Waterfalls

By definition, a waterfall is: a cascade of water falling from a height, formed when a river or stream flows over a precipice or steep incline.  It doesn't really matter how high it is, whether it's a few inches or a few hundred feet.  It is a mighty force.  It can carve and shape rock.  It demands attention.  This is why I like to photograph them.

French Canyon Falls

Wildcat Canyon Falls

Lasalle Canyon Upper Falls

Same Waterfall as above

Again, same as above, but shot from behind.

Most waterfalls that I like to shoot are much smaller than this though.  Only a few inches to about 2 feet high.  There's a lot of character to these mini's.  They're not as powerful, but in a way they're better.  Have you ever sat and just listened to one of these?  They lull you to a peaceful place inside.  They're calming.  They're refreshing on a hot summer day.  Thy're a new kind of wonder deep in the winter when they're encapsulated in ice.  There are many more of these than the massive kinds like Niagara, the Angel, and the Copper Falls of Northern Wisconsin.  This makes them more personal.  Exclusive.  Private.  Most people haven't laid eyes on these.

One of the falls on Reed's Creek in Vernon County

Another of the Reed Creek Falls

One of the Awesome Creek falls

Harrington Beach Quarry Falls

These I will keep shooting.  These are a treasure to find, similar to hunting morel mushrooms in the spring.  Also, different weather brings them out such as spring melts and floods.  These are made out of nowhere, which is a good time to go hunting these.

Awesome Creek courtesy of Val Ewing

Of course, there are always those magical times where the bigger ones just have to be shot too...

One of my favorite shots.  This is the water fall at the bottom of the Sylvan Lake flow in Custer State Park, South Dakota

Our first trip to Starved Rock State Park in Illinois - Part 1

I crave adventure.  I crave a great place to hike through and bring my camera.  I like finding places that I can use my tripod every now and then, mostly for longer exposures.  I found one. A new one where I didn't spend as much time as I'd like, but isn't that the fun of it?  Planning more trips back?  Taking my time in savoring the scenery slowly and then eventually going back for seconds, thirds...

Our first trip here.  We've only seen pictures.  All we knew was that it was free and about a 2.5 hour drive into Illinois (avoiding tolls).  We showed up at the flooded visitor center and drove uphill a ways to get to the lodge parking lot.  I did not get pictures of the lodge, but it's a beautifully crafted log structure, huge in scope inside and out.  I got a trail map from the gift shop and a few hiking stick medallions.  I asked the cashier what were the best trails to really make an great first impression.

The first trail we took was the French Canyon trail, which is a one way trail, not a loop, like most of them.

The first waterfall at the French Canyon entrance

 Walking up after the first waterfall in French Canyon

The main French Canyon waterfall

Ok, I'm impressed.  This is just the first and she circled 6 of them.  I spent so much time on just this first one, I don't thing I'm getting to all of them today.  I was taking upwards of 90 second exposures with all of my filters on and self timing them.  After the shot, it takes awhile for the camera to put all the information into picture form, which is about the same amount of time as the shot itself.  Anyway, off to the next Canyon, Wildcat.

Wildcat Canyon, the view from the top of the rim.

Walking into the canyon after the long climb down.

The waterfall at the back of Wildcat Canyon.  Not sure why there's a tire in there, but it adds a focal point for the camera.  Another 75 second exposure.

Anyway, these are just 2 of the 18 canyons that are here and 14 of them have waterfalls in them.  I will be exploring more of these later., that is for certain!

Camera Complications

So, I tried everything to clean my camera.  Swabs, lint-free cloth, different suggested cleaners... nothing worked.  I still had those annoying spots on every shot I took.  If you look closely, you can see some of these spots, the most noticeable of these is towards the left side of the picture and just above center.

30 second exposure at dusk capturing tail lights

I even opted to position my pictures so it wouldn't show the spots, but I still knew where they were... and they started getting worse!  I think I dislodged some kind of spot monster while trying to clean the camera myself, they seem to be multiplying!

The dragon ice at Lion's Den Gorge (2 second exposure)

I don't do well with this sort of thing, you know, not being able to fix my own things on my own.  I ultimately decided to bring it to a professional after much procrastination.  Time to take it to Rode's Camera to have the sensor cleaned.  I was worried.  I sent my old camera to them last year to be repaired and it took a month to get it back.  However, it was an older camera and couldn't be fixed, an Olympus E-420 (that I had gotten from one of my very best friends in the world).

One of the last pictures that I had taken with the Olympus

I love my camera and don't know what I'd do if I didn't have it with me when we take another adventure.  Over the past year I've been working with different cameras and have found that I really love photography.  Reluctantly, I handed it over to them wondering when I'll get it back.  To my surprise, I got a call the next day and it was all cleaned!  It just so happened that I got off work just a touch early, so after picking it up, I decided to see how well they cleaned it.

First Shot from Lincoln Park in Kenosha.

Another shot from the Kenosha Lakeshore.

A seagull on a lamppost overlooking the harbor

A duck admiring it's own reflection and company

A female Merganser swimming by herself

Now I can go back to shooting birds too, instead of just landscapes, without having to strategically place the subject matter.  I'm happy again.  Now I'm looking forward to go back to the Driftless and shooting the creeks during some spring melting.  THAT is fun!