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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07/01/12 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.

 

06/26/12 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.

06/10/12 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.

06/02/12 Featured Arkansas Photography Blue water and Rocks in Searcy County a Wintertime view

Golden Water and Rocks on Falling Water Creek
Golden Water and Rocks on Falling Water Creek

Golden Water and Rocks on Falling Water Creek

Taken with a  Canon 1ds MKI, 11mp camera with a Canon 100mm Macro lens  Shutter speed was around 1 second at F16. I wanted to remember what the cooler times can be like in Arkansas as right now we are in such a heat wave.  In the wintertime, if the water levels allow, I like to work along the stream banks looking for tight shots that feature smaller water features.  All of the rocks in Arkansas streams will have have great lichen coverage so the key is to find a good series that will work for you.  This shot was taken during the late afternoon, as the sun was setting.  The sunlight hitting on the rocks gave everything a golden color which contrasted to the deep blue hue of the water.  I took this shot along Falling Water Creek near the famous waterfalls.  I tend to stay away from the waterfalls and look for more interesting less common subject matter.

05/30/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain

Sunset and Paraglider over Pinnacle Mountain
Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain

Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, 70-300 Lens, ISO 100 F8 at a shutter speed of 1/400. There are times that you just get lucky!.  While I was working this great sunset, I happend to catch this lone para-glider working around the summit of Pinnacle. For the shot I had to hand hold my Canon 5D MKII with a 70-300 lens since the light was fading too fast to switch over to my tripod.  The pilot made only about 2 passes and I was able to capture him on the 2nd pass.  The sun lit the plane up perfectly.

My contact informaiton

Photography by Paul Caldwell

Thank you for the interest in my photography.  I have been working in the photographic arts since I was 15 and have been a professional photographer for the last 10 years.  All of the work on this site is available for sale in for the form of Digital stock or prints.  I produce my prints on either paper or canvas and can also work with you on selective framing options.   If you have any questions on a image on the site, please feel free to call me or email me.  I am also available for one on one classes with a 4 hour minimum.  These classes can cover any part of the photographic process, from capture to printing.

I am based out of Little Rock AR, but can cover all of the state, or U.S.

Sincerely

Paul Caldwell
13723 Rivercrest Dr.
LIttle Rock AR  72212
501-240-1477 cell
email: paul@photosofarkansas.com

 

 

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