Tamron USA State Park Series: Ricketts Glen State ParkEd Heaton offers tips for photographing the literally gorge-ous waterfalls of this Pennsylvania gem. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Ed Heaton |
Nestled in the heart of Pennsylvania lies Ricketts Glen State Park, a 13,050-acre oasis replete with old-growth timber (some of the trees are more than 300 years old), diverse wildlife, and the highlight of the park: 22 named waterfalls, including the 94-foot Ganoga Falls. Harboring Glens Natural Area (a National Natural Landmark), the park is considered one of Pennsylvania's most scenic areas and a perfect photographic destination. |
Photographer Ed Heaton is a regular visitor to Ricketts and has journeyed there during every season. "I go every year," he says. "Peak time is late spring, summer, and early fall. When you go in the spring, the greenery is out - everything is almost fluorescent! - and there's a huge water flow, which is great for photographing the falls. I'll often bring a pair of waders so I can get better vantage points (during the summer, I'll just go out in my sandals), though I have to be careful when I'm walking on the slippery rocks." |
Although the water levels at the park are lower in the autumn, it's one of Ed's favorite times to visit the park. "Because Ricketts is basically a hardwood forest, there are a lot of hemlocks - you get a mix of the greens and the yellows and the reds, which is really beautiful," he says. |
A completely different photographic perspective of Ricketts is available during the winter. "The Falls Trail is closed during the colder months, unless you have the proper ice-climbing equipment, like crampons and rope and an ice ax, which I do," says Ed. "I'll usually go with one other guy, and we might see two or three other people in the park the whole day. You'll get unique ice and snow shots you normally wouldn't get." |
Paring down his equipment is a must when Ed ventures deep into the depths of Ricketts. "It's a hike to get where I want to be," he says. "I can't bring absolutely everything I want with me. I always try to take a longer lens, like my Tamron SP 70-200mm VC lens, as well as my SP 10-24mm wide angle. That lens in particular is great down in the gorge: You can capture really unique, in-your-face wide shots with the 10-24." |
Whether you start your photographic journey at Ricketts from the top of the gorge or from the bottom (the only two ways into the heart of the park), be prepared for a hearty hike. "I always pack a bunch of snacks or a lunch when I go to take pictures in Ricketts," says Ed. "Once you hike in, you're not going to want to hike back out until you're done for the day." |
Ed has hiked from the top of the gorge down, but his preferred method is starting from the bottom and working his way up. "It's a 1.8-mile hike to Water's Meet, which is where the rivers that flow down into the gorge come together and connect the Ganoga Glen and Glen Leigh sections of the park," he says. "It's a little longer doing the walk this way, but when you're done, you get to hike downhill, which is a nice way to wrap up the day." |
To help create his signature waterfall images, Ed shoots in manual mode. "Aperture is one of the main elements of photography for me," he says. "I want to control my depth-of-field. By pushing my aperture up (say, to F/16 or F/22), I can control that depth-of-field." |
Ed also uses various filters to help control the light. "A polarizer cuts down on glare and also slows your shutter speed down and lets less light in," he says. "The polarizer will take away at least one or two stops of light. When the light really starts to get harsh, I'll use either a neutral density filter or variable ND filter, which lets me get my shutter speed down to around a second. That helps me get that smooth, silky, cotton-candy look I really love to achieve in my waterfall shots." |
To ensure he exposes the waterfalls correctly, Ed taps into a combination of his histogram and the "blinkies" (the highlight warning on most digital cameras). "The histogram gives you a black-and-white 'this is underexposed/this is overexposed' alert," he explains. "The highlight warning, on the other hand, tells you if a specific area is overexposed, and whether or not you can live with it being overexposed. Naturally, if the whole waterfall is overexposed and it's blinking, I'll pull my exposure back. But there might be times when I can actually be OK with a part being a little bit bright, as long as it's not dominant in the frame." |
While composing his pictures of the Ricketts waterfalls, Ed tries to make each one different. "When you're shooting waterfall after waterfall, you have to treat each one as a unique shot," Ed says. "Create a twist by changing your perspective or angle, maybe by moving over further or closer or back. I also always try to create depth in my images: I'll often look for lead-in lines and some interesting foreground element, with the waterfall as my main subject in the background. If I'm not shooting a larger-than-life shot, I'll simply fill the frame with the beauty of the waterfall." |
The weather conditions also offer compositional guidance. "If it's a nice, soft, overcast day at the park, I can work all day long and not worry about anything," Ed says. "But if it's a sunny, beautiful day, I have to change my approach somewhat. When the light is really strong, I don't necessarily want to shoot an entire waterfall, where it's really bright at the top and dark at the bottom - the dynamic range might be more than the camera can capture. Instead, I might focus on shooting a smaller waterfall, where the change in dynamic range isn't as drastic, or crop in tight and exclude the sky." |
To see more of Ed Heaton's images, go to www.edheaton.com. Check out the Tamron USA website for more information on Tamron's State Park Series, including the Ricketts Glen State Park workshop scheduled for July 27, 2013. |