Blackwater Falls, West Virginia
Earlier this week, Chris and I made a trip to Blackwater Falls State Park in Davis, West Virginia. Davis is located in the mountains of West Virginia, so it has a unique climate and usually plenty of snow in the winter. We planned our trip for Sunday and Monday, to coincide with 2-4 inches of fresh snowfall predicted for the area. Well as it turns out, the mountains generate their own weather that the weather people have trouble predicting. What was supposed to be occassional snow showers with minimal accumulation ended up being nonstop snow that dropped seven inches of white powder before we left, while it was still snowing!
The main attraction of Blackwater is its numerous waterfalls, which we had hoped to photograph surrounded by fresh white snow. When we arrived though, we found most of the falls completely frozen from the extreme cold temperatures of the week before. The main falls however, was only partially frozen and still consisted mostly of flowing water. Chris and I carefully kept an eye on the weather, waiting for the wind to calm and snow to subside in order to photograph the falls. Blackwater Falls is located in a gorge that forces air pressure upward and outward, so even the slightest breeze gets magnified and blows falling snow directly into your face and lens. The snow, when it gets on your lens, can cause nasty water spots and ruin your shots. As it turns out, the snow never stopped, making for difficult shooting conditions even though the falling snow, dancing down through the gorge and around the falls, was breathtakingly beautiful in person.
Despite the weather, Chris and I were able to get some really nice shots from our trip. The one below, of Blackwater Falls, is one of my favorite and exactly the type of shot I was hoping for when we planned the trip.
Composing this shot was difficult, as there is a manmade viewing platform to the immediate left of the falls from this angle, and access to the falls was limited to the walkways at the park. Rock hopping, bushwacking, and cliff scrambling were mostly out of the question since leaving the walkways is prohibited in certain areas near the falls and the heavy snow made finding secure footing quite difficult. I had to clone a small bit in the bottom left corner, where the snow covered railing protruded into the frame, but the end result, I feel, is well worth it. I used a polarizing filter to help slow down my shutter speed and render the falls as silky smooth water, but decided not to use a neutral density filter so as not to have too many filters protruding out from the safety of the lens hood and into the path of falling snowflakes. I hope you like it.
Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 17-40mm f/4, 0.3 seconds, f/20, ISO 50, polarizer, tripod, processed on my laptop. To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.
In: Recent and Random Photos, Trip Reports