Bell Smith Springs Rock Formation

This is a part of the Shawnee National Forest area known as Bell Smith Springs. I had travelled here in hopes of being able to photograph the gorgeous waterfalls that are featured here, the whole area of which I've heard is in one of the most beautiful and scenic locations in America. Unfortunately, the falls were dry and not running. But the rock formations created years ago when this whole area was at the bottom of the ocean were still magnificent.

There were tiny rivulets of water that dripped down from above on these rocks and a few that seeped out from places showing in the photograph and the ground was continually damp because of this water flow. I had never been to this particular area before, but I found it to be quite charming although very hard to reach! To get to this particular vista, after following a winding path down the side of a hill for a quarter of a mile or so, one had to go down about three straight flights of stairs made out of natural rock from the area, and at times, no more than 2 feet wide in spots. But it was worth it to discover this hidden little valley.

Camera: Minolta XD11
Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, f/1.7
Filter: Hoya HMC 55mm Skylight (1B)
Film: Kodak Gold 100 color 35mm film
Shooting program: Aperture priority
Aperture: F/16
Shutter speed: 1 sec.
Date: July 9th, 2010, 10:36 a.m.
Location: Bell Smith Springs, Pope County, Illinois, U.S.A.

Bell Smith Springs Rock 3df