There exists a wonderful collection of waterfalls in one small area of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The area is knows as McConnells Mill State Park. It is over 2500 acres of beautiful land with streams cascading down rocky slopes and a creek that once powered a grist mill. I went out in search of icy streams and perhaps a frozen over waterfall. I didn’t get exactly what I was after, but it ended way better than the last time I came to McConnells Mill for an icy waterfall.
One thing I’ve learned in my years of shooting is that patience is helpful in getting a great shot. One of the qualities that I most admired about Ansel Adams is that he waited for the right moment and the right light for his images, sometimes visiting the same spot several times for the perfect lighting. This particular morning promised a great sunrise. One advantage that technology has provided us is the easily accessible data on where the sun will rise on any given day. This day I chose to shoot from the West End bridge and capture the sunrise as it moved between a few of Pittsburgh’s taller buildings and reflected on the rivers.
It was about 12°F but the but the air was still. I shot for about 30 minutes and got some really nice color in the sky before the sun poked above the horizon. Then all of the color disappeared. There was a line of clouds at the horizon, then a sliver of open sky, then solid clouds above that. I decided to wait for the sun to rise above the lowest layer of clouds and when I did, the color came back in full force. I moved slightly to use a building to block the bright orange ball and the shadow that it cast was amazing. The water’s surface, heated by the sun, began to steam and everything fell into place. The contrast between light and dark was intense, but I managed to get an acceptable exposure that had detail in the shadows of the buildings without having highlights that were too bright.
While driving to a location I had in mind for a shot, I caught the sun shining through the trees and reflecting off of a partially frozen stream. Sure, I was in my nice coat, but sometimes (most times) you’ve got to get the shot. Yeah, I still went to the other spot, but this was the winner for the day.
This image is the result of a concept that ended up surpassing my expectations due to a slight change in location. I scouted the area that I shot this image in the middle of January. I had to wait until a snowy evening to make it happen. I wanted large snowflakes that would be illuminated by the backlighting. My wonderful wife agreed to be my model and the weather finally cooperated to make it a reality. On the way back to the original spot, we passed by this bridge. I saw the snow on the branches. I hesitated to suggest that we try that spot in addition to the original location, which was ~100 yards or so farther along the trail. Fortunately, Adriana is a good sport, even as cold as it was. We shot in the original spot and then hit the bridge on the way back. I set up the lights and did a test shot. I was blown away with how perfect it was.
I accompanied Adriana to the barn tonight to fix our Houdini horse, Ilex’s gate. After a little MacGyvering a solution, I looked up to see the sky was a wonderful blue overhead and a pale yellow at the horizon. In a frantic attempt to find something to frame it, I decided on these high tension wires. The fun of framing this is that lining things up to be “straight” with a 14mm ultrawide lens is quite the challenge. It is slightly off, but I’m satisfied with the result.
I went into the city this morning to shoot one thing that didn’t quite work out. I walked around a bit and found something that did. I always shoot the Ft. Pitt Bridge from the same angle, but this time I liked the way that the sun was illuminating the upriver side. I really loved the reflection and wanted to accentuate it as much as possible, so I threw on my neutral density filter and did a long exposure (30s). I really like how dark the image is in general with the lightest parts being the bridge.
While scouting a location for a future shot, I saw this scene across the Allegheny. I scrambled to find a good angle to frame it up before the light disappeared. I’m sure that the motorists on the 10th st. bypass were somewhat concerned to see a gentleman in a peacoat crouched down and photographing through a break in a fence. It is an amusing by-product of my process to sometimes entertain and concern others.
You may be asking yourself, “Is that photo upside down?”. It is not. That is precisely the view one gets when you lay on your back with your head towards the tree’s trunk and stare up into a beautifully cloudy blue sky.
I have been wanting to get this shot since I happened upon it years ago. I saw a lot of other photographer’s pictures of it, but I saw none like the way I envisioned it in my head. I’m very happy to add this to my catalog and cross yet another item off of my photographic bucket list.
