02/25/16 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Sunset Falls on Mt. Magazine aka Chris Kennedy Falls

Sunset Falls on Mt Magazine in the Arkansas Ozarks.

PLEASE NOTE: All of the photography of this website is the property of www.photosofarkansas.com and is copy right protected. Do not copy any of the images on this site to paste on Facebook, Pintrest, or any other website without the permission of Paul Caldwell. Years of time have gone into capturing these photographs, please respect that. I do not take copy right infringement lightly. If you have a need to display any of my work on your site ASK me before you Copy & Paste.

Taken with an Nikon D810 & 14-24 lens @ 14mm, F11 ISO 64 through 400 in a series of bracketed exposures, combined into a single photograph in Lightroom.

In Yosemite National Park, there is a famous spot where during the month of February you can catch the setting sun illuminating a slender waterfall. Once the angle of the sun moves past a certain point the light falls beyond the waterfall. The problem is there tends to be over 1000 people lined up to get the same shot, so it’s really become a common shot. Still a thrill to get, but 1000’s of copies floating around the internet and in various galleries.

By pure chance, one of my friends, Chris Kennedy found this place on Mt. Magazine. I am sure this creek has a name, but I felt it fair to give Chris title. I have seen thousands of waterfall shots taken in Arkansas, but I have never seen one that features the setting sun, both in the shot and illuminating the waterfall. I knew of a different spot a bit further down on Highway 9 and had mentioned this to Chris to check out. During that trip, he found a second series of waterfalls, just up the highway, and while he was photographing them, he realized that it was possible to catch the sunset on the waterfall. Chris sent me a shot the next day and I was transfixed! Chris mentioned to me in passing that the trip to the base of this waterfall was about like the hike down Big Devil’s creek from Hill Cemetery, a hike I had made many times, so I was not too worried about it. I had a lot to learn.

Highway 9 heads up the south side of Mt. Magazine out of Havana Arkansas. On the way up you will cross several small creeks that really just runoff from the summit of the mountain. The largest creek in the area Shoal, starts up on the other side of Magazine and runs to the north. As you wind up Hwy 9, you will come to a spot where two small creeks cross the highway and then come together. This spot has obviously been photographed many times before as there is a worn down trail to a vantage point. This creek now bounces down a very steep gorge over many more waterfalls, and disappears out of sight headed south. While walking along the highway, Chris spotted a higher waterfall, much further down the creek, and headed down the hillside to get a better view and in the process discovered this wonderful view.

The waterfall, is actually in 3 parts and in this photograph, you are viewing only the top part of the waterfall, which is also the highest single point. It’s about 20 to 25 feet tall from the very base. The creek then winds around the shale bluff and makes two more nice drops before emptying into a nice pool. The sun in January, is at just the right angle to shine on the base of the falls, providing a beautiful shot. Chris told me that you only have about 10 minutes to catch the light before the best part of it moves away from the falls.

I headed up to this spot with Dr. Todd Smith, (and will tell more of that story on my blog), and we were both able to get to the base of the falls just in time to catch this shot.

A few points of consideration:

This waterfall has one of the most dangerous approaches I have ever attempted in Arkansas in over 40 year of hiking this state. You are hiking down a pitch of at least 55 degrees or more at times and it’s all loose rock
About 1/2 of the way down you will hit a band of large loose rock that is full of pitfalls and places to break your ankle, there is an old crashed car laying in this part of the decent. This is a steep enough spot that if you lean too far backwards, you will fall.
The last 20 feet to the base of the waterfall is along a 55 degree pitch, where if you slip, you will be headed straight down to the bottom 10 feet below. The area is just a muddy hillside and very slick
When you are photographing the waterfall, you need an extremely wide angle lens, and a full frame sensor, (no APS-C cameras) if you want to get both the full waterfall and the setting sun. I used a 14mm lens
Make sure to pack a series of filter and a tripod as this shot has to be bracketed.
The trees above the waterfall are moving all the time due to the force of the water, so plan on shooting at least one frame at a faster ISO and shutter speed to stop the motion
The hike out, well, lets just say it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s ten times worse than the hike down as the entire hillside is just loose rock, so you may climb 3 feet just to slide back 1.5 feet. The use of a rope on the last 50 feet would be strongly advised and something I plan to bring the next time I attempt this shot.
You can try to come at the falls from a little bit further down the highway, but trust me the going is not any easier as the forest floor is just a bunch of broken rock and it make for very difficult footing.
It’s very apparent that some blasting was done for the Highway above here and the rock just all fell away down the hillside and is very loose, footing is very tricky.

Overall this has to be one of the more unique places I have ever worked in Arkansas and have been to many. I would not attempt this hike alone, as there is just too much a risk, and I was glad to have Todd and Chris with me both times I headed down to the falls. This hike will give you just a bit more appreciation as to just how high Mt Magazine is and steep. The result is well worth the hike.

Paul Caldwell

12/15/15 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Big water at Cedar Falls on Petit Jean Mountain

A great shot of Cedar Falls with both a lot of water and great fall color.

Taken with a Phase One P45+, Mamiya 35mm F 3.5 lens, for approx 1 second, with a circular polarizer, ISO 50.

The view of Cedar Falls on Petit Jean mountain is always impressive, but when you have a lot of water and fall colors, well, it just gets better. There was almost too much water running this day as the force of the water made all the sweetgums up by the falls be in constant motion. I was not really able to get to a shutter speed that would stop them totally so they just really blend into a mass of yellow. I had hoped for some red and yellow colors as is common with the sweet gums, but this year they were only yellow. Lots of folks don’t realize that the water in Cedar Creek is has such a brown tint to it. But on this day it just seemed to add to the overall shot.

To get this photograph, I had to stand in the water and cross out into the creek. Standing where I was the spray coming off the falls was also pretty constant. I had tried to get closer, but the spray was just too much to handle as it covered the front of my lens very quickly. I used a circular polarizer even though the sun was not out as it always seems to help bring out better overall colors and there was still glare on the rocks. I tried several shutter speeds this day, but anything over 1 second just did not look very good as the there was too much water moving by at such a high rate speed.

Cedar falls is one of the highest “real” waterfalls in Arkansas at over 75 feet tall. You can hike down to the base of the falls the trail that starts at the back of Mather Lodge.

PLEASE NOTE: All of the photography of this website is the property of www.photosofarkansas.com and is copy right protected. Do not copy any of the images on this site to paste on Facebook, Pintrest, or any other website without the permission of Paul Caldwell. Years of time have gone into capturing these photographs, please respect that. I do not take copy right infringement lightly. If you have a need to display any of my work on your site ASK me before you Copy & Paste.

07/25/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–6 Finger Falls on Falling Water Creek

Six Finger Falls on Falling Water Creek

Taken with a Phase One P45+, Mamiya 35mm F3.5 lens @F14 iso 50 for approximately 1 second. Falling Water Creek is one of the many jewels of Arkansas. This particular spot is one of the more popular spots on the creek. Here you find a ledge that runs all the way across the creek and is broken in 6 spots, thus the name 6 finger falls. The total height is about 10 feet and it’s a very unique spot on the creek. The rocks in the foreground on this shot were all washed away in a recent flood and now there is only a sandbar. The creek above the falls has a long flat bedrock bottom is a nice spot to wade. If you want to photograph 6 finger falls, I would recommend you plan on being there in the morning in the afternoon, the sun will be shinning in your face. Of course if it’s a day like this one, overcast, it won’t matter. This area is about 2 hours away from Little Rock.

06/10/13 Featured Arkansas Photography–Springtime at Cedar Falls on Petit Jean Mountain

Springtime at Cedar Falls on Petit Jean Mountain–Click on image for a larger view

Taken with a Phase One P45+, Mamiya 35mm F3.5 Lens at F14, iso 50, Exposure for approx 1.5 seconds. Here are my print prices if you would like to purchase a print of this photograph My website features many photographs of Cedar Falls on Petit Jean. Petit Jean is about a 40 minute drive from Little Rock and is one of the largest State Parks in Arkansas. It’s not a well known fact that before Hot Springs National Park was created, there was serious consideration to make Petit Jean a National Park instead. Cedar Falls is one of the highest “real” waterfalls in Arkansas. There are many other spots where water will run over a bluff during a heavy rain and create a temporary waterfall, but not many of them flow year round. You can hike down to the base of Cedar Falls from a trail that starts up at the back of Mather Lodge. The trail itself passes many very pretty spots that may warrant a quick stop. This photograph was taken at the peak of spring when the single red bud at the base of the falls is in full bloom. One of the features of Cedar Falls is that there is almost always someone standing around the base of the falls and they tend to be in the way of a good photograph. On this day, I was lucky enough to have the falls to myself for almost 2 hours and that was plenty of time to capture some great images. This photograph was taken with a Phase One P45+ Medium format digital back and a Mamiya 645 camera.

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.

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.

06/05/12 Featured Arkansas Photography–Twin Falls near Kyles Landing

Twin Falls on Smith Creek near Kyles Landing Buffalo RIver

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.