3-27 My First Waterfall Hunt - Fallingwater Falls

After I left Kings Bluff Falls, I was really hungry so I headed west towards Pelsor.  There is a little gas station at the junction of Highway 7 and 16.  Unfortunately it is closed on Saturdays.  So I had a choice: 30 miles to Jasper or 30 miles to Dover.  I decided on Dover because I thought it would give me more options for places to go after wards.  After lunch at the Buccaneer, I entered the GPS coordinates for Fallingwater Falls and headed that way.  The GPS unit told me to go back to Hector on Hwy 27 and back up Old Hwy 7.  My next turn was on Lower Fallingwater Road.  I found out later that my GPS route added about 10 miles of dirt road I didn't need to travel on.  There is a shortcut to the blacktop that I found on my way back out.

When I got to Fallingwater Falls, this is what I saw:

Interesting view. There was a nice rock to set up on, so I was pointing in different directions to see what I would get.(1.6 sec, f-22, ISO100)

See the ladder on the tree in the middle?  This is supposed to be a good swimming hole.  I will post pictures when I find out!  ;) (0.6 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Notice the difference in the two pictures?  (Other than the framing)  That is because of the difference in the way I used post processing in Photoshop.  I shoot everything in RAW format because a RAW file holds all of the information that the camera sensor captures.  A JPG file only retains part of the information because it is a compressed file format.  With the first picture, I didn't do much in the way of adjustments.  I got a tip from a friend who told me to raise the contrast, vibrance and saturation.  I went back later on and changed the settings for the second one.  I think it makes for a better picture, and certainly more realistic.

The water was running pretty good on this day. I wanted to get a wide shot of the falls for perspective.  Fortunately the sky was cloudy enough that I didn't blow out my highlights too much.  (1/6 sec, f-11, ISO100)

Notice the man in the rock?  My artistic friend Dee pointed that out to me.  She said it reminded her of the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire, which collapsed in 2003. I guess all of those New Hampshirites will have to come to Arkansas to see it.  (1/4 sec, f-16, ISO100)

I have been playing with Photoshop a lot, and learning what works and what doesn't.  I use a lot of dodging and burning, especially when I shoot in broad daylight.  Some people say that isn't "pure" photography, but my answer to that is "What would Ansel Adams do?"  Honestly, the only reason I do that is to make the image as true to life as possible.

The next waterfall I visited that day was Six-Finger Falls, a few miles downstream from here.