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.

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.

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.

07/27/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunrise throught the trees

Sunrise through the trees in Pulaski County, Arkansas

Click on the photograph for a larger image.

Taken with a Sony Nex-7, Sony 18-200 Zoom lens @ 30mm, F5.6 1/125th of a sec, iso 400. I like to drive along the rural roads in Arkansas to look for scenes like this one which was taken in western Pulaski county, Arkansas. This image was taken in late April before the effects of the drought began to really show in the state. This is a typical rural county road, which is only about 1 lane wide. The state of Arkansas has thousands of miles of roads like this and such roads are a great place to head out and look for a spot to photograph that is off the beaten path. I used a tripod to take this shot and it’s not a HDR composite which I would normally do in a scene like this. The Sony Nex-7 was able to handle the exposure range fine at iso 400 with a single exposure.

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--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.

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

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.

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

Sunset and Paraglider 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.