Over a three-mile stretch, “Y”-shaped Kitchen Creek descends more than 1,000 feet through flat-lying sedimentary strata, forming twenty-two named waterfalls ranging in height from about ten to one hundred feet. As impressive as the big waterfalls are, the seemingly endless riffles and cascades between them — presenting new vistas around each bend — make this place especially photogenic. Large slabs of rock lie at haphazard angles in the creek bed, stained orange by tannins leached from the surrounding soils. Beeches line the waterway. Their fresh spring foliage glowed electric lime green in overcast light. The compositional possibilities were innumerable. Simply put, our group’s consensus was that Ricketts is the most incredible collection of waterfalls we’ve encountered.
Mark Bowie and Joe LeFevre led field and indoor instructional sessions specific to photographing waterfalls, with emphasis on reading the light, using filtration and multiple exposure techniques, and optimizing images in processing.
If you’ve never visited or photographed these waterfalls, add them to your wish list. They are absolutely unrivaled in the East! And watch for our next workshop here; we’ll be back. We’d love to see them in autumn when peak fall colors decorate the creek bed.
