Join us for an early Spring day in the North Georgia Mountains. Throughout the day will photograph three beautiful waterfall locations north of Dahlonega.
We will gather in the parking lot of Mount Pisgah Church (1430 Dicks Creek Rd, Cleveland, GA 30528) at 09:00am. This location is approx. 60 miles (80 minutes) from Roswell.
Carpooling: If you are interested in carpooling from Roswell, will meet at the Marta Park and Ride on Mansell Road at 7:30am. And check the CARPOOLING box on the registration form.
We will then drive 3 miles to our first waterfall, Water’s Creek Falls (sometimes called Dicks Creek Falls). Note that the last 2 miles of our drive will be on a well maintained gravel road. This waterfall is only 20 feet tall, but it is beautiful and relatively easy to photograph.
Our next waterfalls are the DeSoto Falls, approx. 8 miles from Water’s Creek Falls. The upper falls (90 feet tall) are a moderate 0.7 miles walk from the parking lot. There are several photo opportunities along the way to the viewing platform.
We will have a picnic lunch (bring your own) at the DeSoto picnic area which is close to the parking lot.
Note that there is a $5 parking fee at DeSoto.
Our last location is Helton Creek Falls, approx. 8 miles from DeSoto, the last 2 miles are a well maintained gravel road. Helton Creek Falls consists of an upper (50 feet) and lower (30 feet) fall. They are an easy 0.3 mile walk from the parking lot.
| Time | Activity |
| 07:30 | If you would like to car pool: Meet at GA Exit 8 Marta Parking Lot |
| 07:45 | Drive to Mount Pisgah Church (approx. 55 miles from Marta Parking Lot) |
| 09:00 | Meet at Mount Pisgah Church |
| 09:15 | Drive to Water’s Creek Falls (approx. 2.5 miles) |
| 09:30 | Explore/Photograph Water’s Creek Falls (road side) |
| 10:45 | Drive to DeSoto Falls (approx. 8 miles) |
| 11:00 | Explore/Photograph DeSoto Falls (approx. 30 min walk to upper falls, beautiful small creek alongside trail) |
| 12:30pm | Picnic Lunch at DeSoto Falls (bring your own) |
| 01:00pm | Drive to Helton Creek Falls (approx. 8 miles, across Blood Mountain) |
| 01:30pm | Explore/Photograph Helton Creek Falls (approx. 10 min walk) |
| 02:45pm | Adjourn at Helton Creek Falls (approx. 70 miles back to Marta Parking Lot) |
Consider bringing the following equipment:
– A standard zoom lens (24-70 or similar)
– A sturdy tripod
– A polarizer filter for your lens(es) to eliminate reflections from the water
Other useful equipment:
– Telephoto lens to capture smaller, intimate scenes
– Wide-angle lens to capture dramatic views
– Remote trigger (or use your camera’s self timer to avoid camera movement from you pressing the shutter button)
– Polarizing Lens
– Natural density filter to further slow down the shutter speed (albeit the combination of a polarizer and a
small aperture may be sufficient to achieve slow shutter speeds)
– Rubber boots, if you plan to wade into the pools of Water’s Creek and Helton Creek Falls.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS
Shutter Speed
– Longer shutter speeds will create a “milky”, soft effect but you might loose detail in the water (water may appear as a big white mass)
– Shorter shutter speeds will “freeze” the water, showing more detail and individual drops
– It is up to your taste to decide which effect you like better
– 1/15 sec may be a good starting point, but you should experiment
Polarizer
– No polarization effect may show unwanted glare and reflections in your images
– Images with to much polarization effect may look unnatural
– Try different polarization settings and polarizer angles
Wolfgang Enneker is hosting this field trip. Please contact him at (470) 266-6428 if you have any questions.
Please REGISTER so we have a headcount of participants.