Ithan Valley Remix

Over the weekend, I turned 34. It feels really weird. I’ve never been bothered by birthdays in my life, but this one felt really different. Can’t put my finger on it why, though. Regardless, I was treated to absolutely gorgeous weather. It was pretty chilly leading up to the weekend, but Sunday was the absolute picture-perfect representation of what a mid-October day should feel like.

I had big plans to go shoot my top secret spot finally, but held off since it looked like sunrise was going to be a bust. I opted instead for a greasy spoon breakfast at the Llanerch Diner (affectionately called the Big L, a place I’ve been a patron of since I turned 14). The diner is poised for a breakout, too, since it’s featured in the upcoming Silver Linings Playbook, based on the book by awesome dude and friend Matthew Quick. I was kicking myself in the parking lot, because, to the east, was a glorious sunrise breaking through the earlier cloud cover … So it goes.

Later in the morning, the light was becoming very harsh very quickly, so despite the fact that the secret spot might still work, I decided on heading back to Ithan Valley to check out the state of the waterfall/dam. I’m glad I did as being around the flowing water and breathing the heady scent of the golden October leaves was perfect for this (apparently) aging soul. I had the park to myself, too, with no dogs splashing around in the pool, as cute as they are.

The image was a bit of a tricky one to pull off. Like any creek, stream, or river, there’s little to no tree cover directly over the center of the water. Any straight exposure plunged the rocks and retaining wall into shadow. Correcting that problem let to an incredibly hot waterfall. So, the final result is a blend of two exposures: a long exposure with the trusty Hoya ND400 at f/10 for 20 seconds, and another metered for the wall and foreground rocks. It feels a little like cheating, but sometimes schedules and light don’t line up. I’m still a little conflicted about the moving leaves along the top edge. It felt weird to clone them out or replace them since there’s an obvious passage of time in the image. Thoughts? Should they stay or go?