Agua

I've been reading a lot about photo technique and trying to learn to slow down water to get that wonderful motion look. I've tried several times but was not happy with the results.  I never took the written instructions with me, so after a lot of trial and error, and error, I finally learned my lesson on Sunday.  We had MORE rain over the weekend and the rivers were raging, so we headed to a favorite spot (as yet mostly undiscovered) to try more shots of water.  I was a little dismayed when we arrived to see just how raging the river was, but we gave it a shot.  I still wasn't having any luck - tripod and all - when I looked at Wayne's picture and saw it was exactly what we were looking for.  After taking a look at his camera settings, I changed mine and instantly had more luck.  We spent the next several hours taking waterfall shots around the Greenville area.

I've got more to learn, but I'm so happy with the 1st days results.

Closer to home

When I first moved to Greenville 4 years ago, I went to a Sierra Club meeting and learned about a proposed new park in the county. At that point it was just a gleam in the eye of a few environmentalist. I quickly made a trip down to explore and loved the setting of wide river, shoals and the remains of old industrial buildings.

Yesterday I took my grandsons there to explore after learning that within a year it will be the site of our new park: Cedar Falls. The boys had a blast and I got some lovely pictures of the river after several weeks of daily rain.

Water is always fun and challenging but lends itself to all kinds of artistry. We are fortunate to have such a great recreational resource in our back yard.

This photo was converted to black and white on an "infrared" selection which gives it an interesting dimension.

Color

Again, on the subject of color change: some pictures adapt well to "messing with color" and others don't. These two pictures are another example of what happens when you experiment a little.

These were taken at our latest county park, Cedar Falls. This tract of land lies along the Reedy River in the southern part of the county, west of Simpsonville. It's the site of an old mill and dam that has been overrun, abused and misused for years. It's taken many years for the county to acquire the site, but now the process of cleaning and restoring is under way. The river is quite wide at this spot and there are a few small rapids.

This shot was taken along the shore where the water was running fast. I call the second picture "Maxfield Parrish" after the painter who created the more amazing colors and blues in his work.

Enjoy!