346 - Roughlock Falls

*Note: This adventure also features an in-field vlog.

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I don't usually return to places I've been for adventure photography. However, today's place is a complete exception.

Spearfish Canyon is hands down one of the best spots in South Dakota for photography. Even the entire DRIVE IN is bananas. You're basically zooming through this massive canyon with trees just growing off cliffs. And to top it all off, there's waterfalls everywhere.

The last time I was here, I stuck completely to Roughlock Falls, because I was running out of time and didn't get to explore the full area. So when Haley told me she'd never been, I was like fuck yeah I know just the spot.

Ironically, the goal of this shoot was to get a photo of Spearfish Falls (the OTHER big waterfall in the area,) but my best shot was (again) of Roughlock Falls, in a different compositon.

Here's the new photo I got:

“Take 2”

[5s ~ 38mm ~ f/16 ~ ISO 50]

Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4

(Want a Print? Get one here.)

The thing is, the last photo I got just annoyed the hell out of me. Yes, it's beautiful, but it's also got a stick that's pulling WAY too much attention from the eye, and it's a fairly basic shot. No foreground, background, and it's unbalanced. 

But at the time I thought it was dope. Now I'm just a better shooter and I see right through that shit. The thing with this NEW photo, is that it tells a much more complete story about the source of the water. You COMPLETELY see the waterfall in the back, one portion of the falls, and the aftermath of the stream where the plants reside.

Oh, and to top it off, there's perfect light in the top right corner. Finally starting to get my shit together with waterfall photography.

Or so I thought.

We head down to Spearfish Falls, the place I actually wanted to get a good photo, and I proceed to completely fuck up my ego. I can't get a single decent shot of it. I'd blame it on the blown out sky in the background, or the new lens I was using, but I honesty just couldn't get out of my head. I was hunting a shot that wasn't possible. 

Oh well. I guess nature has a way of humbling you. 

I did, however, get a decent UP CLOSE shot of the waterfall. Got a little artsy on the crop:

“Zilch”

[5s ~ 70mm ~ f/16 ~ ISO 50]

Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4

(Want a Print? Get one here.)

I don't really know what to say about that photo, speaks for itself. I knew I wanted some type of up-close shot, so I basically just took a photo of the WHOLE waterfall and decided I crop it to my liking later. 

One final note about this place- it's interesting how the demeographic of people changes depending on where you shoot. I'm guessing this place is trendy on Facebook or marketed to older folks somehow... We were about the only people our age there. Everyone else was 50+.

Then you go an hour down the road to somewhere else and it's all people all our age- probably trendy on Instagram or some shit. The media marketed makes a huge difference on the place.

Fun shit. Easy place to vlog as well. Haley just started vlogging, and this place is a basically a B-roll dream. Bridges everywhere, water running, green plants blowing in the wind... Here's my video edit if you wanna check it out. I'll probably be back here again at some point.

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I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.

Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.

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