Little Stony Creek pouring over boulders, Cascade Falls, Virginia
February 2, 2012
What a wonderful winter walk. This short (4 miles round trip) trail runs right along the banks of crystal clear Little Stony Creek, pouring through mossy boulders, shooting through rocky chutes and plummeting over beautiful 69 foot Cascade Falls.
I can see why some 150,000 people visit the trail every year, though I only saw 4 of them on my February day hike. While the trees were leafless during my winter visit, I can imagine the place crawling with people in the summer splashing around in the many cool and shady pools.
The trail runs through an oak forest and is lined with several rhododendron thickets, which must make spectacular sights during autumn color and during spring blossom. The trail is very well constructed and integrated into the landscape.
Photographically, the trail can easily fill half a day or more. Little Stony Creek is very accessible along most of the trail and offers many little watery compositions with mossy rocks, bubbly pools and tumbling rapids. Several sections of the trail itself make good photographic subject matter, with its wooden bridges and stone walls. Then, at Cascade Falls, wooden stairs, platforms and shallow pools can be waded for a variety of angles.
I managed to hike into and photograph the falls just before the cloudy skies burned off. This allowed me to shoot the falls under soft overcast light, providing long water-blurring shutter speeds on the order of a second or more.
On the way back to the trail head, I was under mostly clear skies, though much of the creek was shaded by nearby ridges and occasional passing clouds. This let me shoot some landscapes under a variety of lighting conditions. I was also able to make some shots of green mossy boulders standing above creek waters reflecting the blue sky for an interesting collision of rich colors.
The lack of winter foliage was a mixed blessing. While on one hand the scenery includes a lot of bare branches, on the other hand I was able to create some compositions using the falls as a key background element of a broader landscape without leaves getting in the way.
Every image on this trip was shot through a polarizing filter to remove glare from rocks, water, moss, bark and foliage, thus revealing their rich natural colors.
Basic visitor information:
– Brad
      |
These photographs are breathtaking, Brad! I have always thought Virginia was one of the most beautiful states I’ve ever seen – we spent every summer there when I was growing up since my darling Mom was born there. Thank you for sharing these – they bring back special memories and are another example of your gift for sharing the beauty of the Lord’s creation! Love you!