Sandstone sweetgum - photo added

Some weird patterns on smooth sandstone above Kings River Falls yesterday...

Very nice Tim. I really like the simplicity of the composition. One of my favorite pics of yours is the aspen leaf print hanging over the bed in the guest room at your cottage. This falls into that same category of simple beauty.

Your pics (and others on this forum) keep reminding me that the best technique in the world is only half the battle (if that). The ability to "see" is what has to continually be improved.

I like the juxtaposition of the temporal vs. the permanent. As the old Indian saying goes, "Only the rocks live forever!" or nearly so. The stone looks like a patchwork quilt. Very interesting! Good eye.

That's a naturally occurring moasic (?) that any artist would be proud of Tim. Great find!

I think those are some beautiful patterns in the sandstone. And the sinuous pattern of the fractures is pretty cool too. I wish I could figure out how those patterns were formed - must have been some cracks/fractures that were later filled with an iron-rich cement after the sand was deposited. But I'm still wondering about how the different shades of gray developed...must have had something to do with the chemistry and movement of fluid as it went through the sandstone. Great shot!

How's the color look along the Kings?

Here is another leaf and stone shot I did a couple hours ago along the Buffalo - these stones and the leaf were all underwater, as you can probably tell from the wave action. It was kind of weird - normally you want really still conditions for a shot like this, but since I wanted the wave patterns I waited until the wind blew (and it did a lot this morning), then shot like crazy until it settled down again. While I waited for the wind to come and go there were FIVE different sets of deer that crossed the river about a hundred yards below me. The light was terrible so I never bothered to photograph them, but I did tuck that bit of info away for a future date - deer will often do the very same thing day after day after day - some day in the future there may be a photographer waiting for them!

I spend quite a bit of time paying attention to reactions people have to individual photos in slide programs or in picture books - that helps me tell what types of photos, and individual ones, work and which don't. There is a photo kind of like this one below that is in the new Arkansas Landscapes picture book, and it will often get the biggest WOW when someone looks through the book - no leaf in it though. I took that shot for the book using one of the many new cameras I've used over the years - it was a little Sony point and shoot! The camera used to shoot this new photo costs a little bit more...

Sweetgum leaf and pebbles in the water

Tim, I really like both shots and what Bill said about the patterns in the rocks. I think both are real winners. The ripple effect in the water shot adds depth to the overall scene.

I do like this Sweetgum pebbles picture even more than page 83 of my new Arkansas Landscapes book... One photographer friend of mine thought that page 83 was several exposures (I didn't think so though). I really like Twilight, Lake Harrison. I was raised there and have never seen that park look so good. Great book and thanks for getting them to Bedfords!

Hey Aaron - page 83 was just a single handheld snapshot with a Sony R1. I was just testing it out to see what it could do - still the very best point and shoot ever made IMHO. I can't seem to come to grips with selling it since it is so good. Today's shot was made with a Phase One 39mp, also a single exposure, just in case your photo friend wants to know!

Bedfords just took all of my money this month so I hope you guys sell a lot of those books!

Sweet pebbles is right, Tim. The water ripples and the amazing color are beautiful.

Tim both photos strike a wonderful look for me. While I am in the beginning of this life long learning curve in my photography I am always taken by the images I love the most and enjoy just looking at are of simple beauty. I way too often get caught up in trying to put together some kind of complicated look or comp or combination of elements thinking more is better and bang my head time and time again. Your reminder of how the best is most often something such as water,rock,leave is an important lesson to me and reminds me to look and learn.
The leave and pebbles in water image to me is second to none, simply wonderful.