The New Jersey state offices are closed for Columbus Day. I consult for the New Jersey Courts so I a holiday as well. After helping out my wife's office with some networking issues, I drove up to one of my favourite spots in Skillman. I parked at the Rock Brook along Hollow Road. I brought only my iPhone and my tripod. I have a smartphone holder clamped to the centre column of my tripod. I usually use it to hold my iPhone when I am doing long-exposures using the Trigger Trap app and dongle. But it also works nicely to keep my iPhone so that I can use as the primary camera. That's what I did. All the images below were captured on my iPhone 6 with either the native camera app, vividHDR or Slow Shutter. I imported the TIFF images to Adobe Lightroom, applied profile correction, and a Hazy Pop matte filter.
I was surprised by the number of leaves on the ground. The trees were still mostly green, and the air temperature was moderate, so I was surprised that many leaves had fallen from the trees. The leaves were soft, not crunchy as I had expected from how brown they were.
It was quiet as I made my way down to the water.
As I approached the edge of the brook, leaves and trees gave way to the multitude of rocks that provide the brook its name. There were few leaves on the ground here. Mostly grass that found a way to thrive between the stones. I could hear the water flowing nearby.
I imagined that in a few weeks as the cooler air and dwindling sunlight causes more leaves to change colours and fall, the rock bed will be covered in orange and red.
While I set up the tripod near the "falls", I saw a few frogs hopping around. This one decided to keep me company. I very carefully set the tripod up so that I could get a close. I wish I had one of those Moment zoom lenses for the iPod. It took a few tries before the frogs were comfortable with my presence and sat still long enough for me to grab a few shots.
The "falls" is just a stack of large boulders that have formed a natural dam in the brook. The water pours over the rock, and I shot these images using the Slow Shutter app to give the water that silky smooth look you get when shooting long exposures on a DSLR.
While the Slow Shutter Cam captured the "falls" I looked around. I noticed this stack of rocks. I guess someone was down there before me and decided to add some artwork. I like it.
