The Weight of Water & Photographing It

Getting up close and personal with fast moving water and getting the shot, well it's not that easy. Here's a few images I captured throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These images were taken over a span of about six or seven years.

It's not just about the water, it's really more about the perspective. You can have too much noise in your image. All that does is take away from the feeling a reader gets when they view the image. It's about the scene itself and the relationship it has with the water. The way the water falls over the rocks is a vital element.

This image is my favorite water shot of all. I captured this image no more than 100 steps in on the Porter's Creek Trail in Greenbrier. It may seem like there's too much noise in this shot, but the way the rocks and the foliage frame the image, and the drama of that water flowing so beautifully over the rocks, well, it's just perfect.

Sometimes the focal point screams at you as in this image. A perfect cascade with water spilling over the rocks and leaving a wake of wispy whiteness all around. It screams serenity to me.

And then you encounter the tallest waterfall in the Smokies. Mingo Falls, in Cherokee, North Carolina, along the eastern most point of the Smokies. It's not only the tallest, but it's also the most difficult waterfall to position oneself in order to get a decnt image. I chose to shoot the top half and then the bottom. The bottom was more interesting with the water falling over the large boulder and  the forest trees hanging over in the foreground.

I had never attempted this type of image before. However, the scenery left and right of the Oconaluftee River in this image was just right. So I shot the water from the back side of the flow. It feels a tad serene.

Couldn't believe my eyes when I happened upon this waterfall coming down off a steep mountainside next to the road leading back to Tremont several years back. It took some maneuvering of the tripod to get this perspective, so much so one of the legs was sitting in the stream below the shot. There's so much green in this image even in the moss on the boulders. So decreasing the density did no good. It's just all green foliage and the water.

Photographing moving water is difficult. I have archives of bad images to show for it. Shots with the water not falling off the rocks nicely, too much noise in the background or no real focal point to grab the attention of your reader. 

Here's a few tips I know helped me. First, perspective is the most important thing. Getting the right water falling off the right boulders with the best scenery around it is essential. Second the flow of the water over the rocks or boulders. If it's not falling beautifully, then there's little impact to your reader. Third is how the water lands as it falls. The best way I can describe what I mean by this is for you to go back to the fourth image. See the wispy water after it's fallen over the rocks. What a focal point. Sadly, you may have all of those things, but no place to position your tripod legs. It happens.

My best advice, just keep at it. I have wanted to share this collection for some time. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not an expert at shooting water. I'm a novice.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend all and a great week. ENJOY!

Fall Leaves, Rushing Water on Oconaluftee River

Every now and then one finds a reward in his or her travels. On this Tuesday afternoon, as I had made my way across Newfound Gap and down the mountain to Cherokee, my quest was to find Elk. It wasn't in the cards that day which I fully was aware could happen. Before I made it to the visitor center on the East side of the park, I stopped when I saw a bridge that traversed the Oconaluftee River. My reward was in plain sight.

The perfect place right off the road ten steps from my car. The scene was a gorgeous mountain stream resplendent with rushing water and beautiful Fall leaves hanging over the river. Fall leaves were strewn across the boulders. The sound of the rushing water was like music to my ears. I gathered my tripod and set to work snapping images. Normally, finding a spot to photograph water requires scrapping through brush with your equipment catching on twigs and branches, only to discover you just don't have the best vantage point. Yet, you stay in spite of that and snap a few images in hopes of a few keepers. Today was easy, convenient and the perfect setting. Don't you just love when that happens. ENJOY!

Fall Along Oconaluftee River

Photographing water is a challenge I love to take up at least once every trip I make to the Smokies. There are countless opportunities to photograph water at almost every bend in the road. You will find the Roaring Fork River, the Little Pigeon River and the Oconaluftee River in the park just to name a few. If you drive any distance, you will encounter waterfalls in every shape and size as well. As I drove to Cherokee on the main road from Gatlinburg, I pulled off the road at the Kephart Prong Trail head and stood on the wooden bridge that traverses the Oconaluftee River. Looking east I saw this beautiful Fall scene.

Gorgeous yellow Fall leaves in the background were in stark contrast to thick, dark green Rhododendron leaves hanging over each side of the bank along the river. I stood for a bit photographing the scene using my shutter mode with a few aperture adjustments. I knew the gray overcast day would impact the light and tried to adjust accordingly. Overall I was pleased with the image although I would have loved blue sky in the background. I have attempted in the past to photograph this type of composition, but found you have to have the right elements to really do it justice. Oftentimes, there will be logs in the river or brush along the bank that takes away from the composition. This was as near perfect as I could ever hope for. I love when that happens. ENJOY!