This past Wednesday, I ventured back out to Ann Falls (below the Lake Ann spillway in Bella Vista) to take some snow shots. I got out there around 3:30 or so. One side benefit of being a duck hunter is the fact that I have all the gear necessary for an adventure like this, such as neoprene waders and a heavy, wader-length, waterproof coat. Gloves help, too, but can be a bit of a hindrance trying to manipulate gear.I am a huge fan of the British magazine Practical Photography. Earlier in the day, I was reading an article in a back issue about fine art photography. I pulled a piece of great advice from this article. Anybody can take the obligatory, wide-angle shot of a landscape scene. A more interesting shot comes from isolating smaller components of the landscape. With this in mind, I was on the lookout for interesting little "mini-landscapes" while slip-sliding through the stream to the base of the falls.
On-course management strategy in golf is to think your way through a hole in reverse, that is, from the green back to the tee. You see things differently. And so it was with the waterfall. Standing with my back to the falls and looking downstream, I spied a nifty snow and ice formation overhanging a large rock, just above the water. The whole formation resembled frozen snow mushrooms growing on a rock. I'm still working on this shot to bring out the texture of the snow, but that's proving to be a challenge in Lightroom, so I may have to resort to other measures. This is a black and white conversion with a light blue split tone applied to the highlights. The wisps in the background were created with a long shutter speed to turn the stream into cotton candy.
(Yes, I'm aware of the lens spots. I'll fix them. I just really like this shot and wanted to post it.)
EXIF:
Nikon D80
18-135mm lens at 44mm (with circular polarizer)
ISO 100
f/16
6 second exposure
2 comments:
That's some great detail! Nice job.
I managed to make it to Ann Falls only to realize I had forgot my tripod quick plate... I was too frustrated to go back, LOL
Glad to see you made it out!
Thanks, Bob. I was not going to be denied this year, even if it was few days after the snow before I could get out there. It was great to be in the water with waders on, trudging around and trying to get the camera to a place "off the beaten path."
I got some of the obligatory shots, and one or two other ice sculpture shots. One thing I learned from this trip is that a decent waterfall shot is a challenge in composition, and one not readily given to standing in the water in sub-freezing temperatures. Maybe I'll work on it this spring. I have ideas . . . .
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