NW Arkansas Buffalo National River Photo Blog

Even two consecutive days in Lost Valley reveals slight differences as the spring unfolds. Tiny wildflower sprouts are popping up everywhere. The earliest flowers will be with us soon. Along Clark Creek there is little flow on the lower end, but starting at the fork in the trail to the Natural Bridge there is surface water in reflecting pools and slow flows, giving way to tiny cascades as one approaches the Natural Bridge pool and falls.  Closer to the falls the air is filled with the fresh scent of a flowing falls.

My favorite stretch of the Lost Valley Trail begins where the trail first forks. I take the trail that continues to follow Clark Creek.  To me this stretch leading to Eden Falls is the sweet spot of Lost Valley. If Ansel Adams lived here, he no doubt would live there. For a photographer there is every possible composition it seems. Rocks, boulders, water, reflections, stream side wildlife, wildflowers (soon), ferns, moss, lichens and fungi of every imaginable color, all provide limitless creative possibilities.  Every photographer should take the time to see Lost Valley, and to take time photographing it, all of it, not just the waterfalls.  See my new posting on Lost Valley.

Right now there are just about as many elk as one would see in Boxley Valley, and they are spread all over the valley. We are in a spring/summer pattern already and the viewing hours are starting to contract. The most reliable viewing is at the ends of the day. Most mornings, most herds will retreat to cover by around nine, although there are some exceptions. The bull elk will have their antlers for a couple of more weeks.

This time of year my focus has turned to the wildflower season that is coming very soon.  Stay tuned for updates on the blooms. Lost Valley and Smith Creek Preserve are the famous venues around here for wildflower fans, but they do occur everywhere. Blooms and species dates vary a bit according to local conditions, but generally they do run together pretty well. Warmer and lower places bloom sooner, higher and cooler places later. Many species are only around creeks, others are dominant at altitude. It is quite a show, and now, starting very soon.

I will be conducting a free workshop on wild flower photography April 17 @ 1:00PM at the Ponca Elk Education Center. Please call and pre-register if it interests you. (870) 861-2432.  If there is a lot of interest we will run a second free session after the first.

Mid April should be peak wildflower season, make sure you visit Lost Valley and Smith Creek Preserve for the annual show.

This will be a good weekend to see the elk herd in Boxley Valley.

The big bull elk will be losing their antlers in about a month or so, so we are getting to the end of the time you can see the big guys with antlers, and get photos until late summer. Yesterday the bulls were close to the road, closer than they have been for a while. I got some good shots with cutting morning light.

In the second farm field north of the Buffalo River (south end of the valley) one of the big bull herds is mingling with a cow and calf herd. Yesterday the biggest bull of the herd was 30 yards from the fence in great light. If you have 200MM you could have got a great shot. Of course this is changeable day to day.

We continue to have only two swans at the mill pond. It has been a very long time now, perhaps that is all we will have from now on. Somebody is still feeding them, not realizing that it is terrible for their health, and, it makes them more vulnerable. Please report this if you see it.

Wild turkey fans will see a lot of turkey in the valley now too, mostly at the north end.

Wildflower season begins now only weeks for now. I am planning to offer a free spring workshop in April at the Ponca Elk Education Center focused on wild flowers, wild flower photography and places to see wild flowers in the Upper Buffalo River area.

Be sure and check out smithcreekpreserve.com. Smith Creek Preserve, one of the great nature venues in our area, is a wonderful resource for photographers and wildlife lovers. Support the preserve by attending Photographer Field Day on April 10. Details are on the website

Photographers, hikers and wildlife lovers will want to visit the Smith Creek Preserve. If you don’t know about Smith Creek, there is a new website devoted to it — smithcreekpreserve.com.  The new site contains maps and driving directions to Smith Creek. The over 1200 acre preserve was created in 2005 to preserve the area, and protect the largest population of threatened Indiana Bats in Arkansas.

Photographers should mark April 10th on their calendar. Smith Creek Preserve will be conducting Smith Creek Photo Field Day to introduce photographers to the preserve. This should be peak time for wildflowers. As one who had visited Smith Creek, I can attest to the spectacular wild flower bloom there. Smith Creek also offers many beautiful cascades and waterfalls.

Smith Creek is every bit as great a photographer’s venue as Lost Valley. With the publication of the website, Smith Creek should become better known.

The Photo Field Day will cost $25 admission, with proceeds going to the support the work of the Nature Conservancy.

More information will be coming on the event later.  Contact information for the event is on the website.

I don’t prefer snow, but I don’t hate it as long as it visits for a short time. This weekend’s snow shut down everything for a day, and only now are the road crews getting on top of plowing. For a wildlife photographer in a warmer climate like Arkansas, snow changes more than it does in northern regions where snow persists for most of the winter.

All animals have to reorganize their feeding patterns in deep snow, and they are not accustomed to it. It is as simple as food being covered up by a thick blanket of snow. Burrowing animals just burrow in, same strategy, different medium. Elk and deer have to dig around to reach grass. They will turn to limbs and the leaves on river cane. All the changed patterns offer new photo opportunities if you take them.

Snow always makes elk photography both easier and harder. Because elk are so dark on their underside, snow reflections provide useful fill light, especially in early and late light. Midday, the reflected light off the snow can be so severe that it is difficult to get the exposure right. I often will just shoot brackets because light can be so changeable, and I like to stay in motion and not stop and fiddle with fine tuning an exposure.  I take care of my exposures in difficult conditions by giving myself choices in post processing, relying on my huge 32 gig memory card, and my delete key. It is times like these that I truly love the freedom of digital photography, there is virtually no cost in bracketing in difficult conditions and more people should do it.  A nice side benefit of bracketing is the opportunity of doing HDR interpretations when it seems appropriate.

Most birds find feeding areas greatly reduced and they will move to open areas and concentrate. Ground hugging birds definitely become more visible. For the last couple of days there have been many more birds along steams and pond edges because the water exposes food that might be otherwise covered with snow.

I spent a productive hour digging around the edges of the Boxley Mill Pond watching a much higher population of birds feed. Because there were more birds than normal, there was more competition for food, and more skirmishes over territory. This made bird photography more interesting to me. I don’t care too much for perched bird shots, I like to get them in motion and in flight. and moving around. This preference sets a pretty high bar and I miss a lot of shots, but when I get one it can be pretty cool. I got lucky yesterday with a fighting pair, a couple of hunters, and one shot of a bird grabbing a mayfly just as he touched down. I have a few of these posted in my “other animals 2010 gallery.  They were all taken within a 20 yard area right on the edge of 43. I am pretty sure most photographers drive right by this area if there are no trumpeters, but there are many other species deserving of attention.

Another feature of snow that I really like is shadows. If you observe carefully, you will find shadows on snow that you can incorporate in your compositions.  Put another way, you will find shadows that you must consider in your compositions. These shadows can work for you, or against you. They are a powerful visual element, one that can create amazing compositions. Bracket photos utilizing this shadows to give yourself choices in post-processing.  I really love light cutting across snow animating the surface with delicate shadows of many different shades of gray. These give snow pictures contour rather than flat white interpretations and will make your photos look more like paintings.

I expect the snow to persist for at least a few more days, it is pretty deep. The impact on feeding habitat will persist for a few days. Many of the benefits of snow will pay off for the photographer and nature watcher. It is a great time to visit the Buffalo National River and witness the benefits of this blanket of snow.

I have another website project underway, buffaloriveronline.com.  You may wish to visit and take advantage of the maps section. I am working pretty hard to get all the best free maps of the BNR region located in one place. I believe they are very valuable for planning visits.  Look for this to develop over the next few months.