Iso 100. I like to work the evening skies in the early summer time as many times you are treated to a play of light as seen on these clouds.  I had gone to the Petit Jean visitor center at Mather lodge and as the sun started to drop behind the hills some late evening clouds rolled in.  The play of light on the clouds was a real treat.  I ended up taking several versions of this scene and worked the shot up in both color and B&W.  The range of color at that time reminded me of some of the sunsets I had taken out in Colorado years ago.

 

06/10/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–A view of Maumelle River near Petit Jean Mountain

Early Morning on the Mamuelle River near Petit Jean Mountain
Early Morning on the Mamuelle River near Petit Jean Mountain

Early Morning on the Mamuelle River near Petit Jean Mountain

Taken with a Sony Nex-7, Sony 18-200mm Lens at 18mm F5.6, 30 sec ISO 100.  Finding a good location close to Little Rock can be a challenge this time of year.  I was hoping to catch a good sunrise from the summit of Petit Jean, but on this particular morning, the sun and clouds were just not there.  I was driving back to Little Rock and remembered this small spot along the Maumelle River.  Here you can find some medium to large classic Delta trees, Sycamore  Beech and of course the Bald Cypress  tree.  There are some classic Bald Cypress  in the area.  I was lucky to have a bit of sun that lit up the far right side of the grove and really helped to make the shot.  The clouds by this time had a very nice pattern and I was able to catch their reflection in the foreground.  There were just a few ripples that kept me from getting a perfect reflection  This shot was taken about 30 minutes after sunrise.

06/05/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Twin Falls near Kyles Landing

Twin Falls on Smith Creek near Kyles Landing Buffalo RIver
Twin Falls on Smith Creek near Kyles Landing Buffalo RIver

Twin Falls on Smith Creek near Kyles Landing Buffalo RIver

Camera, Phase One DF with Phase One P45+, lens Mamiya 35mm F3.5, F11 approx 1 second. I will never know where Arkansas waterfalls get their names.  Twin falls is a classic example as it’s really 3 falls.  Maybe back in the day, it was only a 2 drop waterfall.  I have visiting Twin Falls now for at least 10 years and it’s always been a triple drop.  This waterfall in on Smith creek and runs into the Buffalo National River not very far below the waterfall.  You can hike up from a easy parking spot.  Be prepared for a crowd as this is an easy hike and many people tend to be here.  The creek above the falls is an excellent hike and offers a few more drops, none as high or dramatic.  Also if you have the time, hike down the creek to where it runs into the Buffalo river as there are some nice spots along there too and it’s not a long hike at all.  If the falls are flowing as much as in this picture, you have to either bracket your shots for exposure times as you will never catch the trees not moving due to the wind generated by the falls.  You may also have to bracket for the top and bottom since there is not much light below the falls as they are in a small canyon. Great spot to spend some time in the fall if there is any water running.

Copyright © Paul Caldwell, Photos of Arkansas