Wonderful Waterfalls

“Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

This past weekend, I had a fantastic time chasing fall color and photographing waterfalls in the mountains of North Carolina.

I spent the weekend learning and photographing with

Alistair Nicol and Tommy White of Mountains to Sea Workshops.  This is not my first workshop with Alistair and Tommy and it won’t be my last.  I have thoroughly enjoyed every workshop experience I have had with Alistair, Tommy, and Athena Carey of Mountains to Sea Workshops.  These instructors take you to great locations at the best time of day to allow participants to create great photographs.  They differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of each participant.  Along with putting participants in the best areas at the best times, they also do a fantastic job giving tips and demonstrations of post-processing techniques.

One of the first waterfalls we visited during the weekend was Yellowstone Falls at Graveyard Fields.  We arrived before sunrise in order to take advantage of the early morning light.  Shooting conditions were challenging as we had a light drizzle for most of the time while we were there.

My favorite image from the weekend was taken the following morning.  We hiked in the dark to Raven Rock Falls.  Although not the longest distance, this was the most challenging hike of the weekend for me.  Raven Rock Falls is a very tall waterfall.  Rather than taking a picture  of the waterfall in its entirety, I focused on an intimate look at one part of the falls.

One of the last falls that we visited was Schoolhouse Falls in Panthertown.  I was glad that we visited this waterfall later in the weekend as it had the most fall colors to enjoy.

I hope you enjoy some gorgeous sights this fall.  If you want an outstanding reference for finding waterfalls in North Carolina, purchase a copy of North Carolina Waterfalls by my friend and teacher, Kevin Adams.