Abrams Falls, Summer 2009 - Close Up

This is from the same hike I wrote about yesterday. One benefit of hiking "off-peak" is that it is easier to obtain good photographs from angles that would not otherwise be available. Sure, lots of folks walk to the edge of the flat rock and have their photo taken with the falls behind it. But setting up a camera on a tripod on a smallish and crowded rock isn't something I'll do. Folks come to Abrams Falls and the Smokies to see the beauty, not to watch out for guys with tripods.

I've always found the hike to Abrams Falls a bit of a downer. It isn't the view or the trail that is at fault. It is just that it is a short hike to a popular destination. On the "easy" trails, you come upon a lot of folks who act as if they still live in their insular "city" surroundings. Many don't acknowledge your existence, much less respond to a hello. Some are flat out rude, acting as if you are trespassing on their property.

One of the things I like about hiking the more demanding trails is that more folks will say hello, some will even stop and talk to you. It's kind-of an unwritten rule for the "serious hikers club." Another unwritten rule is to not let the rude hikers spoil the experience.

Before digital cameras were popularly available, I used to hike with a 4 x 5 field view camera, the kind you have to crawl under a cloth to compose and focus. Several photographs I've previously posted, of Anthony Creek, Mount LeConte, and Ramsey Cascade, were taken with it. It was a not just a great camera, fun to use, it sparked a number of nice conversations with serious hikers curious about the "old fashioned" camera. Some days I wish I had a digital camera that looks like a 4 x 5 field view.

This is another less than easy photo to create. It was digitally converted to black and white and then the contrast was enhanced. To get definition in the darker areas without losing luminosity in the falls, I had to give a little on the brightest parts of the falls. As a result, portions of the water are untextured white. I don't mind this as long as the white portions aren't too obtrusive.