09/17/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Fall morning on Richland Creek in Newton County Arkansas
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.
09/07/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Twin Falls of Big and Long Devils Forks in the Richland Wilderness
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
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.
06/24/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Sunset over Pinnacle Mountain State Park
- At June 24, 2012
- By paul
- In Featured Arkansas Photography
- 0
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.
06/05/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Twin Falls near Kyles Landing
- At June 05, 2012
- By paul
- In Featured Arkansas Photography
- 0
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.
My contact informaiton
- At May 29, 2012
- By paul
- In CONTACT ME
- 0
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