big sky, waterfalls, sunset - 4 images

WaterfallRich

I headed back out into the Pisgah National Forest for the day on Sunday. My 1st stop was Slick Rock Falls. The photos were rather blah, so I'll spare you. Next stop was the bald on John Rock for a view across the forest. Some wispy clouds cooperated very nicely -



About a mile or so away on the same trail system is a small waterfall on Grogan Creek. By this time the sun was directly over the waterfall, so I had to set up in the rhododendron for a side shot -



I also tried a B&W close up of the lower little cascade. It's my 1st posting of a B&W image, so criticism is welcome -



Last stop in the forest was Cedar Rock Falls which is off the trail back to the parking area. I was having a hard time with the bright parts of the water washing out (as you can see).



It was late afternoon by this time and the clouds looked promising for a nice sunset. My favorite spots are on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it's closed for the most part in the winter. I knew I would have a decent view from the Post Office parking lot near where I lived because it sits on a hill, so I stopped there on the way home.



Thanks for looking! All comments are welcome.

edit - I can't count

shaman

Really nice Rich! I'm glad you got out yesterday & shared these shots.
All of them are great... but I really like the BW. It works very well... the close up and all the detail in the water...
Great capture of the sky, in #1 too. How'd you like the high country?
Again, thanks for sharing.

Michael_Hansen

Wonderful shots Rich!

annnna8888

Good shots, Rich! I especially like #2 and the first one looks cool too with those clouds. I'm not a huge fan of B&W so I can't offer any good advice there. The fourth pic is quite nice, but water is too washed out, I'm afraid. It was probably too bright to take photos with long exposure, huh?
All in all, it seems like you had a great day.

NHBubba

Dude, that 4th one, of the falls.. fantastic! I don't know what you're talking about when you say you had problems w/ the water washing out.. I think it's very well balanced.. both in composition AND in exposure.

What was your shutter speed on that one? Looks like just the right amount of blur on the water if you ask me.

The B&W of the falls is also nice. I think I could deal w/ seeing more of the upper right section of the first drop in the frame. The way it's cut off seems rather akward. I think the exposure and tone is excellent.

WaterfallRich

Thanks everyone!
Shaman - most of my favorite spots for views are inaccessible in the winter because of the Blue Ridge Parkway being closed. I need to find more winter spots.

Ana - I prefer color myself, but am getting more requests for B&W prints. Guess I'd better learn. Believe it or not, lighting conditions were a little dark for shot #4. The water was still bright, but the rocks were quite dark. I shot one in RAW also, but the Sony RAW software sucks and I don't have anything else at this time. And yes, any day I'm in the forest is a great day

NHBubba - thanks for those kind comments. There are some blown highlights there, but I was fairly pleased anyway. I had a polarizer on - 1/2 sec. f4.5, -0.3EV. I generally prefer using shutter speeds less than 1 second to try to keep some detail in the water. Thanks for the comments on the B&W also

Phil U.

Ah - very nice photos as usual Rich. I like the B&W but the second shot is my pick of the bunch.