Wetlands

I have always had a fascination with swamps and cypress trees. Some of the best wetland shots are right off of the side of the road. The next three photos were taken from the side of a highway.

This shot and the one below it was taken from highway 70 near the Galloway exit just east of N. Little Rock Arkansas

I actually posted this one last October but since I was on the subject of things that are swampy I thought I would show it again. This is a Tupelo Swamp off of highway 165 in the town of Humnoke Arkansas.

This is not the best picture in the world but the subject is interesting. This is a Champion Tree and the largest Cypress tree in the state of Arkansas. It is also the largest tree in 40 of the 50 states in America. This tree is located in the White River National Wildlife Refuge in East Arkansas. It measures 120' tall with a circumference of 43 feet. A Champion Tree is the largest tree of a species in the state. The Arkansas Forestry Commission keeps a list of our Champion Trees. This list shows the species, the size and where the tree is located. There is even a link to the national champion tree list.

Tim Ernst

I finally did it! I attended my first photography workshop with Tim Ernst. Tim has been teaching workshops for years. He lives in a cabin (Cloudland) on Cave Mountain Rd. near Boxley Arkansas. On his property he has recently built the Buffalo River Gallery to display his work. This gallery is open by appointment only but it is also where he teaches the processing part of his workshops.

There were six students (counting me) in Saturday's class. We met at 6 am in Ponca. I left home at 2:00 am to get there. Tim gathered us around his vehicle while he went over some preliminary information then we set off for Steel Creek to shoot Roark Bluff. Each of us did our own thing, moving from spot to spot and shooting away. Tim would come by and check on each of us at different times and offer advice and recommendations. We shot until the sun burned through the fog which was close to 9:30. Then, we all followed Tim in a convoy for a 30 minute drive to Cloudland. The last 7 1/2 miles of the drive is on a dirt road. The first mile or so is very steep uphill and curvy. The last mile or so is very bumpy and rough. Despite that it was well worth the drive. Tim's cabin is on the edge of a bluff overlooking the wilderness and the Buffalo River far below.

Whe we arrived, he took us on a tour of the cabin and we met his wife Pam. Pam is a very important part of the workshop. She cooks the lunch. Today's menu was barbeque beef, pork and chicken, barbeque beans, potato salad, chips and drink. Not only did she prepare the lunch but she also baked fresh piping hot chocolate cookies for an afternoon snack. We actually started the processing part of the worksop before lunch but it wasn't long before her voice proclaimed on the telecom system that lunch was ready. We all scurried from the Gallery building back up to the cabin and ate our lunch out on the deck. After lunch we went back to work and actually did not finish until 6:00. My classmates were from Houston Texas, Iowa, Pea Ridge Arkansas, Springdale Arkansas, and Pocola Oklahoma. I learned a lot in this class. It was worth EVERY penny I paid to take it. In fact, I am signing up for a two day workshop that he is teaching next spring. I HIGHLY recommend his workshop to anyone that is serious about photography and wants to improve the quality of the images they take and the quality of the prints that are made. Tim's website is http://www.cloudland.net/. His site is also a link on my blog.

The following are just a few of the photos from the workshop.

Tim Ernst

Tim working with one of my classmates.
The Buffalo River and Roark Bluff in the fog.
Roark Bluff and a rock reflection.
Rocks on the shoreline.
The view from Tim's deck.
Another view from his deck.

Village Creek State Park

My latest adventure took place at Village Creek State Park near Wynne Arkansas. This park is located on Crowley's Ridge. Melissa was with me on this hike and so was my nephew Tommy. This was his first hike with us and he did great. We did a combination of trails that totaled 6 miles in all. The majority of the trail was in the woods but there were two overlooks and two lakes along the way that offered different views. The weather was great (Mostly Sunny and 70's).

Lake Dunn. This is where we began our hike.

Blue Phlox along the trail.

Danger, Danger...Melissa must hang on for her life. It's at least a 2' fall if she slips. :)

This is an interesting part of the trail. Not only because of the unique scenery, but it is also part of the "Trail of Tears" This trail was used as the Cherokee Indians were removed from thier homelands in southeastern United States to Indian Territory in present day Oklahoma from 1838 to 1839.

The trees on the edge of this trail were very interesting. Years of erosion put them on the edge but not to be out-done they just shoot roots to the next available soil.

This is Lake Austell from an overlook along the way.
Melissa and Tommy take a break.

The Tulip Poplar Tree is another thing that Village Creek is famous for. These trees are found throughout the park and the blooms are beautiful. They bloom from April to May.
After our hike, were driving out of the park when we noticed a lot of people and cars in the camping area. We drove over to find out what was going on. As luck would have it, we had stumbled up on "Pickin in the Park". This festival is held here every year and it features professional and amateur musicians. Different groups set up in various areas and play. Spectators just walk from group to group and plop down in their lawn chairs and listen. It was a nice and unexpected treat.