Collins Creek has become one of my more favored places to photograph. First, it’s a relatively short one-hour drive from house. Second, the creek provides numerous waterfalls to photograph. And, third, I am usually the only person there, so it’s very quiet and relaxing.
I enjoy photographing waterfalls, and that is usually what I spend most of my time doing when I get to the area. But, before heading out, I decided to do something a little bit different.
For this trip, I challenged myself to photograph anything I wanted, but I would not photograph the waterfalls. Or, more specifically, the waterfalls could be used as minor background elements, but they could not be the image’s primary subject. Everything else was fair game.
You may be asking yourself why I would put such a restriction on myself. To put it simply, I wanted to challenge myself to look beyond the obvious. I’ve always admired and, truthfully, been envious of photographers who were able to create amazing pictures of things most other people, myself included, would walk by and never notice.
I believe this is a skill that can be learned, and the way to learn it is to practice it. I thought the waterfall prohibition I had placed on myself would force me to be more aware of open my eyes, observe my surroundings, and avoid going for the “low hanging fruit” that the waterfalls represented.
I arrived at the parking area just as the sky was brightening with the first light of morning. Making my way down to the creek, I began to have some doubts about my plan. But, I reminded myself what its purpose was and resolved to stick with my self-imposed restriction.
When I reached the creek, the first thing I did was put my equipment down and just enjoy the early morning quietness. Normally, I would start start photographing almost immediately, but I decided to slow down and take in the different sights and sounds surrounding me.
After a few minutes, I started looking around to see what sort of things might catch my attention. Walking along slowly, I spotted this interesting little scene of pebbles and small rocks forming a subtle S-curve atop a much larger rock. I set up my camera, framed the composition, pressed the shutter button, and captured the image. I then continued on looking for more subjects.