Fairy Pools

My day started at 3:30 A.M., knowing I had a long trip to, and through the Cherohala Skyway. I picked through an interesting sunrise, some scenic overlooks, took a shot of Bald River falls. The gem of the day though was a scene that unfolded at noon along a little tributary. Rays cutting through the canopy, reflecting off the water, and creating side light along the trees. I tried to get down to the creek bed here, but it was washed out, and I felt it was too dangerous to get down into. [Lets not discount the power of poison ivy, which the bank was covered in]. So, once again out came the telephoto, and I framed a shot through the trees after snapping photos along the bank with my phone to get an idea of my composition. The result, in so many ways, is magical.

How do we get from spotting a random road side composition, to a finished product? It may seem daunting in a way to a newer photographer. It is in a way, when I was a newer photographer I would see shots from the car but just drive on by because I couldn’t find a place to pull over, or felt to intimidated by it. The first part of getting this sort of composition is… explore, pay attention to what’s around you [no matter the time of day]. The next part? Breathe. Relax. Now you’re ready, get out of the car and don’t grab all your gear, instead… grab your phone, or just a camera no tripod.

What now? Walk around, take quick snapshots with your phone or camera, look at focal lengths a bit. find the aspect that drew you to the scene, and then start adding in supporting elements. Once you have a few exposures, different settings… Take twenty or thirty more [many more]. Breathe, relax. You did what you could, pack up head on down the road, keep your eyes open. The next part… editing. We will start talking more in depth about editing later on.

Until Next Time, Have A Lovely Day!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 800
SS: 1/8th
Focal: 50mm

Fujinon 50-140mm