Sill Branch Falls in winter

I was a bit restless after a week of working to get our downstairs den finished in time for a birthday party, so, when the first snowy Sunday of the winter season presented a few hours of walkabout time I was on it.

It had been raining and snowing most of the previous week, so I figured the creeks would be running full which could make any creek crossings trickier than usual, and any of the local waterfalls would be at their best. I picked Sill Branch Falls because it's a relatively easy hike and there was only one creek crossing and it's never been tough.

When I arrived at the trailhead I could hear the creeks roaring so I knew there would plenty of opportunity for good picture taking. The trail follows the creek all the way to the falls, so the plan was to go directly to the falls but scan the cascades for photo ops on the way in.

As expected, the falls were rolling and it was almost perfect weather for waterfall picture taking - cloudy - but it a bit windy. The picture above is a three-exposure HDR photo of the center section of the falls, it would have been much better if the wind off the falls hadn't been blowing that hemlock branch about.

This picture is a cascade about half-way back. It's a three-exposure HDR. I passed over several other small falls and cascades that were equally photogenic to get to back to this particular one. The sun was getting up and the clouds were getting thin, so the good light was getting away from me, and the snow was melting.

I was hoping for more snow, I was looking for some "snow on the rocks in the water" pictures ... maybe next time.