The Return to Collins Creek

A week after I made a trip up to the Ozarks and to Collins Creek, I headed back up there again. This time it was with a few other photographers, which is always interesting to see how other people get shots of the same thing when you're there. I went up there, not before stopping at another BBQ place in Heber Springs for a quick lunch:


The sandwich was from a place called Spunky Pig BBQ in Heber Springs. The food was good. It was especially good considering half of the place was a gas station. Normally you can't get a good sandwich and motor oil at the same time, but they pull it off here.

With a full stomach it was on to Collins Creek, a neat little place by Greers Ferry Lake. A few years ago it was decided that a trout habitat was needed, so the Corps of Engineers piped in cold water from the lake to flow along this little creek. It did produce a nice little area for fish, and also a nice little area for people to take pictures of waterfalls and such.

We made it to the creek, but there was one small problem: it was sunny. Sunlight is the enemy of waterfall photography. To get the best shots you need really cloudy weather, sunlight messes everything up. Sadly, with all the sun there wasn't much opportunity to get anything reallly good. I tried a few shots, but the light was just too harsh.

If we waited awhile, the sun would begin dropping below the treeline on the hill above the creek, providing some shade. This would take awhile, so about an hour or so was spent waiting out the sun. I tried to find some places that were shaded, but no real luck.

Eventually the sun sank low enough that there was some creek in the shade. Here is a shot of the creek with the background still reflecting the sunlight in the background.


And finally enough of the creek was shaded so it was time to get to work. These were taken while walking along the creek heading back upstream towards the parking lot:








And a bit closer view:


I love this place, lots and lots of waterfalls...


Although most of the creek was still in shadow, the sun was hitting the hills creating some interesting reflections in the water...




And finally it was back up to the main part of the creek, the area with the most little waterfalls. Here the creek tumbles over several rocks like stair steps, creating some neat little falls. The water isn't deep here but it really does have a personality.


I was also happy to see that the rock I had spent so much time taking pictures of the week before was still there. I did find out from someone who went there a week after that the rock had moved, and was now sitting halfway in a small waterfall. Someone must have moved it since the water through there probably isn't strong enough to move a rock that size...or is it?


When I was there last week it started getting too dark to explore the upper reaches of the creek, so I went to have a look at the waterfalls up in that area.


The area above this is where the pipe bringing all the water is. The pipe really isn't the most scenic aspect of the creek, so I tried to avoid getting it into any shot. Instead I focused on some of the smaller waterfalls and such. To get to this little area, it required stepping across slick rocks to get there. One point I slipped a bit and grabbed onto a tree for support, only to find that the tree was wrapped by a thick vine of poison ivy. I tried to wash my hands in the water, and luckily didn't have any problems, yay!


But it was again starting to get dark so I tried a few more shots. Here is a shot taken next to one of the waterfalls, just far enough away that the camera wasn't getting soaked by the falls...


And then I packed it all up and headed on home. I really like Collins Creek, and will probably head back out there soon. It's a good place for shots of waterfalls in all conditions. It might be interesting when it gets really cold, maybe some icicles or something will be there. We'll see....