Dummerston Falls Detail |
John Overlooking Stickney Brook |
Miniwawa Brook
Miniwawa Brook |
We started with a drive to the great waterfalls in the
Wilton/Milford area. Along the way we
stopped at Minwawa Brook in Keene. The brook was flowing strongly under the
bridge and it was a chance to help the workshop members become more familiar
with there equipment. The sun was bright
and shining into our cameras, but we were able to find trees to block the
glare.
Steph and Robin at Miniwawa |
Tucker Brook Falls
Tucker Brook Falls, Graduated ND |
Outside of Wilton we took a short hike in Tucker Brook Town Forest
to reach the Tucker Brook Falls. The
falls were flowing well, but the primary challenge was to deal with the dappled
sunlight. It was a great chance to
demonstrate the use of neutral density filters, especially gradient NDs, that
allowed us to cut the contrast between the brightly lit falls and the shaded
brook. I was excited to see my group
enjoy the adventure of searching for fresh angles on the location, including
small pools and interesting views downstream.
Robin's Detail at Tucker Brook
Lower Purgatory Falls
Lower Purgatory Polarizer and 3Stop ND |
After another short hike we reached secluded Lower Purgatory
Falls. Again, the falls were bathed with
unfortunately bright light, but ND filters allowed us to capture the falls with
slow shutter speeds which were sufficient to soften the flow. Despite the beautiful weather and the congested
parking, we were surprised to find that the location was relatively free of
crowds. After an enjoyable stay in
Purgatory, we were ready for lunch, descending upon the Rivermill Tavern in
Wilton.
Garwin Denied!
Maybe Next Year for Garwin |
Faye Measure Mill
Hana's Frye Measure Mill |
Since we were deprived of a long stay at Garwin Falls, on our
way home, we were able to stop by at the magical New England manufacturing
village of Harrisville. Harrisville has
classic views of the mill water racing under the factory buildings, but the
conditions remained challenging.
Harrisville is really a “sunrise” location with the setting sun shining
into lenses from most of the best locations.
Again, we used obstructing trees and ND filters to salvage what we could
from the conditions.
Pizza and Pictures
Saturday evening, we gathered at our house for a light dinner
and review of many of the day’s images. Despite
the terrible “beautiful” conditions, there were many nice shots.
Sunday’s Beautiful
“Terrible” Conditions
Steph's Pond Brook Falls - In the Rain |
Dummerston Falls
Mike's view of Dummerston Falls |
Dummerston Falls is a surprisingly dramatic waterfall along
Route 30 in Dummerston Vermont. It is
just a few hundred yards down the road from the turn-off to Stickney Brook and
Jelly Mill Falls. Despite the endless
times I have visited Stickney Brook, I never before noticed this beautiful
drop. I suspect that this is, at least
in part, because the waterfall is variable in intensity, being more prominent
after storms and during spring run-off.
The water was flowing well during our visit and pictures taken from
locations just of the road made the waterfall’s impressive 25-foot drop appear
as if it was nestled deep within the forest.
I almost felt guilty as we captured such great images with such little
effort.
Stickney Brook and Jelly
Mill Falls
Rana at Stickney Brook |
Stickney Brook
I Hate to Have My PictureTaken! |
This year’s waterfall workshop was unique, first because of
the skill and enthusiasm of the participants, and second because the weather
provided a range of challenges that the group seemed to enjoy confronting. The pictures that I have seen posted on our
special web gallery have shown how well these lessons have been embraced.
Great job guys !
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jeffn49@myfairpoint.net