ROCK FUNNEL

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, Tamron 28-80 lens @ 28mm, ISO 400, 3 Exposure HDR @ f/8

  Today's post might be my favorite shot that I have taken so far.  Even if it isn't the best photo, it was by far the most fun I have had trying to capture it.
  On my excursion to N. River Rd on Sunday morning, I noticed a small, feeder creek that passed under a bridge to the left of the main river.  The creek was mostly about 12-15 feet wide but about 50 yards away from the road, there was about a 3 foot cascade that was funneled down to about a 4 foot width on both sides by large rocks.  This bottleneck of water flow created a large amount of force through this funnel.
  I donned my hip waders and entered into the creek about 20 feet down stream from this spot but was not happy with being that far away.  I crept closer and closer to this rock funnel.  I take the Ian Plant attitude about shooting water and waterfalls, get as close and as low as you can to the falls for dramatic effects. 
  When I got to within about 10 feet of cascade, the force was incredible.  My tripod was shaking considerably and even though I tried to hold it down, the water force shook it too much to get a clear photo.
  With the fear of my tripod and camera being pushed away by the water, I climbed up on one of the side walls of the rocks and set up on top of the rocks.  This gave me a great vantage point where I could still capture the mayhem created by the bottleneck of rocks but still confident that I wouldn't lose me or my gear.
  When I was done shooting, I slowly lowered myself back into the water and started back across the creek to make my exit.  About 5 feet from the shore, I took a step into a spot that was roughly 3-4 inches below what I anticipated and the water level rose above my waders on my left leg soaking my shorts and my socks on that side.
  This is the first time my waders failed me since I have had them, but it was well worth it.
  Processed a 3 image HDR in HDR Express around ISO 400  and f/8 to capture the movement of the water. Used the Natural Style rendering after tone mapping which brought out the color and detail of the rocks as well as the texture of the moving water.  Am seriously considering purchasing this software when my 30 day trial is over.