I took advantage of the wet and overcast weather we have been experiencing lately and made a day trip to the Catoctin Mountain region of central Maryland today. Streams and forest scenics was on the itinerary and the lush greens and rushing waters of the many streams, creeks and rivers of the region did not disappoint. I spent most of my day driving around, having not shot here much before, I had a fair amount of scouting to do before I found the locations I wanted to shoot.

The image below is from along Owens Creek which runs parallel to RT. 550 on the eastern side of the mountains. I was immediately drawn to the shot for the shape of the foreground cascades and the vibrant green foliage in the background. I waded into the stream to get the perspective I did for this shot being very careful not to slip and dip my camera equipment in the drink. I experimented with several ISO/Shutter Speed combinations, but settled on a setting of 1/4 of a second at ISO 320 in order to maintain the right amount of clarity in the foreground water (too long of a shutter speed and it just was too much motion for my liking). As always when shooting water and wet scenes, I used a circular polarizer to cut the glare from the wet rocks and leaves rendering a rich contrast and excellent color saturation.

Later this week I’m off to the Allegheny Mountains for a workshop and several days of shooting spring landscapes. Stay in tune for new images and field reports!