Sinuous Silver Serpent

Sinuous Silver Serpent

SDAK08D-73

July 7, 2009

Today we are in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in Custer State Park.  This small cascade was running down a steep part of the trail, slicing between rocks like a kayaker, twisting and turning all the time.  This part of the cascade is not very large, maybe a couple feet high at most, but it formed a portion of a multi-step waterfall that ran about a hundred feet down the hill.  I love the s-curve the water makes between the boulders, and the patch of green at the top left from the moss.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6

Focal length:  17 mm

Exposure: 1.6 sec @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Frozen Cascade

Frozen Cascade

COLO09D-132

December 31, 2009

Though this was a very mild winter by any standards (even the lax ones of North Carolina), this week winter officially ended, and we heralded in spring post-equinox.  So, to send winter off for another term, this image commemorates some really cold weather.  In Colorado, at the end of 2009 we were hiking along the Horsetooth Falls trail, and found the eponymous waterfall there, but it was frozen over for the season.  It was graceful and beautiful, suspended animation waiting for the spring thaw to let the water carry on its tumultuous course, splashing down to the canyon below.  And now, spring has come.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  31 mm

Exposure: 1/400 @ f/8   ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Spring Cascade

Spring Cascade
NCAR10D-199

April 3, 2010

Starting off the week still in North Carolina, during my first backpacking excursion in the state.  I had found this gorgeous little camp spot next to the river, under the shade of rhododendron trees, and the next morning I got up, filtering water while sitting on a boulder and watching the spring water cascade past boulders.  It was such a peaceful way to wake up and start the day, utterly quiet save the murmur of the water.  If only that could happen every day :).  Enjoy, and have a good weekend.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  135 mm

Exposure: 4/5 @ f/25   ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Erawan's Hidden Oasis

Erawan's Hidden Oasis

THAI040809

June 29, 204

To the north of Kanchanaburi, Thailand, lies Erawan National Park.  Besides being tucked in a beautiful corner of the country, full of history and natural beauty, the park is famous for the Erawan Falls, a seven-tiered waterfall that flows through the jungle.  The limestone hills that surround the park give the water its noted aqua color, seeming more like an oasis from a novel, some Shangri-la like paradise rising from the warm jungle.  There were also these small fish in the water, that would nibble on your dead skin (like the high-priced salons with fish treatments, only this one was free), it was super tickly.  Enjoy. 

 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon N80
Film: Provia 100F

Lens: Nikon 28-105 mm f/3.5-4.5

Focal length: 50 mm

Exposure: 1/60   f/2.8 ISO 100

Post-processing: Scanned on a Nikon Coolscan 5000, toning and curves adjustment in PS4

A Small Zion Cascade

A Small Zion Cascade

ZION06D-52

December 27, 2006

Waterfalls are such a diverse set of creatures, and yes I mean that they are alive in their own way.  They twist, turn, carve through rock.  They evolve.  This little waterfall is situated along a side canyon in Zion National Park, Utah.  It does not have a name, it is just one of several rocks that the water trickles over on its way down to the Virgin River.  But it is beautiful in its own way, the double cascade and the coolness of the water contrasting against the larger rocks to the side.  Enjoy.

 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens: Nikon 28-105 mm f/3.5-4.5

Focal length: 90 mm

Exposure: 4.5 sec   f/29 ISO 100

Post-processing: Scanned using a Nikon Coolscan 5000, slight texture,toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Destinations: Mount Roraima

Destinations: Mount Roraima

Guyana, Brazil, Venezuela
5.1433, -60.7625

(Note: this is a new part to this blog... I've been wanting to try and incorporate more of the 'wandering' into A Wandering Lens, talk about places I've been, as well as places I want to go.  This is the first installment of the latter, with images that are not my own since I haven't been there yet.  I hope you enjoy it.)

There are certain places that are simply otherworldly, beyond what you imagine a landscape to be, and Mt. Roraima fits that classification.  It is located in the tepuis, a plateau of blocky landscape in the southeastern portion of Venezuela, and marks the triple point between the countries Guyana, Brazil, and Venezuela.  It is part of the region known as the Gran Sabana, and the tepuis are almost permanently shrouded in mist and clouds, where rainfall is common on a daily basis. And unlike a conventional mountain chain, the tepuis are isolated table mountains that have been thrust up and then resisted the weathering over millions of years, forming these islands jutting into the sky.



This is an area that defies explanation.  First witnessed by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 16th century, this area wasn't really explored until the 19th century, when explorers made the first hiking ascent of the mountain to the strange top.  The sheer promontory makes climbing exceedingly difficult, and the appearance of the mountain, sticking like a block out of the lush jungle, was reportedly the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.  And, more recently, the team from Pixar used Mt. Roraima for ideas of Carl Fredricksen's destination in the movie Up.
 
While Mr. Roraima is the most famous of the tepuis, and the highest (2,772 m), there are certainly others worthy of visiting.  The highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls (or Salto Angel) falls from Auyan-tepui (2,460m) a 435 square mile heart shaped table mountain first discovered in 1937 by the pilot Jimmie Angel.


This sort of area is so strange, it is no wonder it has inspired books and movies since its exploration by Europeans.  It looks like something created for a video game almost, I could see it as a landscape from Myst back in the day.  While it is fairly barren on top, with little vegetation, the high sheer cliffs provide a base for beautiful, lacy waterfalls that dangle over the side.  The only way to hike it is a long mountain path that was first climbed by Everard Im Thurn, an English Botanist,with Harry Perkins in 1884.  The eponymous route is now the only way to hike to the summit.  Climbing is even more difficult, as the cliffs of Roraima are inverted and very sheer (not to mention the permits and authorizations that go into climbing in a National Park in South America).

Roraima has a haunting quality that just begs to be experienced first-hand.  It doesn't hurt that it is in the middle of the South American jungle either!  But Mt. Roraima is firmly on my list of destinations to see one day, and I wanted to share it with you all.  Enjoy. 

Flowing Ice

Flowing Ice

CORN07D-18

February 17, 2007

While traveling to various grad schools in the frigid winter of 2007, I got the chance to visit Cornell, which was a striking if strangely built school.  There are two gorges that span the campus, and the second one had this waterfall, completely frozen over.  I thought of the blueness of the ice, which you don't often see in just snowstorms or such, how the ice was draped over the rocks.  It was my first encounter with a frozen waterfall.  And now I know that they are climbed frequently, using crazy ice picks and axes to bite into the frozen water.  Pretty cool sport, I think.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 28-105 f/3.5-4.5

Focal length:  90 mm

Exposure: 1/640 @ f/8, ISO 400

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Cloud Forest Cascade

Cloud Forest Cascade

ECUA08D-216

January 23, 2008

Serendipity does play a large role in photography, but probably even more important is allowing yourself the freedom to experience it.  I think of this photo, which originated in an early-morning run/hike session through the forest in Ecuador before my workshop began and I was forced to be a professional.  At the end of the trail I came across this small waterfall, which was in as idyllic a setting as imaginable.  After standing a few times to take standard shots, I looked down, and thought how much better it would be if I could give the feeling of the water flowing past you, which was how I perceived it while I was hiking.  So I hunkered down in the water, aiming upwards to capture the rocks at the forefront of the waterfall.  I was pleased at the result, and it won a regional award with my camera club back in Champaign.  But I enjoyed even more the feeling of discovery, the combination of my setting off with no expectations, and then visualizing this image how I wanted to capture it.  That doesn't happen often enough, something I need to work on, but on this morning it all came together for me in this image.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4.0-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: 15 sec @ f/22 ISO 100

Post-processing: Tone, sharpness adjusted in PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Softness of Season's Change

Softness of Season's Change

GRSM11D-58_HDR

October 8, 2011

Hiking through the woods of NC, one thing you come to realize is that there are an astonishing number of waterfalls around.  The area is very lush, much more so than you'd think offhand, and it holds home to an incredible diversity of species, including salamanders and fungi.  And with some late-summer/early-fall rain storms that preceded our trip up to the mountains, the streams were in full bloom.  This small unnamed cascade was spotted coming down from Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  You just barely get a glimpse of the colors changing, but it is a good contrast against the greenery all around, and the general coolness of the scene.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: var @ f/16 ISO 100

Post-processing: HDR image compiled from 5 images (+2, +1, 0, -1, -2 EV) in PS4.  Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Smoky Autumn Waterfall

Smoky Autumn Waterfall

GRSM11D-16_HDR

October 7, 2011

We came across this scene while driving into the park actually; from the road you could see higher up into this little creek, and the trees were alive with the colors of autumn.  So I pulled a fast turn into the pull-out, rattling my passengers, but that is the risk you take when a photographer is driving through the mountains.  We scouted around, and ended up looking down in the creek a little, looking up past this small cascade and into the fiery brilliance of the forest.  This is an HDR, a little blurry in the trees due to the wind, but still helping pick out some of the tones in the rock and river that otherwise could have been lost.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: var @ f/13 ISO 400

Post-processing: HDR image compiled from 3 images (0, +1, -1 EV) in PS4, tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

The Rain and the Sun

The Rain and the Sun

PLAN07D-37

April 7, 2007

Macro photography can be so challenging, and yet so seemingly simple, all at the same time.  We try to capture this tiny, magnified slice of life, usually a flower, insect, or texture, and it is really an endeavor to enlarge our own perspective.  We spend our time going by so quickly, not (to use the cliché) stopping to smell the roses, and sometimes the details can be lost.  I think that macro photography is about re-centering my vision, concentrating on something so small and seemingly insignificant, yet that is detailed and beautiful in its own right.  This flower, the color change, the detail of the stamens, the dew drops on the leaves; in an ordinary photograph this would pass as just a smear of color in a larger scene, barely worthy of note.  But here, letting it take center stage, highlights all of those aspects, and makes me more aware of what is around me as I hike, or walk through a city, or pick up a camera.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 105 f/2.8 micro

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/250 sec @ f/16, ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

Heo Suwat's Rainbow

Heo Suwat's Rainbow

THAI10D-104_HDR

November 24, 2010

Another image from Thailand today, this time from Heo Suwat Falls.  This beautiful secluded waterfall is found in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, and is reached through a steep staircase cut into the rockwall surrounding this little grotto.  The water spills about 20 m from the cliff into a small pool, then runs through large boulders before resuming its journey downstream.  There is no swimming, and the afternoon sun catches the spray and throws up small rainbows (seen just to the left of the main cascade). 

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length: 22 mm

Exposure: var @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: HDR image stitched from 5 exposures in Photomatix, colors naturalized and minor curves adjustment in PS4