Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright

On the way to Fallingwater, and also very close by, is Ohiopyle State Park.  Most known for rafting and kayaking, there are also a couple of waterfalls.  We visited one called Cucumber Falls.  Low water but quite photogenic.

Cucumber Falls in Ohiopyle State Park

Fallingwater is a place I have wanted to visit for many, many years.  Just the few photos I had seen over the years made me want to visit there in person.  I seems like such a magical place and it is.  Some of the sheen is diminished by the crowds however, but that's the price to pay if you want to see this magnificent piece of architecture.  It is really quite grand and even with the crowds, it's not so bad.  Advance reservations are a must.  Though walk ins are allowed, it will depend on whether there are vacancies.  From what I can tell, there aren't many of those.  Tour groups are limited to 14 and run in 1/2 hour intervals, so there may be three to four groups in the house at any one time.  They do manage the people very well and it was a fun and interesting tour.

The payday for us was that we were the last tour of the day at 4PM and then had until 6PM to shoot around the grounds.  It was nice that most of the people cleared quickly and we were able to get the iconic shots with lights on and no people in the way.  It was also necessary to wait until the sun had gone behind the hills, as there was quite a contrasting light on the balconies.   It was a very worthwhile diversion on our way to Maine.

Blackwater Falls State Park

Stop number one on a trip to Acadia National Park was Blackwater Falls State Park in the panhandle of West Virginia.  The color was satisfactory, but only just beginning, and it hadn't rained recently, so things were a bit slow in the water flow department.  My main reason for stopping here was to photograph several waterfalls, mainly, Elakala Falls.  We booked quarters at the park lodge.  It was a very nice lodge, with typical hotel style rooms.  We looked out over the Blackwater River gorge from our room, which was reasonably priced and in line with any hotels in the region.  Breakfast buffet was exceptional and easily priced.  The food really was good.

Dawn found us shooting a sunrise from Lindy Point.  It's a fairly easy walk to a wooden deck overlook.  However, not being satisfied, I was over the railing to better vantage points for my shots.  There are several spots where people have been going out on the rocks to view the gorge and though it can be tricky in some spots, it was fairly easy going to get out a bit.  The sun rises over your shoulder as you look out on the gorge and that can be a problem on a really sunny day, like the one we had.  I did what I could to tame the brightness and even worked out some HDR.  Here was the best shot from the morning.

From Lindy Point

We shot here awhile, then headed to the lodge to grab a bite to eat.  After breakfast we walked over to Elakala Falls, which is right near the lodge.  A short walk to the top and a bridge crosses the creek there, but getting down in was a bit tricky.  It was unfortunate for us that there had been some damage from storms and the water level was low.  There were a number of fallen trees, and from images I had seen prior to our visit, there seems to have been some caving of the rock walls on one side as well.  I didn't get the shot I wanted, with the swirling current in front of the falls, but I think we did alright for what was there.

Elakala Falls

Elakala Falls

Blackwater Falls, itself, was so bathed in sunlight, that it was not worth the trouble or the time to go down into the gorge for photos, so, we just settled for a snapshot from the overlook.  Besides, we had an appointment with Frank Lloyd Wright and some miles to log in the process.

Blackwater Falls