Waterfall, Rocks and PoolDark Hollow Falls Trail in Shenandoah National Park

I am returning to the fall 2013 and a trip to the Shenandoah National Park. Photography along the Dark Hollow Falls trail was really fun with the creek next to the trail pretty much start to finish, offering so many different views. I actually like small waterfalls, possibly more than their huge siblings. I also like them at medium to low flow. That combination creates a more personal experience for me as I can get really close and enjoy the moment, watch the texture of the falling water change in front of my eyes in a neverending array of abstract patterns, listen to the calming hum, and tryto capture it all in a silent still photograph.

It's really a lot of fun photographically as I can move around looking for different perspectives, and tinker with the settings. With waterfalls and flowing water, I am not big on the in between average looks one might get with a quick snapshot. I prefer the smooth look of an extended exposure or razor sharp droplets resulting from a very fast shutter speed. And with long exposures, I like to experiment and see what works best. Sometimes, exposures over 10 seconds look nice to me, other times, they obliterate the water textures. In this photograph I feel the 2-second exposure is "right", showing the flow, yet, keeping the water texture in, clearly separating the different strands.

Have fun on your outdoor treks!

Equipment Used: Nikon D600 (replaced by Nikon D610), Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Manfrotto tripod (055MF3; replaced by 055CXPRO3 with the convenient Q90 column) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Hoya 72mm NXT Circular Polarizing Slim Frame Glass Filter, Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack, SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

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