Summer at Big Creek

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Cascades of Summer

It would seem that I have been very much focused on old iron here lately, with the exception of a week at the beach.  I have been away from the mountains for far too long.  I had the opportunity to spend the day in the mountains today and looking at the weather, my best option was going to be waterfalls.  I have a lot of options when it come to waterfalls, but since we have had a lack of rain lately I wanted to go where I stood the best chance of getting some good flow.  That meant going to Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains since it was usually unaffected by water tables.  I actually had a little bit of luck the night before and there were some pretty strong storms that moved through that would more than likely boost the water levels a little bit.

Since it was full on Summertime, I knew that I was going to have to get there early to get a parking spot with all the hikers and swimmers that would be there when it warmed up.  This posed a slight problem since the park was a bit over three hours away from home.  I was wanting to get there shortly after sunrise, around 7-7:30am.  Doing the math, that meant that I was going to have to leave around 4am, which put me waking up earlier than that.  I'm not a morning person by any stretch, but a photographer has to do what a photographer has to do in order to get the pictures.

Beneath the Blooms

Somehow, I made it out of the house shortly after 4 and was on my way to the mountains.  I ran into a little rain here and there as I was heading West, but I knew that rain was a potential for the day.  Sometimes rainy weather makes for the best waterfall photography.  I arrived at the park just before 7:30, and I was already about the 10th vehicle in the parking lot.  I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to jockey for position at the different sections that I like to photograph.

A Bit of Drama

My goal for the day was to capture a section of Big Creek that I shot during a drought a couple of years ago.  I had not been back to this particular section since that trek and really wanted to see what it looked like with water flowing.  I have actually really liked this image since I shot it, and have entered it into several contests since.  In order to make sure that I achieved my goal, I wasn't going to stop at places unless there was something particularly interesting to photograph differently than I had seen before.  This would speed things up and make sure that I could get to the the intended location well past Mouse Creek Falls.

Another one of my goals which I had was to shoot some more instructional videos for Singh-Ray about how to use a polarizer for a more normal application than old cars.  I wasn't sure when this was going to happen, but I went into it knowing that I would be shooting some video since the lighting was good, and relatively stable.  This is what I love about shooting waterfalls on cloudy and rainy days.  I can pretty much count on the light being right for long periods of time.

Summertime Swim

As I was working my way down the trail, I was looking over to my left where the water was flowing to see if there was anything interesting.  One thing that I quickly noticed was that the brush was pretty thick this time of year and it was obscuring many of the locations that I was used to shooting.  I didn't spend long trying to get a vantage point at these locations since there wasn't much different than what I had shot previously.

There was one little section which I tend to shoot regularly which caught my eye once again.  It wasn't the water this time, but the blooming Mountain Laurel just above the falls.  This was worth taking a little bit of time to work with, so I worked my way down the scramble path to get into position.  I did a little rock hopping until I found the position I wanted to use to capture the falls and the seasonal greenery behind it.

As I was setting up with my 16-35mm lens, I decided to do a little comparison shooting with and without a polarizer.  This might be the first time I have ever shot a waterfall without a polarizer, and honestly, I didn't like it much.  It was a good comparison though, and I was able to send them to Singh-Ray.

This image is straight out of the camera with no filters.  I just did a proper exposure and shot it.  You can see how the water shows a great deal of glare, and it lacks a little visual pop which I like in my images.  This composition ultimately ended up as my opening image for this blog entry.

This next image is the same composition but with the addition of the Singh-Ray Color Combo Polarizer that I use in the majority of my photography.  You can immediately tell the difference in the water, and a lot more contrast has been added.  Just the addition of the polarizer lengthened the shutter speed from 0.4 seconds to a full 2 seconds to blur the water.

Since I was already working without a filter, I figured that this would be the best time to shoot the video that I had been planning on.  I went ahead and got everything prepped for easy of manipulation with only one hand and got my cell phone out to record the video.

After doing some of the behind the scenes work that I had planned on doing, it was time to pack up and move to my next location.  There were several along the trail that I really enjoy working with but this time, they really didn't stand out all that much to me.  The next time I exited the trail was at Midnight Hole which I really didn't want to stop at since I have two really good pictures of that waterfall already.  However, when I walked passed it, I could see that there was some really good color to the water.  It was worth a stop to see what I could do with it.

Summer Smells

I worked the scene from a distance away and gradually moved in closer.  For this waterfall, I used my 24-70mm lens with the polarizer attached.  The ones from a distance were fair, but nothing all that special.  As I got in close to the tree with the exposed roots, I ran into a problem with a tree that had fallen and was floating on the water.  This was just too much of a visual distraction and I had to abandon that composition relatively quickly.  I composed a tight crop on the falls and included the blooming tree above it for a touch of seasonal flare.  As I was shooting this series, the air was thick with the perfume of Summer.  With all of the moisture around and the Mountain Laurel in full bloom, it just smelled like Summer in the mountains.  When I was titling this piece, those memories came right back to me, and it pretty much named itself.

I did a little work with the small cascades in the stream over to the side, but I wasn't able to find a composition that really worked.  There was just no organization among the rocks.  I needed something for the eyes to follow.  Since I Wasn't having much luck, I went down to another section by the trail and found that the lighting was even better on the rocks.  I went ahead and pulled out the camera once again, and fitted the 70-200mm lens and polarizer.

Mountain Stream Abstract

I was starting to have some pretty good luck with these rocks.  I could find order in the chaos with them, and was able to pick out several workable compositions.  While shooting these isolations, I got the idea to do another video about how I can get a nice long shutter speed with just a polarizer attached.

Video is not my specialty by any stretch, but considering I'm doing this on a cell phone while manipulating the camera I'm doing pretty good.  This shows a bit about how I do these isolations, and what I'm looking for on the back of the camera.  Unfortunately, I ended up not liking this particular composition on a big screen so it was trashed.  However, I did do another one from the same area which turned out pretty good.

Mossy Islands

When doing these intimate captures, it really is all about simplicity of composition and having something poking up above the water to give a nice visual anchor.  The silky ribbons from the passing water give the visual drama to the image which makes it interesting.  It didn't take long and I was tired of shooting the intimate shots and was ready to get on to the main goal which was still a good ways up the trail at this point.  In order to get there, I chose to pass right by Mouse Creek Falls which was looking pretty good, but not spectacular.  I even passed right by the bridge which overlooked some really good cascades.  I thought that if I had time I would grab a few shots here on the way back, but for now, I needed to get moving.

The Drop

Things had changed so much with the extra greenery and increased water flow that I almost didn't recognize my spot. It also happened a good deal further up the trail that I had anticipated.  When I arrived, I quickly remembered where I had been set up and made my way to that spot.  I was actually pretty amazed at the difference a little water would make.  I went ahead and used my 24-70mm lens with the Color Combo Polarizer.  I wasn't quite happy with how the overall composition was going, so I started to shoot some isolations here showing off the full flowing water.  The one that I really liked ended up getting processed as a black and white image because it lacked the visual pop it needed in color.  This way, the detail in the water is very apparent, and I think it is a much stronger image this way.

Revival

I did finally settle on a composition that I liked.  I had to adjust from how I shot it last time because the pool at the bottom right was just too bright, and became too much of a focal point if I included too much of it.  By reducing the footprint of the white water, I was able to compose a workable image of the location that shows the difference in the water.  I still like the original image, and possibly better, but this one turned out quite nice as well.  There is a lot to look at as you eyes work their way to the background.

After about 20 minutes here, I had shot all that I cared to shoot of this location.  My camera position was pretty restricted due to the rock that I had to be on, so there was only so much that I could do compositionally without falling off of the rock I was on.  That was OK since I had plenty of other things that I wanted to shoot.  I started to work my way back down the trail towards the bridge overlooking the creek.

Full of Life

When I arrived, there was no longer anyone standing on the bridge which was a very good thing.  You see, on these wooden bridges, any movement translates into vibrations which affect the sharpness of the image.  I had the bridge to myself and took advantage of it. I shot low to minimize the perspective distortion that I was going to have from shooting this far up.  Fortunately, I was able to peak the 24-70mm lens through the slats without any issues.  I had to use my B+W polarizer for these shots because my Singh-Ray had gotten fogged over pretty bad on the last set and had a thick haze on it which I was unable to remove with a lens cloth in the existing humidity.

Through the Trees

The gentle curve of the creek allowed for a great composition in both landscape and portrait orientations.  When I was editing the landscape shot, I started to see it as almost a square composition.  I ended up cropping pretty drastically from the right to change the feel of the image.  It allowed everything to line up much better than its native aspect ratio.  The portrait shot worked well as it was thanks to the two rocks in the foreground that really provide a nice visual anchor for the eyes.

I would have loved to have gotten down to the water for some really dramatic shots, but there was just no way I could get down there safely.  I checked a couple of different locations for other compositions but found that I had already located the best spots to shoot this from.  I went ahead and packed things up and got ready to head on to Mouse Creek Falls a short distance down the trail.  The lighting was about the same as it had been, and I figured as long as there were no people there I would give it another try.

Cascades in the Forest

When I arrived at Mouse Creek Falls, I was very happy to find that there were no hikers to be found.  I started to work my way down the scramble path to the bottom. I knew that the best composition was from about the half way point on the path, but with the low limbs near the falls with leaves on them, I needed to get down lower.  Looking at the scene in front of me, I decided that while I really wanted to use the 16-35mm lens, I would be better suited with the 24-70mm which I put on the body.  I added the B+W polarizer as well since I had smeared my Singh-Ray beyond use for the rest of the day.  I found a couple of workable compositions before trying to get in closer.

As I was swapping over to my 70-200mm lens, I had my first real run in with hikers.  There were two guys coming down the scramble path to enjoy the waterfall.  They asked if they would get in my way with I though was very considerate.  I said that I doubted it, but I would only be another couple of minutes.  They patiently waited as I got the long lens fitted with the polarizer and started to make a few images.  I wasn't really happy with what I was shooting as I wasn't getting quite close enough.  I thanked the hikers and said that I was finished.

They actually went well out of my way to sit down and have lunch which made me feel kind of bad since they wouldn't have been in my way regardless.  While I was starting to pack up, I remembered my 2x teleconverter which I carry in my bag.  This piece goes between the camera body and my 70-200mm lens to make it equivalent to a 140-400mm lens.  I have only used it twice before, and figured that this would be a good time to give it another try.

Dreaming in Black and White

I was very happy that I thought to give this a try.  I was able to zoom into about 253mm for this image.  It was just a smidge tighter than what I had been able to get with the lens alone, but it was an important compositional change.  It also kept the lens at its sweet spot near the middle of the zoom range.  I shot this figuring that I would convert it to a monochrome to really make the water stand out.  The color version was pretty good, but there was just too much green in the image, and I wanted a higher level of contrast.  The conversion to black and white worked just perfectly and I ended up with a really nice execution of the concept that I had when I switched over to the long lens in the first place.

This was the last bit of pictures that I shot.  When I got back to the trail, there were hikers by the dozens going up and down the trails.  Many were obviously set to go swimming in addition to hiking.  The clouds were also starting to part a little more than I liked.  With these things going against me, and seeing that the time was after noon, it was time to head back to the truck.  I had shot 123 frames during the five hours that I was in the park.  That would be enough to keep me busy for most of the night once I got home.

It turned out to be a pretty good day.  I achieved all of my goals that I had set for myself for this trip.  It was also a fantastic day to be outside.  The temperatures stayed right around 70 with just a passing drizzle with the clouds.  After weeks now of 90+, it was almost a Fall day in the woods.  I am starting to get tired now as I have now been awake for 19.5 hours and still have a few more things to do before bed.  Thanks for joining me on my hike at Big Creek!

Making a Better Mouse Trap

Tuesday, Dec 26, 2017

Mountain Meditation

For the last two months, I have been wanting to get to Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to work some of the water there.  You see, this is the only place I know of in this part of the country where the water has an aqua or teal color to it.  I've been fascinated with it since the first time I visited the hiking trails years ago.  Beyond the color, I have always loved the creek itself for all the different personalities that it possesses.  I've seen it in droughts, and just after flooding.  Each time has been something special, and I've always come back with images that I have been really proud of.

My plan was to get some Fall color matched with the cool tones of the water.  The problems that I ran into ranged from lack of rain, to lack of time.  You see, Big Creek is a full 200 miles from my house.  That is an investment in both time and gas.  I try to schedule my trips out there when I know I will have the time to make the best use of it.  With several extra days off of work, and the promise of some clouds, I figured that now was as good a time as any.

Teal Wash

My day started early, earlier than I really needed it to.  I woke up at 3:30am so that I could see Anthony and his family off after they had spent the last couple of weeks here from Hawaii.  They left at 4am to catch their plane, and I followed about an hour later headed the opposite direction.  I was destined to see the Tennessee State Line before hooking back into North Carolina into Waterville.  The trip was pretty boring, with just a little heavier traffic than I was expecting.

The weather forecast was calling for partly cloudy skies with about 46% coverage for most of the day.  From my history, that could mean anything from rain, to clear blue skies.  There was no way to know what was in store for me unless I just went out there to see.  When the sun started to come up, I was very pleased to see that there was a nice thick cloud cover above and the lighting was pretty much perfect.  At least for the moment.  I could see sections of blue sky back to the South.  The hope was that the clouds would stay overhead while I was working Big Creek.

Chilled Creek

When I arrived, the conditions were nearly perfect.  The water levels were up, and the sun was hiding behind the clouds.  It was shaping up to be a great day with the camera.  There were only a couple of other cars in the parking area, so that meant that I was going to have the trails to myself for the most part.  That was the icing on the cake for sure.  Big Creek has a tendency to get crowded during much of the year, so I was pleased to see so few hikers around.

The first order of business was to get my gear.  That was a little less than automatic like it usually is.  This was the first time I had used my new camera bag that Toni had gotten me for Christmas.  It was taking a bit to get used to, and it allowed me to actually carry my tripod on the side of it.  It didn't take but a minute to mount it and get ready for the hike.  Getting all of the buckles cinched was another matter entirely.  I had fit it the previous night, but I had only been wearing a t-shirt.  With the sub freezing temperatures, I was wearing quite a few more layers of clothing this morning.  That just meant that I was going to need to adjust the straps a little bit.

Before too long, I was on my way down the trail.  Something that I really liked about this Whistler 350AW bag was that despite it being heavier than my previous Tamrac, it was actually quite comfortable to wear.  Everything felt nice a balanced which made hiking with this bag a breeze.

Electric Falls

Something that I try to avoid here is shooting the same shots over and over again.  If I think I can improve on them, then I am happy to try, but after a couple of very successful Treks here recently, I didn't think I could improve on most of the compositions.  That meant that I spent my time looking for new and exciting compositions.  This can be difficult since it requires going to different vantage points for familiar scenes and locating completely new subject matter in many cases.

Since the trees were mostly bare, I set out looking for intimate shots of elements of the creek.  That way, I could avoid the bare trees that weren't adding much to the compositions in most cases.  Of course, when I could fit the trees in, I did just that.  My main focus was to capture the aqua color in the water which is what I just love about this creek.  My secondary goal was to make it to Mouse Creek Falls.  That particular attraction is located about two miles down the trails from the parking area.  In the past, I've missed out on getting that far down because it started to rain in one case, and the sun came out in another.  The last time that I had photographed it was during the drought.  It turned out pretty good, but I wanted to get it with more water flow.

Abstract in Teal

The trick to photographing Big Creek is to use a polarizer.  For the most part, I used my Singh Ray Color Combo Polarizer which helped to increase the saturation in the water.  Depending on what I was shooting, I was using either my 24-70mm or my 70-200mm lens.  My goal was to hit between 1-3.2 seconds worth of exposure.  That was enough to get the water to blur like I like.  I shot some abstracts, and shot some full on compositions.  It was a day of trying new and different things.  I wasn't sure what I was going to have when I got home, but I was having a lot of fun moving around and trying different vantage points.

Something that I found very useful with my new camera bag was the fact that the tripod would secure easily to the side.  I thought that I would just use that for the main hike in, and out.  The reality was, I was using it between subjects to keep my hands empty.  This allowed me to be much more maneuverable than I had been in the past.  No longer was I stumbling along holding a bulky tripod in one hand.  I was able to use both of my hands to steady myself as I rock hopped, and went down embankments.  It was as if I wasn't even carrying my camera equipment, and that was really nice!  I can see this really helping me get to some locations that I have not been able to get to previously.  At least it will make getting to them much easier.

Creekside Lounge

While there are two named waterfalls along Big Creek, I've found that the cascades are in many cases more interesting to photograph.  There are so many boulder and rocks strewn about the creek bed that there is an abundance of cascades to play with.  I found myself looking for patterns in the cascades that lead to features on the opposing shore.  I found quite a few, but most had no organization to the pattern.  The one that I have included above, had a nice "S-Curve to the cascades and lead to the rock.  Had the rock not been an interesting shape, this probably would not have been as successful of an image.  As it sits, my eyes work completely through the frame following the cascades and then bouncing on the rock to retrace my steps.  It is a bit of a funky image, but one that I am liking a lot.

Midnight Freeze

When I got to Midnight Hole, my first inclination was to skip it.  I had shot a really great image there over the Summer and didn't think that I could top that.  However, there was a section of rapids just before Midnight Hole that I was working that kind of changed my mind.  You see, I was making my way along the shoreline getting closer and closer to the waterfall.  It was a view that I had not seen before.  There were a lot of rocks in the water, and even a couple of frozen twigs sticking out of the water.  My foreground for this waterfall has always been the pool, or the root system of a tree that was close to the pool.  What I was seeing here was something completely different.  I was liking it...a lot.  I decided to fit my long lens so that I could compress the elements and shrink the distance between the falls and the foreground.  It took some work to get the composition right, but I finally made it happen and grabbed a few frames.

I wasn't sure if I liked it or not though.  It wasn't until I got home and processed the images that I found that the composition actually worked very well for the waterfall.  It also gave some really good clues as to the time of year.  I had a splash of green above the falls, but the ice on the twigs tells a completely different story.  The more I look at this one, the more I like it!

Colorful Cascade

Cotton and Stone

One of the nice things I got to do with Big Creek is to play around with vertical and horizontal images of the same scenes.  The two compositions directly above are of the same section, just with a different composition.  They both have a completely different feel to the image.  They say different things, but you can see the benefits of trying different orientations with the same subject.  You can even compare the last one to Abstract in Teal and see what a difference a slightly tighter composition will make.  Again, there are two similar images, but each tells a different story, and has a different focal point.

Sunning Boulder

It is always a good idea to make use of the tools that you have.  I carry three

different lenses into the field each time I go.  As you can see, I really liked this section of the creek.  The color was very vibrant, and I spent a good deal of time here playing around.  I started out with my long lens, but decided to switch over to the 24-70mm, standard lens.  This allowed me the ability to open the shot up and get a completely different composition with the large boulder in the foreground.

Having easy access to my equipment is very important to me in the field.  One of the major complaints that I have had with my previous Tamrac bag was that in order to access my equipment, I had to place the back of the bag on the ground.  That doesn't seem like a big deal until you have to set it on the wet ground.  Then when you put the bag back on your back...you have a wet back.  This Whistler bag has a rear opening compartment which means that the part of the bag that ends up on your back stays nice and dry...and clean.  It takes all of the hassle out of changing out your equipment.  I would have liked a bit more room to grow, but I do have enough room for what I currently carry, and that is good enough for me.

Fast Water

As I was getting closer to Mouse Creek Falls, I was seeing that the sun was starting to poke through the clouds more and more.  This was going to be problematic as it was nearing noon.  that would put the sun directly overhead and the highlights in the water would make for exposure problems.  I had a choice to make.  I could continue on with working the different rapids and cascades, or I could hurry on to the main falls and hope that it was looking good.  Since I had missed out on chances in the recent past, I opted to plow on and see if it was worth photographing before I worked any other scenes.

Emerging Shapes

I bypassed a couple of really good areas to shoot from, but I was comforted knowing that I had gotten good images from those areas in the past.  When I arrived at Mouse Creek, I was greeted by a water flow that I had never witnessed here before.  It was incredible to say the least.  I moved my way down the embankment, and built the camera with my standard 24-70mm lens because I wanted to capture some foreground interest to the falls.

Finding Your Way

I started with the self explanatory portrait shot and included some of the actual creek that was moving from right to left across the scene.  The rocks, shallow water, and cascades made for a very interesting foreground.  The colors in the water were incredible too.  I was very happy that I had skipped other compositions in order to get this subject.  I had never seen it quite this good before, and I was excited to work it for a while.  I tried a few different positions, and several different compositions.  I had thought I had a winner with the portrait shot, but I started to play around with a horizontal version as well, and found that I liked it even better.

Frosted Falls

The horizontal version brought the falls into an intimate composition that really suited it.  The viewer can see the ice which has formed along the edges of the falls.  This definitely gives it a sense of season, and adds a bit of chill to the image.  The power of the water is unmistakable and really helps to complete a dramatic composition.

About the time that I was shooting this one, the clouds were all moving out of the sky.  It seemed like in a matter of seconds the sky went from partly cloudy, to bright blue.  There were no more clouds in the sky, and the sun was now shining brightly.  My day was done, but it was after noon, and I was needing to get home anyway.  In about 4.5 hours, I had shot 131 frames of the teal water of Big Creek.  I had also gotten two great images of Mouse Creek Falls that actually changed my opinion of how good a waterfall it actually was.  I'll say it was a very good day behind the camera, and it was great to get back to Big Creek once again.

Big Creek with Mini Me

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Sierra on her first waterfall shoot

With my recent trek to Hanging Rock a few days ago, I was ready to go out and play with some long exposures with water once again.  Looking at the weather, there was promise of clouds on Saturday in the area of Big Creek, which is just inside of the NC Border.  There was going to be clouds and little bit of rain throughout the day, and that was going to be perfect for some white water photography.  It just so happened that Sierra has been wanting to learn a little bit more about photography lately, and she was wanting to go with me.  What a great time to introduce the manual mode and some work with filters on her camera.

The morning started very early since there is a 3-4 hour road trip to get there, and we needed to get back to the house around dinner time for another engagement.  It was rough, but we got up at 4am and were on the road by 5.  As the sun came up I could see that the sky was full of clouds which was just what I was wanting.  As we arrived at the park, the clouds were perfect for long exposure work.  We got our cameras out of the 4Runner and started the roughly two mile hike towards Mouse Creek Falls with the hope of going a little beyond that point.  There were trees down all along the trail that showed just how much water has been falling recently.  The roots were pulled right up from the ground in most cases.  I was catching glimpses of the water and I could tell we were going to be in for a treat.

The thing that I love most about this location is that the water has this wonderful aqua hue to it when viewed in the right conditions.  Today was looking like that kind of condition, and that made me very happy.  Sierra was the first one to spot a location that she wanted to shoot.  We scrambled down the embankment to get to the water.  I could see a lot of potential with the different elements, but the clouds managed to clear right as we got to the water.  I mean it was like a switch was flipped!!  All of a sudden the water was nothing but highlights, and the trees were nothing but shadows.

We took a good bit of time to explain the manual settings on the camera, and to figure out what filters were needed.  Sierra found a spot that allowed her to capture the composition that she was wanting, and fired off a test shot.  After I added an ND filter, she was really happy with the way the water looked.  At this point, she was on her own to figure out what compositions she wanted to shoot.  I went over and pulled out my camera by another area as to not get in her way.  Looking at the scene, I decided that I would have to pick out isolations to keep from getting an overly contrasty scene.  I took several exposures, but I really wasn't overly happy with any of them.  The sun was just too bright.

Rock Slide

After waiting around for about 30-45 minutes, we both decided that the sun wasn't going to help us out any.  We packed up and found the trail again. Knowing that there were some areas that were shaded from the sun a little further up, we continued on in hopes of finding something better to photograph.  The next area we found had a bunch of really great elements to work with, and about half of them were in the shadows.  The problem is, half were not in the shadows and happened to fall in the full sun.  But this area was just too good to pass up.

Sierra and I set up in two different locations where we though that we would get the best compositions.  For this location, I decided to go a bit wider, and fit my 24-70mm lens for a little flexibility.  We both fired off a few shots, but were less than satisfied with the outcome.  I looked up at the sky and could see some faint clouds possibly moving towards the sun.  I told Sierra to be patient and once the light started to change to be ready to work.  It took about 10 minutes, but just like I was hoping, the clouds covered the sun.  Both cameras started to fire off shots left and right.  Sierra was working a small feature of this drop over to the right, and I was focusing my attention on the larger area.  I found it very funny  that we were always finding different things that sparked our interest in the same location.

Broken Away

The light was changing fast, and I didn't know how long it would last.  I shifted around and got several different compositions put together in the 10 minutes or so that the clouds were covering the sun.  There wasn't the luxury of fine tuning the compositions, I just had to work on instinct, and place things in the frame the best I could.  I was actually very happy to come away with two keepers from this location, especially since it started out being too sunny to even work with.  Patience does pay with it comes to photography.

We were both charged after this location since we both got pictures that we were happy with.  We continued to hike on down the trail, and my goal was to get to Midnight Hole which is the first of the named waterfalls on this trail.  I have yet to get a picture of this waterfall that I really like.  I was starting to feel good about today's chances.  The clouds were sporadic, but they were at least in the sky now.

A Wooden Reach

Well, sometimes things fall in place when you really need them to.  When we got to Midnight Hole, the water level was top notch (so much better than when I came here in the Fall), and the lighting was damn near perfect.  Knowing that the clouds could move at any second, Sierra and I set up quickly.  With this location, we both wanted to photograph the same thing, so I started off well to the rear and shot to the side of her location with the long end of my 24-70mm.  She was actually set up just to the left of the tree in the picture above.  I had to come back after she was finished for that particular shot.

Spring at Midnight Hole

One of the things that I loved about this waterfall with today's conditions was the trees.  They were essentially backlit from the diffused sun.  They had a certain glowing quality about them which made the leaves really stand out.  With the new Spring growth on the limbs, the greens were already quite vibrant as well.  Those trees made for the perfect balance to the rocks and the small waterfall.  It was this series of shots that made me feel like the trip out here was worth it.  I was pretty excited about how these were going to turn out.  But there was no time to get complacent.  The rain was actually starting at this point which meant that the clouds were probably going to stick around for a bit.  We still had a little more time, and we decided to go for one last location before turning around.

The Aqua Rapids

We found our last stop just up the trail, a little shy of Mouse Creek Falls.  This area had a lot of rapids and a bunch of rocks all along the creek.  Even better...the aqua color was really shining through in this section.  Despite the fact that the rain was starting to come down pretty quickly, Sierra and I decided to set up one last time.  She stayed close to the shore, and I ventured out onto a large rock in the creek.  I opted to keep my 24-70mm lens on the camera even though I would have rather had my 16-35.  The reason was...I needed the longer lens hood to shield the front element from the rain.  It only barely worked!

The Water Returns

It was so nice to see Big Creek's Landscape full of water again.  It was quite sad seeing it in the peak of the drought.  It was now in full song once again, and I was quite happy to capture it with my camera...even if I was doing it in the rain.  At least the light quality was beautiful, and the exposures were quite simple.  My biggest problem was having to continuously wipe the lens down as the rain kept hitting it.  Take the shot, wipe the lens, recompose, take the shot, wipe the lens...and so on, and so forth, and what have you.

Full Force

We stuck around for a about 10 minutes and then I was starting to get just too wet out there in the open.  I was starting to get concerned for the camera, and finding that my footing was getting very slippery with the rain, it was time to call it a day.  Even though the lighting was nearly perfect, the rain was getting harder, and we had a schedule to keep.  It was time to be the responsible adult and head back to the truck.  We made it with a little time to spare, but the minute we closed the doors, the bottom fell out of the sky.  Yeah, it was a good choice to throw in the towel.

It was a great day regardless of the funky weather.  I got to spend some great time with Sierra sharing my love of photography with her, as well as just enjoying the outdoors.  I got a good many new images to add to my collection.  All in all, it was a success.  I'll be happier tomorrow when the camera bag is dry and I can put everything back in it again though.

Update: May 13, 2017

I've done a B&W conversion on a couple of the images from this trip that I really like.

A Wooden Reach

Full Force