Rainbow Falls - November 2003

These identical photographs (of Rainbow Falls) illustrate my point (see prior post) about the different moods of black and white v. color photography. I like the color photograph immensely but it is a "snapshot" compared to the black and white photograph. By that I mean the color hasn't the expression of the black and white. I don't find this an absolute, but I do have an unapologetic bias for black and white.

What surprises me about Rainbow Falls (from a photographic point of view) is the absence of good quality photographs of it online. A Google search reveals some photographs (of this Rainbow Falls - there are quite a few others) but other Smokies waterfalls are more and better photographed. None show the rainbow.

The 2.7 mile (one-way) hike to Rainbow Falls is moderately demanding but compared to the hike to Ramsey Cascades (4 miles), it is a breeze. The only difficulty I've found in photographing it is that other hikers enjoy crawling around on the rocks under the falls (a very dangerous adventure as the water makes the rocks quite slippery). This hike, however, was on a cool, slightly rainy day, so there were only a few hardy hikers out and they respected the dangers.

The view of Rainbow Falls looks to the east so it is better as an afternoon hike. The falls have the sun behind them or are in shadow most of the morning. As the sun lowers on the horizon, the rainbow appears. The park service reminds us that the falls can also freeze over in very cold weather.