A TRIP TO BABY FALLS

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Tamron 28-80 lens @ 28mm, ISO 100, f/11, 8 sec.

  For the first time in a few weeks I had a weekend where I had nowhere I had to be. No ball games to officiate, nothing.  I had made a promise to myself that I would go to Baby Falls on Saturday morning and take some photos.  In the year I have had my DSLR, I had only been to Baby Falls once and that was very early last spring so I felt I needed to re-visit there.
  The weather earlier in the week was sunny and 80°F so I felt is was going to be a nice weekend.  Boy was I wrong.  By Friday night it was in the 50's and rainy.  I told myself I would go no matter what.  Sure enough, it was continuing to rain and in the 40's this morning but I drove down River Road to Baby Falls.
  With all of the rain, the water level was high and the falls were incredible.  The roar of the water pouring over the rocks was defining. There was no way I was going to be able to wade into the river to get close due to the powerful current.
  One thing I can say about the Tellico River along River Road, the rocks are massive.  Most of them are slick and the rain just made them even harder to move on. Boy they sure do add to the scenery though. Take a look at the one just to left of the falls in the picture above. Most aren't that big, but they are the size of small trucks.

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Tamron 28-80 lens @ 28mm, ISO 400, f/8, 1/8 sec.

  As I made my back to Tellico Plains from the falls, I stopped at a small spot that I had never looked at before where there were a couple of smaller cascades.  Really liked this spot. The water wound around the rocks in several different spots making for several options for composing shots.  The picture above was my favorite from this group.  I really like bumping up the ISO to 400 and catching both the action of the water splashing against the rocks and still being able to get a silky effect of the water as well.
  The rocks still make the photo for me.  Each one is unique with it's markings, shapes and colors and the water breaks over each one a little differently.  I've said it before, I think I could stop every 100 yards along River Road and achieve a unique photo experience with every stop.  That's why I keep coming back even when its raining.