Leatherwood Creek

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

The Ozark National Forest is a national treasure. Eight of us embarked on a backpacking along the Eagle Rock Loop, a 25 mile journey through and over the forested mountains and valleys of the Ozarks, with multiple water crossings. After completing the loop we sought respite in a rented cabin, and spent our days day-hiking and cooking delicious meals for each other.

On one such day-hike, we trekked up the riverbed of Leatherwood Creek. The green canopy of trees glowed with the late afternoon sun, and the constant shade made the trail muddy and flanked with moss and fungi.

There are many waterfalls and pour-overs along Leatherwood, but one offered such a great composition between the concentration of pour-overs and the calm pool below, framed by the encroaching forest on either side and the glow of the penetrating sunlight over the creek behind.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
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I began searching for compositions. When hiking, I typically keep my Fujifilm XF 16-55mm f2.8 attached to my X-T3, but after some searching and a capture at 18mm, I found more interest in a tighter composition. Seeking a longer focal length compressed the scene, bringing into closer relationship the pool, waterfall, and trees. Knowing that my XF 16-55 f2.8 wasn’t as sharp at the XF 50-140mm f2.8 at 50mm, I swapped lenses for my final capture.

My first composition was a portrait oriented one, at 50mm, f11, 4 seconds, and ISO 160. I used a circular polarizer to reduce the glare on the tree leaves, and an ND filter to elongate my exposure to smooth out the pool. My favorite thing about this image is the inclusion of trees arching together over the waterfall, framing the glow of the sunlight.

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My second composition was landscape oriented and taken at 50mm, f11, 5.3 seconds, and ISO 160. I used the same filters as my first composition. However, my focus is in this composition is the division of the image into three clear zones: pool, rocks with waterfall, and trees. The tension between the horizontal regions of the photograph and the verticality of the trees and their reflection in the pool creates a canvas on which the main subject sits squarely in the center: the waterfall.

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US-59 Bridges