Uvas Canyon County Park

Last Monday, after a week end rainfall (that might be the last of the season), I drove up to Uvas Canyon County Park to photograph the waterfalls. None of the falls are huge like Yosemite, so the best time to see/photograph them is immediately after a rain. The first one, Granuja Falls, is only a five minute walk from the parking lot, and I like it best. I like the

the way the water spreads out to form several smaller sprays. The contrast between the dark rocks and the water is greater than the camera can capture, so to get detail in the rocks, the water is overexposed. To get the right exposure of the water, the rocks become black blobs. I let the water go white to keep some detail in the rocks, and actually, I like the spotlight effect created where the falling water hits the pool.

This is Black Rock Falls, a short, uphill hike from Granuja. It is a longer fall, but the water volume is less. There are two more falls along the "Waterfall Trail", but those I will save for another day. My main goal for the shoot was to capture Granuja Falls using a long exposure, and that I accomplished. I hiked up here because the day was so beautiful that I didn't want to go home yet.

I met two other photographers on the trail. We compared cameras, lenses, filters, and photography clubs. When people who are carrying cameras and tripods meet, they always stop to talk.

I call this photo, "Tree Root Falls." I stood at the base of these roots to take the Black Rock Falls
photos. The roots were really quite amazing. The forty foot hill was essentially straight up with this mass of moss covered roots cascading down. Since I was so close to the hill, I took three photos (later merged together) to cover the scene top to bottom.

"The Economy"
I saw this on the drive to the park and couldn't resist.