Caney Creek Falls

I have been wanting to photograph Upper Caney Creek Falls ever since I saw a shot taken by Decatur photographer, Charlie Seifried. It was a panoramic shot that was made into a poster promoting the Bankhead National Forest in northwest Alabama. Charlie presented me with a copy after he hosted a photo workshop for our photo staff at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The photo, ever since, has inspired me to try to capture these beautiful falls myself.

This past week, I finally got the opportunity. In spite of the morning rain, I trugged on in hopes that the skies would clear. Actually, I wanted cloud cover to provide a more even, less contrasty light (photo 1). When the sun finally did arrive, I had to adjust a bit and find a way of photographing the falls while taking advantage of the sunshine (photo 2).

The falls lie just outside the Sipsey Wilderness, accessible from CR 2 off Cranal Road (CR 6). The falls were flowing pretty good despite the lack of rain in the area, evidenced by the extremely low level of the Sipsey River.

The two examples here fall a bit short of Charlie's interpretation, but I thought they represented a good first attempt. I'll have to return soon since I didn't get a chance to photograph the Lower Falls this time. The Lower Falls are just downstream, about an hour's hike. The Canon EF 17-40 f4L was used on a Canon 5D for both images.