Cumberland River, Ky.

We have been camped in the Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky for a few days.  It is July and the temperatures and humidity are high but that hasn't stopped us from doing our daily hiking.  We have been trying to make our hikes in the mornings or late afternoons to deal with the sticky weather.  We use the mid day hours to scout out possible locations to photograph in when the light is better.  We visited this area in the during the day and knew this would be a good location to return to.  This image was taken at dusk along the Cumberland River and was a fairly long exposure in the dim light.  I rarely ever set my ISO higher than 100 when photographing and enjoy the slow pace of using a tripod and making long exposures.  The mood of this location was very still and quiet as we walked around the rivers edge exploring the area.  The soft glow of light on the rocks and water reflects the mood of the place that evening.

http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/Cumberland-falls/default.aspx

Quiet Light

The most interesting time of day for me to photograph is near dusk.  The light is very soft and the details are revealed in the dark shadow areas that normally would be lost in harsh sunlight.  This time of day is usually very still because the wind settles down after sunset and give the opportunity to make the long exposures required in such lighting conditions.  I hiked along this stream just after a heavy rain and sloshed my way down steam until I came to a 80' waterfalls just beyond this big rock in the photo.  It takes a lot of energy to carry the gear and heavy tripod with me on these hikes but the rewards of the experience and making some new images is always worth it.
John Sexton a friend and fellow photographer has produced a book entitled "Quiet Light" that has one of the best collection of photography in low light.


http://www.amazon.com/John-Sexton/e/B000APB7S4

Fall Creek Falls. Tn.

We have been camped or a few days in central Tennessee in the Fall Creek Falls State Park.  The park has some beautiful waterfalls to view and some exremely difficult to hike to.  The water is low this time of year but there has been a couple of nights of rain to help with the water flow.  I make this image last night after a hard rain in low light.  It is always refreshing to be around moving water and to feel the coolness of the air in the gorge. 

The Smokey Mountains

We are camped in the Smokey Mountains on the Tennessee side of the mountain range.  This is the quiet side of the mountains and has less visitors in the summer months.  Today we made a hike down into a gorge to photograph some waterfalls.  We found our way up a washed out mountain road with downed trees and big ruts in the gravel road from a recent storm.  When we reached the top while preparing our gear we heard the sound of distant thunder and decided we better wait it out to see how severe the storm would be.  After about a half hour of hard rain with lightning the storm passed and we started down the steep mountain trail to the stream below.  The temperature was about 95* and the humidity very high.  When we finally reached the bottom we were both soaking with sweat and stepping into the cool water felt refreshing.  I made only a couple of setups and realized I am not as young as I use to be.  I didn't venture out on the rocks with my camera and tripod as I have done so many times over the years.  Making the climb back out was strenuous but rewarding to know we made another hike together and came away with a couple of images to work on.