Littlebird Flow
May of 2021 I was really starting to delve further into more obscure locations in and around the mountains. This is Littlebird Falls, just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just down form Sunburst Falls. I had known of a few falls down this tight twisting mountain road, but had yet to stop and admire them, my loss for certain. On the day I finally stopped in, there was a constant wind through the valley and all the foliage was moving relentlessly. I wandered back and forth, up and down trying to find a place to take a good shot, and at last I settled on a location. Knee deep in still icy mountain water, perched on unstable rocks, with my tripod right bellow me. I will have to return to this location again, but until I do, enjoy the scene.
From a technical standpoint, this image is fine. There are things I wish I had done differently however. I lower shutter speed, maybe around 1/8th or so, and perhaps arrive MUCH earlier. This shot was taken 26 minutes before sundown, and being that it is in a deep mountain valley there wasn’t enough light to work with. All that being said, technically the shot is still fine. There are flaws though, most of which wont be apparent to viewers on a first glance.
As a photographer, you ultimately have control over how they are presented, and the reason I am showing off this particular work is to demonstrate that. I know there are flaws, I have spent time pixel peeping, and brushing over some of those items to hide them from the viewer, but I know they are there, and I know how to correct them in the end. So while this looks much like a finished piece, its really just a scouting photo that I touched up. I’ll head back to Littlebird Falls, and spend even more time in knee deep pools to get the shot. That’s part of being a photographer, and it’s one of the many reasons I love it.
Until Next Time!
Aperture: f8
ISO: 800
SS: 0.8sec
Focal: 18mm
Fujinon 16-55mm
