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Photo Trek: Hanging Rock State Park
Photo Trek: 04-07-2008, Hanging Rock State Park, Danbury, NC
I'm not entirely sure what is going on with this weather right now. We have been in the 40's, and in the 80's with sun, clouds and rain. The weather forecast is rarely even in the same ballpark with what is actually going on. I guess this is just spring time in North Carolina. At any rate, the entire state has been socked in with heavy clouds and rain over the past few days. While we are still in a drought situation, the recent rains have really helped bring the water levels back up to where they should be. Of course that means that the waterfalls that I love so much are starting to really make good showings.
New Life
With the rain and the nice cloud cover, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess what I was wanting to do. That's right...time to work on some waterfalls. I could have gone in search of some new falls, but instead, I decided to work on one that I have been to previously. This was Tory's Falls which is just outside of Hanging Rock State Park. I have visited this waterfall a couple of times before with moderate success. The last Trek was one with a good deal of ice along the path of the falls. Regardless of the season, this waterfall has been slightly disappointing because of low water flow. I figured that if the current water level couldn't make this waterfall stand out, there was no hope for it.
I set out early this morning because the forecast called for clearing skies later in the day. The entire way to the park I kept running into small rain showers that were not forecasted. I didn't let this dissuade me since neither myself nor the camera would melt in a light rain. It seemed that the moment I parked though, the rain stopped. I made the short hike out to the waterfall, and heard something that I had not heard from this location before....the roaring of the water as it cascaded over the rocks. I was getting excited to say the least. The scene that was captured above was what awaited me at the end of the hike. I can safely say that this was the best I had ever seen this waterfall in the three years that I have been a photographer.
I spent a fair amount of time working out locations where I could get the best angles on the falls. It helps that I have been here before and kind of know where the shots are. I did make some changes though in my positioning, as well as making use of the 10-22mm superwide lens. For this shot, I found myself perched between two boulders suspended above a thin chasm. The tripod was stretched between the boulders as well, with the independently adjustable legs being used to full effect.
There was also time for me to fit my 70-200mm telezoom and isolate some elements of the falls. It is nice to pick out specific details of a waterfall from time to time. Tory's Falls is one that does lend itself to detail shots because it is just so blamed long.
Metamorphic Abstract
After I was satisfied with my shots of the waterfall, I moved on to other subjects in the general area. With the rain ending so recently, the rocky surfaces around me were glistening with water which really saturated the colors. I found a few sections of rocky walls that I experimented with. The picture you see above is one of those experiments. There was really no form that drew my eye to the rock...just color. I really wanted to capture the colors in the rock, so that is just what I did. What you see here is a faithful rendition of what I saw, and is pretty much as the camera captured it.
Liquid Lace
After spending nearly three hours around Tory's Falls I decided that it was time to head back to the truck. When I completed the return hike, I realized that I still had some more time, and the clouds didn't seem to be going anywhere. With my recent good fortune with water flow, I decided to try Window Falls once again. This is a waterfall that I have visited many times over the past few years. I have always found it to be a very pretty waterfall, but recently the water level has left it barely a drip over the ledge. I expected greater thingsfrom this visit. I was not disappointed...in fact, I believe that there was more water spilling from the ledge on this occasion than there had been during any of my previous visits. Having been here before, I knew the composition I wanted, and was able to get it rather quickly.
Silent Lucidity
Not wanting to hike all this way out for just a quick photograph, I decided to give one of the hardest subjects another try. I'm sure that if you have been reading Photo Trek for any length of time, you will remember me talking about the unnamed waterfall behind the Window Falls. It is a very beautiful waterfall, but nearly impossible to photograph well. You see, it sits below a large cliff overhang. This cliff provides very deep shadows, while leaving the actual waterfall, and background vegetation in the ambient light. To expose for one is to compromise on the other. With the heavy cloud cover, I was hoping that the exposure would even out a little.
My hopes were right, and my rock climbing was rewarded with a well lit subject. The success of this picture is partially due to lighting, but the camera also plays a part in this capture. The Canon is much better able to handle shadow detail than my previous Sony. With some careful exposure choices, I was able to keep detail in both the shadow and highlight areas of the photograph. Just a few small tweaks in curves allowed me to realize the exposure I have been after all these times.
Even though this Trek was to an old stomping ground of mine, I was still able to add many new images to the galleries of Four Forty-Six Photography. You can find the new images in the Waterfalls Room, Macro/Detail Room, Night and Creative Room, and Landscapes Room.
Tags: Photo Trek, Hanging Rock, hiking, waterfalls, Tory's falls, window falls
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The ones you have in this entry are beautiful! I can't wait to get over to check out all the new additions!! On my way...
Martha :-) -
Wow fantastic photos - I loved the abstract! Laine xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/elainey2465/laines-world/ -
Enjoyed all of the shots but I have to be honest and tell you I am mesmerized with the Liquid Lace....wow.
Lisa -
You did it again Greg. Beautiful pictures...I think the weather is weird all over. I'm just going along with it and waiting for Mom Nature to make up her mind (just like a woman, huh?)
4/11/08 8:18 PM
Martha :-)