I made a quick trip to Cedar Falls this afternoon. Left conway at 3:00 hoping that by the time I got there the sun would have set enough for the light to be good. Who says you can't get good waterfall photos on bright sunny days. You just have to be willing to hike in the dark.
All the photos can be found on my blog... http://mcclellandesigns.com/blog/
Comments/critiques are certainly welcome. Taken with Nikon D300 and either Nikor 24-70 2.8 lens or Sigma 10-20 lens with ND4 filter and circular polarizer. I tried to do a panorama stitch of the whole gorge but have now learned that you can't do a pano stitch with a super wide angle lens - just too much distortion for things to line up right.
On another note, I purchased a new camera backpack for hiking and today was my first day to try it out. I have a really nice Tamrac backpack that has served me well but it's not really designed for hiking. It's designed for carrying all your camera gear. When I hike, I only take a couple lenses and filters and then use the remaining cubbies to carry hiking gear - it works, but it's not great. So I searched the internet for a new backpack just for hiking...and of course I didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I found one by a brand I had never heard of but I took a chance. Here is a link to it... http://www.shopcuscus.com/servlet/the-146/new-xl-large-professional/Detail
It's awesome!!! If you are looking for a backpack specifically for hiking, this one is great!l The most comfortable backpack I've ever hiked with.
Happy New Year!!!
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on January 2, 2010 at 10:34 AM
I like how you composed this Matt. I would like to see just a bit more contrast & detail in the shadows and, I was wondering what the red patch is near the top center of the frame?
Thanks Wayne. The red patch in the top center is actually behind the trees on the rocks. If you look at my blog post, you can see it on the cropped pano in the center of the photo.
Posted by Scott Bean on January 2, 2010 at 4:08 PM
Nice shot Matt. I like the way the water leads your eye through the photo.
Nice work Matt! I was looking at your website while sitting streamside just above the falls this morning around sunrise. Karla was snapping away while I checked out your images. You had a great evening and we had a great morning chasing the light. Karla should post some highlights of this morning's adventure after she scours thu over a hundred images.
Hope to run into you on the trail someday!
Posted by Darren Huski on January 2, 2010 at 4:36 PM
Nice. Might make a great monochrome too.
Posted by John Moore on January 4, 2010 at 1:06 PM
Nice collection of Cedar Falls images, Matt. Also, I've been looking for a replacement camera backpack... it's hard to say no to the one you got... the price is a steal compared to what I've been seeing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks John. I really can't tell you how comfortable that backpack is. It seems well constructed too. So far I haven't found where the price has lead to compromises. I'm sure there must be but I haven't found it yet. I was a little concerned about carrying a tripod with it but the tripod pouch that flips out worked great. I bought the orange and black one so if I ever need rescuing in the woods, it will be easier to spot my backpack. It's basically a hunter orange - pretty bright. But you can get it different colors.
Discussion
9 repliesAll the photos can be found on my blog... http://mcclellandesigns.com/blog/
Comments/critiques are certainly welcome. Taken with Nikon D300 and either Nikor 24-70 2.8 lens or Sigma 10-20 lens with ND4 filter and circular polarizer. I tried to do a panorama stitch of the whole gorge but have now learned that you can't do a pano stitch with a super wide angle lens - just too much distortion for things to line up right.
On another note, I purchased a new camera backpack for hiking and today was my first day to try it out. I have a really nice Tamrac backpack that has served me well but it's not really designed for hiking. It's designed for carrying all your camera gear. When I hike, I only take a couple lenses and filters and then use the remaining cubbies to carry hiking gear - it works, but it's not great. So I searched the internet for a new backpack just for hiking...and of course I didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I found one by a brand I had never heard of but I took a chance. Here is a link to it... http://www.shopcuscus.com/servlet/the-146/new-xl-large-professional/Detail
It's awesome!!! If you are looking for a backpack specifically for hiking, this one is great!l The most comfortable backpack I've ever hiked with.
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year to you.
Hope to run into you on the trail someday!