10/28/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Early morning light at Gunner Pool Campground
Early fall morning at Gunner Pool campground
Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, lens Canon 24-70 at 24mm, iso 400, 1/60 of a second, handheld.
When working early in the morning I love to hike along Arkansas Forest Service roads as they can offer some great candid shots. This photograph was taken near the Gunner Pool campground which is near Sylamore Creek. When this shot was taken, I had gotten up early to work along Sylamore creek and was heading back to my car, when I looked back and caught this ray of sunlight striking the road. The fall colors were about at their peak and there was no wind blowing. There was a bit of smoke coming from old camp fires and it just added to the overall look and effect of the scene.
10/09/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Stars over Roark Bluff late October
Star Trails over Roark Bluff in October
Taken with a Phase One P45+, 45 minutes, 35mm F3.5 lens @ F4.5, iso 50, Phase One DF Camera, One of the most amazing aspects of photography is working with time lapse shooting at night. By leaving the camera shutter open and using just the ambient lighting from the moon, you can get some great night photographs. In this shot I was working the Buffalo River Valley near Steel Creek which is one of the most popular spots along the upper Buffalo. There were no clouds and the sky was very clear with very little wind, perfect conditions for night work. I left the shutter open for 45 minutes which allowed me to capture the movement of the earth around the north star. If you can find the north star in the night sky then you will get the concentric circles outward from the north star. If you don’t have the north star, then you will get different patterns to the star movement, sometimes waves or other partial circles. I feel that the best shot will have a northern view even if the north star has dropped below the horizon. Remember, the moonlight will give the sky the wonderful blue tint.
10/06/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Wintertime sunset at Flatside Pinnacle
Sunset over Flatside Pinnacle in the Eastern Ouachita Mountains
Taken in January 2012, Camera Digital-Phase One IQ160 mounted to Arca rm3di, Lens-Rodenstock 28mm HR, 2 exposures to create a exposure bracket. The wintertime in Arkansas can be very photogenic. I was out on Flatside in early January 2012 working with a new Rodenstock 28mm HR lens with a Arca Swiss rm3di. I wanted to test the lens in various combinations of focus and tilt. For this shot I was able to get a hyperfocal of about 24 inches to infinity. I used approximately 1/2 of a degree of downward tilt on the Arca rm3di. The corresponding depth of field was amazing. For this shot I took off my polarizer as it just did seem to make much difference. The Phase One IQ160 performed very well here. In the past when working with my older Phase One P45+, I found shots like this one impossible since the P45+ was impossible to work with bright highlights. For example on this shot I would have needed to take a shot for just the sun and these several more exposure brackets to try and pull in the shadows in the foreground. The Phase One IQ160 did this shot in 2 exposures. I still couldn’t get it all in one, but I found the Dynamic Range of the Phase One IQ160 a vast improvement over my P45+.
10/02/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Branch in the Fog on Roark Bluff
Oak Branch in the Fog on Roark Bluff
Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 24-70 lens, F 7.1 at 1/40th, iso 400. When I am out working in the early morning, I often try to find shots where the fog can act as a major effect in the shot. On a morning like this, the fog did not lift for almost 3 hours but as it started, the sun briefly highlighted this lone branch which was just starting to leaf out in spring. Many people have looked at this shot and felt that it was taken in the fall, however if you look closely you can see that the oak leaves are just starting to open. This lone tree has taken a beating over the years but each time I come back to this spot it still there and and survived for another season of snow and ice during a typical Ozark winter. During the time I took this shot you could hear trucks and cars moving around in the valley below and people’s voices, but as the fog was so thick you couldn’t see anything. This is a great time to work the Ozark Bluffs and not just on the Buffalo River, but the Buffalo tends to allow for more fog.
09/17/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Fall morning on Richland Creek in Newton County Arkansas
Fall morning on Richland Creek, early Autumn scene–click on image for a larger v
Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, Mamiya 35mm Lens with a Zork Adapter, F16, for approximately 1/60th of a second, iso 100. I love Richland creek and have hiked it more times than any other location in Arkansas. The scenery on Richland has to be some of the best in Arkansas. In the fall, mostly you get a low water condition like this photograph shows where the water is only holding in the pools. This offers great reflection shooting and many times the leaves will build up like they did in this photo. You have to catch Richland at just the right time as the leaves only stay in good color for about 3 days. I try to make it up there at least once during the fall. You can also catch some great color further down the creek near the campground as two of the largest pools on Richland are here. If you are very lucky, Richland will be running and the hike up the creek is one to remember. All the various rapids have excellent photographic opportunities. Make sure you allow for the entire day so that you can take it all in.
09/11/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Falling Water Falls in Searcy County
Falling Water Falls in early November–Click on image for a larger view
Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, Canon 24-70 lens @24mm, F14 for approximately .5 seconds, iso 100. Falling water falls is one of the easier spots to get to in Arkansas. You can drive right up to it! Unfortunately this works against photography since you almost never find these falls without someone standing at the rim. I have never really understood the need to walk out and just stand there, but I guess there is some necessary fulfillment that some folks need. On the weekends, you can always expect to find a crowd here so if you are thinking about a trip, try to plan it on the weekdays and try to get there early.
Read More»09/07/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Twin Falls of Big and Long Devils Forks in the Richland Wilderness
Twin Falls on Big and Long Devils Creek in Newton County Arkansas
Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 16-35mm Lens at 16mm, F14, approx 1 sec exposure, iso 100. One of the best spots in Arkansas to photograph waterfalls is the Richland Creek Wilderness Area. You have unlimited waterfalls to look for in a hike up Richland Creek on a good water day. You will need at least 100 cfs (cubic feet per second) of flow in Richland to get a good shot of the Twin Falls. You can best reach Twin Falls by hiking up Richland Creek from the campground on Forest Road 1205. It is about 1 mile but it’s a long mile with lots of up and arounds as there are many dead trees in the way. If you start the hike from Richland Campground, make sure you stay on the left side of Richland all the way to the big bend where Devils Creek enters into Richland. There is a pretty easy trail to follow for most of the way and now that the campground is open again, more people will be hiking up to the falls. If you are a photographer, I would recommend hiking to the falls during the week as there tends to be many more folks up there on the weekends and it’s not an area that can easily accommodate many people. WATCH OUT FOR HORSEMEN AND WOMEN as they now are coming down to Richland falls and coming over to Twin falls. It’s not an easy spot to negotiate with a horse so be careful. On a good water day say over 400 cfs you might be able to catch kayakers coming down upper Richland.
The best water conditions for hiking and photographing Richland are between 50 and 400 cfs. Anything lower and most of the creek’s features will not be formed well and if it’s higher than 400, then you have some tough crossings to make. Richland is no slouch and it’s not very forgiving to fools. Be aware that the bottom is slick and the current is strong. If you start to cross and don’t have a good grip on the bottom, then more than likely you will be swimming. I also recommend that you use a pack that is totally waterproof like the ones from Lowe Pro. The ones that have a waterproof inner back that closes with a heavy duty waterproof zipper. When I hike Richland low, I will most often use a pair of wading boots that have felt soles as these give you much better traction. The other thing to consider is when the water is high and moving, more than likely you will not be able to view the bottom so it’s best to place your feet one at a time as it’s easy to get tripped up on a rock or two.
Richland is a fascinating watershed. It’s seems to come up faster than the nearby Buffalo River and also often hold more water longer. The Buffalo has a much large watershed but still Richland more times than not will be higher after a good rain. You can easily gauge Richland and most of the large creeks in Arkansas by going to the main USGS water website and then select Arkansas and then drill down to Richland. The actual gauge on Richland is at the campground bridge. Richland is pool drop which means that is does not have a continuous flow unless it’s over around 4500 cfs (that’s a lot of water). The area around Richland is a great hike in the spring, winter and fall. Most times in the summer (like this one in 2012) Richland will dry up or be running with less that 10 cfs. In the fall if there is good water over 30 cfs, make a trip up to Richland as it has one of the best fall color displays in Arkansas.
09/02/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Cedar Creek on Petit Jean Mountain
Cedar Creek Below the falls 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.
08/28/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Nighttime stars over the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock Arkansas
Nighttime stars over the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock Arkansas
Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, 14mm Lens, F4, approx 20 seconds, iso 400. I don’t spend too much time down at the big dam bridge, but it can be an interesting night shot on a clear cool night. On this night, it was pretty warm, over 85 degrees so I picked up some rose streaking in the sky. However the stars themselves stand out very well. I picked a night when they were running a bit of water through the dam so the 20 second exposure was plenty to blur out and smooth the water. The lights on the top of the dam took on a nice starlight look due to the 14mm lens. I recently sold the 14mm Canon since I am in the process of moving to Nikon, but I will miss that particular lens.
The Big Dam Bridge runs across the Terry Lock and Dam and allows cyclists, walkers and runners to cross over the Arkansas River to the North Little Rock Side of the bridge. I took the shot from the North Little Rock side, looking back towards Little Rock.
If you look closely over the middle of the bridge, you can easily spot the constellation Orion. The belt is very easy to see. I also liked the way the rose colored sky blended in near the tops of the hillsides.
08/22/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Dry Creek Falls Autumntime
Dry Creek Falls in Fall in better days
Taken with a Nikon D1x, (man that’s old!!), Nikon 28-70 lens, F14, approx 8 second expoure, iso 200. This is an old one, but a good one, a great view of what Dry Creek Falls used to look like. The falls are about 20 feet tall and are at the ground level. You walk up on the falls as a ledge drop and they are often missed by hikers. I used to make 2 trips per year to these falls, but now the area is ruined. Arkansas had a terrible ice storm in 2009 that caused a tremendous amount of damage to the trees in both Search and Newton County. Mainly what happened is that the tops of the trees were loaded up with ice and then with high winds the tops broke off. Around the Dry Creek area, it also appears that a very powerful storm also came through as there are a huge number of downed trees in the area.
The terrain around Dry Creek Falls was especially hammered by the ice storm and wind/thunder storms. This view that is featured in the photo, is no longer really that good anymore. Several large trees have dropped over the ledge and now hang down from the top and ruin the view of the falls. The area below the falls is still full of dead trees and looks like a lumber raft. Some of this will eventually wash downstream with high water, but when you hike above the falls you see a ton of fallen trees that will also wash over the edge. Many of the trees that added to the overall shot have either broken off totally or worse are broken over and now the dead, broken tops hang down into the shot. It would take a good team with a a chain saw and a team of mules to really clean out the area.
When you walk into the Dry Creek falls area, you now have to take a large numbers of detours around the fallen trees that now block the road. Just back to before 2009, you could walk to the falls in less than 30 minutes in a pretty straight forward hike, now it takes about 3 times as long and it’s very easy to loose the trail on the way. Plus when you arrive, you are totally disappointed by what has happened to the falls. On the top of the ledge where there used to be huge trees, now there are big craters where these same trees fell over pulling the root balls with them. Also on the far side of the ledge, there was a pretty big land slide that included many large trees, and this makes just getting around the ledge to the falls much harder.
I have many shots taken over the years to remember this area by, but it did make me sad to see the condition it’s in now.
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