Inside-Out Falls

The steep part of Curtis Creek goes on for about half a mile or so, where it drops from an elevation of about 1900 feet to 1200. Walking up it you seem to go up a foot for every foot you go forward.

There are Ozark streams justifiably famous for the size and number and scenic beauty of their boulders. Maybe I just haven't been around enough, but I have never seen anything like Curtis Creek. For half a mile boulders up to the size of a winnebago are just piled on top of one another, pile after huge pile, up and up and up. I think if you managed to pull out the boulder at the very bottom they all would come sliding down.

So of course if there's any water running in the creek, it has all sorts of drops, chutes, cascades, and waterfalls over, under, around and through all those rocks. This fall is a bit of an oddball in that one plume of water shoots backwards and to the side. The photo was taken from underneath one of those winnebago-sized boulders.

Very cool shot and perspective Randy. A unique beauty for sure.

Brad

Great work Randy. I love the use of the heavy shadows and how wet everything looks. I feel a bit claustrophobic gazing at this.

Randy, this looks dark, damp and dangerous! You've captured a good sense of place with this shot and I enjoyed your narrative of the area.

What were your shooting technicals for this shot? Is this a blended shot or was there enough light to allow for some shadow detail while not blowing the highlights?

Thanks for sharing.

I have a pretty claustrophobic nature sometimes, usually when I'm sitting under tons of rock, in this case only held in place by friction. This great slab boulder sitting on a slant on top of other boulders actually formed a kind of little tunnel, with another entrance back and up behind me. That lessened the claustrophobia a bit, having another way to get out, silly as that sounds.

Really cool and different shot Randy. Sounds like a really beautiful area I would like to explore also. I agree another escape route and source of light really helps my outlook also.

Wayne, you're right about the exposure being dicey here, and most of the shots I took from under the rock I started out about a third of a stop under what I thought was the right exposure for the highlights and then went up in one-third stop increments until the highlights blew out. Were you wanting the shutter speed, focal length, and f-stop for the shots? If so, I can post those when I get home.

I think for this shot I used the shadow/highlight tool, very, very slightly, to bring up some of the dark areas a touch (and to my thinking, all they needed was a touch). Also, during the black and white conversion using the black and white tool, the red or yellow sliders can usually be used to lighten stone and earth a little, since stone usually has a lot of red and yellow in it.

I'm afraid that my Photoshop skills are sadly lacking in many ways, and blending is one technique that I haven't looked into much yet, although I have high hopes that I can begin to correct some of those deficiencies with all the great Photoshop wisdom that Tim Ernst will be dispensing at his workshop next Sunday.

Very nice, Randy. You B&W work is truly inspiring.

After talking to Tim E. a few weeks ago about exploring some new waterfalls, I started looking at some topos to ID some areas to explore. While there are many areas that looked promising, the only one I wrote down was Curtis Creek. Thanks for your description, and especially this beautiful image.

This is a beautiful black and white image. I appreciate you posting it for us to see.

Can you tell me where Curtis Creek is? t sounds like a great place to explore. Thanks - scott

Thanks, Scott. Curtis Creek is in Newton County along County Road 29 as it goes down to Limestone. The turn-off onto the county road is a couple of miles southwest of Deer along Highway 16.

Thanks, Bill. Maybe someday I'll be good enough that Tim Ernst will want to throw rocks at me, too.

It was actually John Moore who mentioned once that he had driven down to Limestone and thought that the little creek over there ought to be a good waterfall area. I had been on that road once or twice before but hadn't picked up on that, maybe because there wasn't any water flowing at the time (or at least that's the best excuse I can come up with).

And on your way down from Hwy. 16 you have easy access to the giant bluffline right there that the road goes alongside - some nice views from up there - and if you happen to fall off and die while trying to get that perfect composition, at least your body will end up on the road so someone will find your camera and be able to process your last image!

If you make the trip thru Limestone and continue up toward Nail, there was a huge fallen tree blocking the road near the top a few weeks ago (before the flood hit in March). It's not too far to have to back down to turn around, but the road does get pretty narrow, and may not even be passable after all the rain. Anyone have a more recent update?

Randy, I really like the mystery in your shot and the black and white compostion adds to the mystery . It looks like Graves Creek is a great find.

Your B&W conversion really does justice to the shot. It sounds like quite a trek to get there, but was obvioulsy worth the effort.