Snake River Falls: See it while you can!Posted by drfl on November 1st, 2011

When I first began photographing the state of Nebraska, Snake River Falls was near the top of my list of places to visit. The largest waterfall in the state by volume, it seemed to be a location that should be captured and preserved as one of Nebraska’s top scenic destinations. A somewhat interesting fact stood out when I began doing my research on Snake River Falls, however, it sits on private land and was not designated a public park, recreation area, or the like. I always thought that a place like that should be designated public for all to enjoy. As it turns out, however, it is owned by a private club that does not discourage visitation – to see the falls, you simply place a dollar in a mailbox and hike down the trail to the falls.

I had heard rumors of the state attempting to purchase the land. I hoped that the state would succeed. I find out today, that is probably not the case. From an article in the Omaha World Herald from yesterday, it appears that the land will now be sold for a private fishing reserve. Will that mean that the falls will no longer be accessible? Will this Nebraska beauty be forever sealed from the general public? Unfortunately, the writer of the article mentions that perhaps the Game and Parks commission has not been the best at protecting the public areas that already exist and that the bordering private landholders fear it becoming a public place due to the increased possibility of littering, fires, and trespassing. It seems that my fellow Nebraskans have a low opinion of how we treat the land. Too bad, I can’t say as I blame them. A few years ago I was hiking in Schramm State Recreation Area and had come across a couch that someone had dumped! A couch! Is it just Nebraska or is this a problem across the United States? I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a couch dumped in Rocky Mountain National Park.

2 years ago my family and I made the hike to see it. Last month, I returned to capture more photographs. I had hoped to return and see it in the winter. That may not happen now I guess. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 20mm, f/11, 10 seconds
Snake River Falls, Nebraska

Reviewing and Setting Goals – 2011Posted by drfl on January 11th, 2011

As I mentioned in my End of Year Retrospective, with the start of every new year, I review my goals for the previous year and set my goals for the next year. This is an activity I recommend for everyone engaged in an ongoing activity photography or not. So what did my review find?

Last year I saw a fairly good growth in business, more and more people are becoming aware of my work which means that my marketing engine is working. Website traffic has grown and a great deal of interest in my work came from a diverse collection of sources. Is my marketing working at 100%? Probably not, but then again most marketing schemes do not, there is always room for improvement. How about shooting? While I captured some new and different images, I feel the need to expand my existing collections, try new things, and above all else – learn more!

So what am I planning for 2011? From an image collection perspective, I have at least 2 trips envisoned – one for Rocky Mountain National Park and another for western Nebraska. I really want to show a different side of the state than to which I accustomed. I also hope to add a couple of pieces of really unique equipment, one which may be coming this week! Stay tuned for what that may be! We can learn together (if you’re into that sort of thing.  A shiny new thing may help me lift the photography funk that has plagued me since early November. The 6-8 inch blanket of snow that just fell is also helping with that though.

From a business perspective, I hope to expand my stock offerings and collection with additional supporting imagery. So often I pick 1 image out of a couple of hundred, process it, and present it. There are several variations of my images that I simply archive, some of these may be useful to those looking for a larger variety. I do not know how I will accomplish this yet, but I hope to a have a structure and plan for this by the end of January. I also plan on expanding to new art fairs. In the past I have only attended one per year. I hope to expand that to 2-4 this year.

So what are your goals?  Share them if you like, but be sure to set some!

2011 looks to be exciting and I’m looking forward to making some new images!

Technical Details:
Falling Water Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 33mm, f/16, 2 sec., ND Filter (3-stop)

Photos of Rocky Mountain National Park – Day 2: Alluvial IllusionsPosted by drfl on October 12th, 2010

Water falls down the Roaring River and into the Alluvial Fan in Horseshoe Park. Recently created (in cosmic history standards) in 1982 by a tremendous flood that killed 3 campers, the boulders and sand sediment will exist and continue to change for centuries. For more information regarding the flood visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_Lake_Dam.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 21mm, f/10, 10 sec., 3-Stop ND Filter, Slight Orton
Alluvial Fan – Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

5 Arguments Against “Is That REALLY How You Saw It?” – #3: Can You Stop Time?Posted by drfl on June 9th, 2010

A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there — even if you put them end to end, they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds, snatched from eternity.”
- Robert Doisneau

Let’s face it, our eyes are more geared towards movies than photography. When we look at something, it is rarely static. Still photography captures only a slice of moments, fractions of experiences. Our lives are interactive films. Even on a still day, when we point our lenses at an outdoor scene, the sun’s deliberate transit causes shadows to move, light to scatter, and depths to change. A photograph is a wholly singular point in time. We never truly see anything as unchanging. Waterfalls, for example, are usually caught over a long exposure, transforming the motion into silky-smoothness. Is that how we saw it? No. Sometimes, water is captured in a quick stop, drops hanging in mid-air. Is that how we saw it? No. So how did we see it? Simply, motion. A photograph by its very still nature makes it only a frame from the movie of our lives. Unless one is using mind-altering drugs or have achieved higher levels of consciousness can one maybe stop time, and I don’t recommend the former and I have no answers for the latter. Only through a camera can you freeze time easily and effectively.

Mass Believability? – 7 That water looks so surreal!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/16, 1.3 sec., Singh-Ray 3-Stop ND Filter
Six Finger Falls, Ozark National Forest, Arkansas

From the Photo Archives: A Touch of LightPosted by drfl on August 31st, 2009

In summer of 2006 I had the pleasure of photographing the Columbia Gorge region of Oregon. Since Nebraska is not known for waterfalls, I really wanted to get out and see the many that the region had to offer. Unfortunately, due to multiple issues with United Airlines, we missed over an entire day of visiting this serene area, but I did make a point to visit the grand Multnomah Falls.  Besides photographing the waterfall in its entirety as many do, or even half of it with the bridge, which is also common, I choose to put on my 70-200 with a 1.4x teleconverter and selectively photograph various sections of the falls. In this particular image, I focused on the rainbow that was created as a small slice of light was hitting the falls.

Technical Details:
Canon 20d, 70-200 f/4l + 1.4tc @ 198mm, f/16, 1/8 sec.
Multnomah Falls, Oregon

This image can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=ATouchofLight&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/pacificnorthwest.xml&x=0

Snake River FallsPosted by drfl on May 29th, 2009

One of my goals for my Valentine trip was to visit Nebraska’s big 3 waterfalls – Snake River Falls, Smith Falls, and Fort Falls.  Nebraska isn’t known for waterfalls, but there are several, especially near the Niobrara.  These three, however, are the most popular and most visible.  Today’s image is Snake River Falls near Merritt Reservoir, the largest waterfall in Nebraska by volume.  I arrived on a fairly overcast day – perfect for setting up and getting some slowed down water effects.  By utilizing a 3-stop filter to further slow the shutter speed for an even more silky effect.  Due to the natural low contrast in the scene, I boosted the contrast somewhat on the rocks and shore later in order to give greater dimensionality to the photograph.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 30mm, f/16, 1 sec.
Snake River Falls, Near Merritt Reservior