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Little River



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Picture taken in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Picture taken in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this picture on a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I first did the hike with a large family gathering. Later that day, during the kids' naptime, I rushed back to the trail to take this picture. I found this spot to be far and away the most serene and gorgeous of the spots on a very scenic trail.

Time

The picture was taken in the early afternoon, which is normally a terrible time for long exposure water shots. Fortunately, the conditions that at that time allowed me to pull it off.

Lighting

Fortunately, a storm was moving in when I took this, so the cloud cover helped to darken the area. That, and the shade from the many trees, allowed me to still use a long exposure, despite the time of day. In particular, I wanted to be able to pull the reader's eyes to the movement of the water through the scene (both in the river and the small waterfalls) and to the texture of the tree and the moss in the foreground.

Equipment

I used a tripod, Nikon D200, and a wide angle lens.

Inspiration

The trail I was on followed this river, and I often found that there was wonderful water scenery on one side and interesting trees on the other. In this photo I was able to synthesize the best of both worlds - a small cascade, river, a interesting tree in the foreground, and a sense of the larger environment in the background.

Editing

There was a slight breeze while I was shooting, and so branches in area would move in the middle of my shots. In this particular shot, everything was still except for a small plant in the foreground that hung over the edge of the water by the tree. Because I found the blurred plant to be a distraction from the remainder of the picture, I had to remove it using Photoshop.

In my camera bag

The majority of my photography takes place in the wild, often while hiking. Therefore, I try to keep my pieces of equipment to a minimum. My main camera is an old Nikon D200 (a relative dinosaur these days). I always carry a 300mm f2.8 lens with a 2x teleconverter in case I come across wildlife (having done so without my lens, I vowed never to do it again). For scenery photography, I carry an 18-200 zoom and a 10-24 wideangle.

Feedback

The key to a long exposure water shot is to have light levels that permit the necessary exposure time without bleaching out your shot. Dawn, dusk, and overcast conditions are particularly conducive to these kinds of shots. Otherwise, neutral density filters can be used to achieve this effect. I did not have one myself but, luckily, the clouds cooperated.

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