Little Rock Sunrise from the Junction Bridge–05/14/15 Featured Arkansas Photography

Junction bridge Little Rock Arkasnas
Junction bridge Little Rock Arkasnas

Sunrise from the Junction Bridge in Little Rock Arkansas

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII and Canon 24mm TS-EII lens iso 100, F8.  The Junction bridge in Little Rock, which is now only for foot traffic, offers a great view of downtown Little Rock.  I love to catch the early morning sun on the buildings.   This is best done right before the sun has risen so that the glare on the glass is not extreme and it also allows you to still get the pre-morning blue sky off to the west.  The Junction bridge is lit up at night and I made a point of getting this photograph taken before the lights were off.  I took this shot in a series of images to stitch together later.  I used a 24mm TS-E lens, but did not shift as the shifted portion of the image was not enough to capture the full panorama look I wanted.  Instead I found the nodal point of the lens, and rotated it through 3 different locations and bracketed the exposures with each.  Canon’s cameras have excellent color, but pretty poor dynamic range even at the base iso, so if you don’t want a lot of noise in your shadows, it’s always best to bracket your exposures.  The lens I used, the 24mm TS-E is by far the best lens in this class, and has excellent details to the corners even at F 4.5.  After working up each segment, I then used Ptgui to stitch the scene into one large panorama.

 

10/14/14 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Sunset at Roark Bluff on the Buffalo River

Buffalo River Arkansas Photography
Buffalo River Arkansas Photography

Sunset over Roark Bluff on the Buffalo River

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 14mm F 2.8 lens, in a bracketed series of exposures @ iso 200 This one is a special shot as it was one of those photographs that was just pure luck.  I was up on the Buffalo River with Bob Shull, mainly to work the night skies, and we were just up on the river setting up our cameras.  I had been looking downstream as the moon was starting to rise and it was in a very nice position.  I had left my Canon 5D MKII setup for a upstream shot of Roark bluff for later that night.  The evening skies had been cloudless, so I was not very interested in a sunset.  I remember for some reason I looked around, probably due to a noise on the river, and wow, all of a sudden a bank of clouds had rolled at just the right time and they were on fire!  I had to shoot the 5D MKII in a series of bracketed exposures as I knew that I would not be able to pull in the entire exposure with just one frame.  This scene only lasted about 6 minutes and then the sun dropped below the bluff.  My first series, missed the reflections of the sunset on the water at my feet.  The river was not dead calm, but I still was able to pull in the reflection of the sunset on the water and the river rocks.

This was one of those once in a life time lucky lighting shots, that unless you happen to live on the river and can be out there everyday, just doesn’t happen very often.  This was one of the last major photographs I took with the Canon, as I was in the process of transitioning to my Nikon D800, however I was much more familiar with the Canon at the time, so I shot with it.

 

04/21/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River

Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River
Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River

Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River–click on image for a larger view

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 24-70 lens @ 24mm, Image is a composite of several different exposures. There are times that I will remember more than others on the Buffalo River.  This photograph is one of those days as I had a great landscape opportunity on this morning.  While everyone else was out chasing the Elk, (which are a bit on the tame side) I found this scene near Roark and Bee bluffs.  The trees around this area vary from Maple, Sweet Gum and various Oaks.  Most often in the fall in Arkansas the various trees tend to change colors independently and don’t come together to give a great color display.  This spot near Steel Creek landing features two of the most prominent bluffs on the upper river and in the fall you can sometimes catch early sunrise shots like this one.  There was no wind and just a bit of light fog was rolling across the tops of the trees below the bluff.  I was able to shoot this scene only by using several different exposures to catch the bright sun and deep shadows in the foreground.   I am now finding that with a Nikon D800 many times scenes like this can be taken with just one exposure due to the extreme dynamic range of the sensor of the D800.

 

 

 

03/31/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunrise over Bee Bluff on the Buffalo River in Arkansas

Sunrise over Bee Bluff in along the Buffalo River in Arkansas
Sunrise over Bee Bluff in along the Buffalo River in Arkansas

Sunrise over Bee Bluff in along the Buffalo River in Arkansas–Click on image for a larger view

Taken with a Canon 5D MKII, Canon 16-35mm Lens, 3 exposure raw bracket converted in LR to final image.  When you consider the Buffalo River, one the most beautiful times to photograph is fall.  The last couple of years, the fall along the Buffalo has been lacking in overall color.  There were spots that contained excellent color but for the most part especially along the ridge tops, most of the trees just turned brown.  This spot which is featuring two of the most famous river bluffs, Roark and Bee bluffs, has a great line of gum and maple trees at the base of the bluff.  On this day, I was there early hoping for a valley full of fog, instead I only found a slight amount in the immediate trees, but with the rising sun and dramatic clouds that were present it still made for a great shot.

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.

 

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

07/14/12 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.

 

07/01/12 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