Barely two miles downstream from where Ramsay Prong and Buck Fork have joined their waters to become Middle Prong, a huge Thunderhead Sandstone outcrop on river left forces the nascent Middle Prong over several rocky cataracts and down to river right around the massive boulders. If there is a quintessential stretch of Smokies water, it is, in my mind, here; and it is here that the late afternoon, golden light of spring shines almost directly up the streambed illuminating the still barely budding branches of the great cove hardwood forest.
A focal length of 27mm, squarely within the range of wide-angleland, gave me the angle-of-view I wanted, spanning the entire width of the stream and a broad area of forest upstream. An aperture of f/16 provided depth-of-field, and with an accompanying ISO of 200 gave me a shutter speed of 0.8 second. I had determined that I wanted to keep the shutter speed under 1 second to better control the way the water was expressed as it came toward me.
I truly hesitate to say that I have a “favorite” section of water in this Park, but if I’m pressed, I’ll admit that Greenbrier and Middle Prong rank right at the top of the list. There is no more special public land anywhere on Earth. We are loving it to death and our love must be tempered with understanding and care.
I love the texture of the water.
Hey Lynne. Thank you very much for joining us and for your lovely comment. One of the reasons I so love Middle Prong of Little Pigeon, especially during its run through Greenbrier, is exactly because of the multiplicity of textures it continuously reveals to us, especially in its upper reaches. I hop to share this with you and John one of these days. Walk in Beauty.
You, like me, have a couple of favorite waterfalls that I “have” to visit at least on a yearly basis. They’re my “feel good” places to visit and photograph. There were others too but my ability to scramble around the rocks and slippery trails has seriously diminished as I’ve gotten older. I can’t do that no more. I love the image!
Hi Ron. It’s wonderful to hear from you! I have known of your great love of waterfalls for many years, and have always enjoyed our conversations about your favorites, both in New England and elsewhere. You are richly blessed with living as you do in the Connecticut River Valley and the Berkshire Foothills with there is an abundance of beautiful tumbling water. I somehow imagine that you will always find those places where the rolling white water speaks to your heart and you reply with the release of a shutter. Take care, my Friend.
Once again you out do yourself
Hey Mike. I hope this finds you safe and well and enjoying the Beauty of the on-coming spring. The blooming season here looks quite amazing; and you say such amazing things with so few words. I really appreciate it. I wish I could have shared this location with the Road Scholar group, but we would never have gotten the bus over the final bridge. These are the places in the Smokies where my heart sings just from being there. Be well; Walk in Beauty.
There are images I will never tire of seeing. Some of them are works of art on display in museums. No matter how many times I visit those institutions, my visits must include stops to see those old favorites. Others are of characteristic places in nature. No matter how many how many waves I’ve seen crashing against cliffs, sunrises peeking above red rock monoliths, or streams cascading down boulders, there’s always room for more. Thanks for lifting my heart again this day.
Hey Donald. It’s always good to have you with us. I have always admired and appreciated the depth of your responses to art and to the Beauty of the natural world. I relate exactly to your expression, for there are so many created things and so many expressed images that speak to me in just that same way and of which I never tire and for which I am eternally grateful that they exist. We are fortunate to be blessed with that sensitivity and I trust we will never take it for granted. Walk in Beauty and take good care.
Howdy Don, you keep bringing us more images with different views that keep the viewer’s eye in delight. What I saw in this image is that it has both a calming feeling but also a sense of excitement. There is the stillness of the dark water but there is the action of the white water. I also like the dark right side of the image and how it holds the eye from exiting the composition from the “S” curve leading line of the stream. Keep these type of images coming.
Howdy Michael. Your thoughtful comments and kind observations never cease to engender my appreciation. Like Don Newsom, you have a wonderful eye for detail and for the relationships that are created by those various image components. I might suggest that the seeming dichotomy of both calmness and excitement has nearly always held true for me when it comes to moving water, especially moving water in interesting ambient light. That’s why I love being at this location late in the afternoon. Of course, there are others in this park, but here, unless there is deep overcast, such a dual emotional response is nearly always to be found.
Your observation of the role played by contrast here is also a good one. Thank you for sharing those insights with us. Be safe, take good care.
Delightful image, just brimming with light and warmth. And the creek pours out of the frame.
Hi Ray. Thank you for those kind words. I very much appreciate your delightful observations, for in addition to pointing out the magic of the late-afternoon golden light, you have raised what is, to me, perhaps the primary consideration with regard to the expression of water in any image: where to introduce the water and where to allow it to exit the frame. And there are nearly always more choices than you might imagine. In this image the flow of the stream was a natural right-to-left progression, and so exiting the flow was my biggest concern. The balance created by allowing a bottom exit seemed more seemed natural than allowing an exit out of the left side. In another situation it might have been otherwise. Thanks for pointing us to that consideration. Have an excellent week and Walk in Beauty.
Thanks, Everyone, for joining me and for your thoughtful observations and comments. I never tire of creating water imagery; and I am blessed by living in the Southern Appalachians with their wonderful abundance of water in every form. You have raised some of the great considerations that must be resolved when it come to the expression of water in any image and I hope my comment have been helpful in your resolution of those concerns. Have a great week, and Walk in Beauty! Spring is here for certain.