I discovered this small ephemeral waterfall on a recent hike to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It took a return visit to refine my compositions and come home with some unique images. On my first visit, the siren song of the lake kept me from giving my full attention to this little falls. I did check it out though, and took a few photos. When I got a look at my images on the computer, I realized I had a great subject, and I had missed the shot, I had failed to execute the image in my mind.

This impressionistic blur was created through the execution of one simple idea: isolate the reflection of sunlit cliffs in the creek; eliminate all extraneous elements from the frame. I can’t help but love the way this straight photograph shows a little piece of the world in a way that just cannot be seen by the eye-unless you squint really, really hard.

This frame shows big cottonwood creek pared down to the simplest of compositions. By including only the water’s surface, I let the interplay between highlight and shadow, guide my composition. I use my telephoto zoom to narrow my angle of view, and in effect dissect the scene. I find a nice diagonal, and zoom out as wide as I can go without including any rocks in the frame. With the camera securely mounted on a tripod, I allow the water’s motion to paint pastel strokes on the sensor during this second and a half long exposure.