As with taking photographs, so it is with shooting video - you can do a whole lot of it, but that doesn't mean most of it's going to be worth viewing. After a morning hiking at and playing in Turkey Creek at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, here is all I have to offer from the video from that outing.
This and other photos and videos of Darby can be found here.
An alternate title for this post could be: "Darby, a Water Dog at Long Last." For some time now I have been somewhat ashamed of my Golden Retriever who appeared to be scared of swimming. She loves water and splashing about the local creeks. But she does not like the swimming pool, and refuses to go in it of her own accord. So we thought she was defectective.
But today, I had a chance to go down to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, Alabama, with a couple of friends and Darby. And since the water wasn't running overwhelmingly fast, I decided it was time to put Darby to the test, and she performed beautifully. The video below offers some snippets from our morning, including such items as a footrace between Darby and myself, which I led most of the way, and Darby's swim across gallant Turkey Creek.
All photos and video were shot on my GoPro Hero2 HD camera, which can be found at Amazon.com: GoPro HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition.
The Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System is a network of existing and proposed trail systems purported and supported by the Freshwater Land Trust and other similar organizations. On Saturday, Jun 9, an event was held in Palmerdale, called Rock'n Turkey Creek, to raise money for the Turkey Creek Corridor of the trail systems, which boasts the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, along with several existing and proposed trails.
It was my great honor to have the hosts of this 1950s-styled event to use one of my photographs of Turkey Creek Falls on their promotional material for Rock'n Turkey Creek.
A compilation of three bracketed photos, using HDR techniques, this long-exposure photograph was taken with the aid of welding glass used as a neutral density filter, to reduce the amount of light to reach the sensor. Along with other photographs of Turkey Creek, this photograph can be found in my galleries, here.
Over the course of the past several years, in my ventures as a hiker and paddler, I have been able to enjoy much of the beauty that Alabama has to offer, particularly as it relates to the rivers and creeks throughout much of central and northern Alabama. And the more I see, the more it becomes increasingly important to me that these treasures are maintained and preserved for future generations, that we are good stewards of the Creation that was put into our care.
Pump House at Village Creek in Roebuck, Alabama
That desire has evolved into what I am dubbing the "Black Warrior Riverkeeper PROJECT." The Black Warrior Riverkeeper is one of the premier watchdog groups in Alabama, protecting our waterways, specifically those falling within the Black Warrior River watershed. As it pertains to central and northern Alabama, that watershed includes the following significant creeks and rivers: Sipsey Fork of the Warrior River, Locust Fork of the Warrior River, Mulberry Fork of the Warrior River, Black Warrior River, Hurricane Creek, Turkey Creek, Gurley Creek, Five Mile Creek, Village Creek, and others.
The Black Warrior Riverkeeper PROJECT is my effort to help raise money in support of this organization. Over the last two years, I have gotten to know several of the wonderful people that make up the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, and there could not be a better group of people looking out for our interests. As such, the proceeds from any prints sold from my Black Warrior Riverkeeper PROJECT gallery will be donated to the Black Warrior Riverkeeper in support of their steadfast and enduring efforts.
The recent rains have the waters of Turkey Creek running and roiling.
Panorama of Turkey Creek Falls, Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, Pinson, Alabama
I went with Blake and Darby down to Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, Alabama, the other day. There's a smallish hiking trail along the creek, and I wanted to get Darby some off-the-leash experience out in the woods to see how she'd do, and I'm not sure but that she had the best time of her short little life.
This particular trip didn't yield a great many pictures, but I was able to catch some colorful reflections (above) and some early spring flowers. Several times I set up for shots of flowers, but just as I was ready, Darby would run by and bite the heads off of them. I think she found it greatly amusing.
Other posts involving Turkey Creek can be found here. And finally here's some video of the trip, involving Blake and Darby:
I realized, much to my dismay (and of course, your detriment), that I had left out my favorite photo from my recent outing to Turkey Creek. At the time I took this photo, I liked it but didn't anticipate that it would become my favorite from that trip. Nevertheless, it has grown on me quite a bit in the interim.
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve :: Canon T2i, 50mm f/1.8 II, 0.5s @ f/16, ISO 100
...I present my final photos from Friday's outing to Turkey Creek. These differ a bit in style from the previous couple of days' postings. I really wanted to emphasize color and texture.
I have found, for whatever reason, that Turkey Creek Falls seems to be a particularly difficult subject to photograph well. And I'm still convinced there's room improvement from the offering here. For the photo below, I employed two different techniques. A couple of months ago, I explained about using welding glass as a neutral density filter, here. So I combined that with a multi-bracketed exposure (HDR) so as to get the full dynamic range and have that lovely milky smooth water that comes with a long exposure.
Turkey Creek has become one of my favorite places, and not for any particular reason. It just seems to resonate with me to some degree. But for whatever reason, the photographs I've taken both at the Nature Preserve and elsewhere on the creek have never been as impressive to me after I have gotten home with them, as at the time of taking (a prior outing with decent results, here). And that's always distressing.
Of the many photos taken yesterday, these are a couple that are worthy of seeing the light of day (or perhaps that judgment is more appropriately left to the viewer).
One of the things I wanted to focus on for this little outing was photographing reflections and emphasizing textures and colors. One of the photographers whose blog I follow is Donald Kinney, and he does this sort of work particularly well. I do not, but he has inspired me. So this post and the next one will evidence the trial (and error) of the task I set before myself.
One last note, my friend Tyler Dooley went with me and has posted his work as well.
Turkey Creek Falls :: Canon EOS 3, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, Fuji Superia 400
Since first learning of Turkey Creek last fall, I have been several times, with various friends. While I was working with the Black Warrior Riverkeeper in Fall 2010, I learned of a number of protected and endangered species (like the vermilion darter) who live only in these waters; it's kind of interesting to know they don't exist anywhere else in the world.
Roots :: Canon EOS 3, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, Fuji Superia 200
In October, members of the North Jefferson Kayak Club hosted a clean-up effort here at Turkey Creek, where a large red oak had fallen across the creek and was causing erosion of the banks and buildup of debris. Some video and photos from that outing can be found here.
The Turkey Creek Nature Preserve has done a lot of work to promote and preserve Turkey Creek as a local refuge, not only for critters but also for people. There's also some good paddling to be done here, but mostly there's only enough water right after a rain.
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve :: Canon EOS 3, EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, Fuji Superia 400
And here's a little video of Tyler and me testing out a rope swing over the chilly waters today.
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The Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System is a network of existing and proposed trail systems purported and supported by the Freshwater Land Trust and other similar organizations. On Saturday, Jun 9, an event was held in Palmerdale, called Rock'n Turkey Creek, to raise money for the Turkey Creek Corridor of the trail systems, which boasts the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, along with several existing and proposed trails. 
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