13 Comments

What an adventure!

I constantly kick myself at home when looking at images thinking 'Why didn't I......' But it's always fun to go back out and try again, and to take the learned experiences onto other situations.

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The learning is the best part! Its usually some simple thing that I was too tired or impatient to do, but really could have made an impact. In this case, when I got back and looked at the photos I got I thought it would have been really cool to get a very long exposure to completely smooth out the water flow. But, lol, at the time I just didn't bother. Well, now I'm very eager to go back!

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Looks like a wonderful place to visit and photograph.

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What an adventure!! Although the part where you mentioned banjos and meth labs made me unable to shake Deliverance vibes 😂 That sounded creepy, especially with the lone horse.

Beautiful waterfall shots. I love whatever function you use to make the water look like smooth veils. So pretty.

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Oh, the banjos and meth labs comment was a definite nod to Deliverance. It was actually filmed right there on the Chattooga River!

The smoothing of the water is from longer exposures. A normal photo from a phone would be a small fraction of a second to minimize the blurring of moving things. These were just above or below 1 second exposures. If you look closely at the cover photo of Entrance Rapid, I blended a longer exposure of the background water with a faster exposure to freeze the chaotic water in front of the boulder. It was a fun experiment, kind of like painting with time!

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"Painting with time." What a dreamy description.

I can't believe you hike through Deliverance country. 😂

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What can I say, I'm a modern day Burt Reynolds 🤷‍♂️

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What an adventure! Love your writing (as well as your photography). Can’t wait for your return trip—though whatever trip you take is always an enjoyable read!

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Thank you Jonathan! This one was just a day trip, so no part 2. However, this Sunday I'll send out the film of the trip.

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Lovely images Erik and a really good read. It's always interesting to hear about other peoples photographic outings particularly as this one sounded more adventurous than mine ever are.

I liked the comment about learning to feel gratitude for witnessing moments without feeling the need to photograph them. I am trying to do the same myself but its not easy - the desire to reach for my camera is always too strong! 🙂

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Thanks Gil! I'm always pushing my limits, but I'm still far behind Jimmy Chin and so many others. Photography is such a wild ride!

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Haven’t been to that specific canyon, but have caught more than my fair share of brown trout in the Chatooga, and have hiked lots of the foothills trail that runs by it. Keep up the good work, man. Let’s hit the trails together soon!

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Thanks, my friend! This spot is a bit further south, not too far from Tallulah Gorge. I don't want to jinx it, but I'm hoping to be able to thru hikes the Foothills Trail later this spring!

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