Waterfalls in Loyalsock State Forest, Pennsylvania (8/24/15)

Thanks, paulboi.

MRHyker, since the Ketchum Run hike was taken from your website, I tried to leave a critique but could not (broken link). Here it is:

I found the old logging road for the longer part of the hike - i.e. the Scar Run takeoff point - and followed it for about a hundred yards or so. It was non-obvious, overgrown, covered with light dead-fall and did not seem to see much traffic, if at all. I would have enjoyed tackling it, but did not do so due to time constraints. The Ketchum Run part was worth it, even though the return leg along the Loyalsock Trail suffered by comparison.

I'd say 3.5 right now, but if the waterfalls were flowing well, say in late spring or after some rain, it would be a 4. (With the Scar Run option, most likely a 4.5.)

I keep staring at the sixth pic almost looks like that last little ledge is floating above the pool below it. Maybe it's just me I stare thru 3-d glasses at work for hours at a time. Maybe my eyes are just stressed out

The story behind the photographs
(Might be better for the Photography Forum.)



In retrospect, this was a photo that I whiffed on. It was the best part of the day, with dramatic mist making the tree snags look even spookier. Unfortunately, I had waterfalls to get to, before the sun rose high enough to hit them, so I took this one handheld at only f/8, bumping up the ISO to 800. This is why the ferns are sharp, but the rest is out of focus. A deeper depth of field would have been justified.




This was an extremely pretty part of the hike. I was making my way alongside Ketchum Run when I came upon two unnamed waterfalls, one after the other. The first was pretty but didn't have enough water to warrant a stop. This second one had just enough to make it worthwhile, especially when paired with a 30sec exposure to further plump up the falls.




I loved the moss on the rock slabs. There was texture everywhere, so just about any photograph would have worked, as long as one didn't muck it up. Sometimes, you have to let the scenery speak for itself.




This was a difficult waterfall to photograph, since there wasn't a lot of room to work with downstream. I initially spent a bit of time trying to get a shot from the far side of the falls, but didn't end up with anything satisfactory. However, once I crossed the stream to this side, I got excited by the interesting moss-covered rock you can see in the foreground. I thought it paired nicely with those making up the face of Lee's Falls.




This part of the hike was pure magic! My destination was Rode Falls, which was only a few steps further downstream, but I ended up liking this spot more. Sunlight on the tops of the forest was creating a lovely golden reflection in the stream. I knew I had to make use of it, so I cranked up the exposure to 30sec (to smooth the water out), rotated my polarizer to reduce its effect (to keep the reflection) and voila!




There were some backpackers camped to my left, complete with a cute dog that was highly interested in my gyrations. I kept one eye on the pooch and the other on the waterfall as I took this photo.




Lush green forest, satiny moss and especially the deep red rocks...what more could one want?




I was trying to show off the mossy slabs making up the face of the cascade, while also showing off the splash pool. I typically don't like to cut off the near shore of a splash pool, because it leads to a whole lot of uninteresting dead space. This time however, I could see a frothy current in the pool, which naturally created a leading line to the cascade, so I felt more justified in shooting the pool.




I believe that what mainly differentiates one waterfall/cascade from another is its setting. For me, this spot was a perfect illustration, especially since there wasn't a whole lot of water to work with. Also, the interesting, somewhat star-shaped rock in the foreground clamored for attention.




The view from the Lower Alpine View vista was OK, but really not good enough to take more than a documentary style photo from. The actual forest surrounding to the outcrop was far prettier, so I decided to incorporate that. That meant that I had to put myself in the photo as a subject. I also got lucky with the little splash of sunshine in the bottom left of the photo that (to me) ties it to the sunny hillside across the valley.




I hunted around for an interesting foreground to 'anchor' the waterfall to its setting. I took three photos from different spots; this one was my favorite. I also drenched the rocks to make them glisten, hoping to enhance the verdant mood.




If you notice the two logs in the distance...well there were two more, almost as big, right in the middle of the stream. I was able to maneuver these until they were out of shot. It was an absolutely magical spot, and I didn't want it cluttered up with debris.