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Hen Wallow Falls - Great Smoky Mountain National Park

7/7/2016

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Hen Wallow Falls in located in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) in Cosby, Tennessee. The hike is uphill most of the way and seemed longer than 2.2 miles to the falls. When you arrive, you see a 90 foot tall stream of water that Little Britches noted as follows:  "The Earth looks like it has a leak in it." Little Britches wants a good reward for all that walking and this waterfall will not be that reward unless you really love waterfalls.

The good news is the waterfall is not a well visited waterfall. This is unusual for the GSMNP where it seems the stream of people never stop coming at most falls. You are likely to have 10 minute spans of time all to yourself at the base of the falls during peak times in the summer. This gives you plenty of time to setup your gear, be deliberate in your composition, and be patient if someone does come along and gets in frame.

There is limited space at the falls and focal lengths of 18mm and wider should be used (35mm equivalent). 21mm will be very tight but if you get back far enough it may work. I mainly put the note about the 21mm lens in here for myself. I want the Loxia 2.8/21mm because of its small size and stellar Zeiss performance but I am trying to resist the temptation. I photographed the waterfall with my Sony a7Rii and Sony 16-35/4 lens. I love this lens because it is wide, high quality, sharp across the frame (who looks at the corners anyway) and will accept my Lee Filters 100mm Lee Big Stopper ND filter. 

The low amount of water you will encounter at the base of the falls makes no visible mist. Unless it has recently rained, mist should not be a concern. You can get really close to the base of the falls, within 15 feet, and photograph without being rushed or concerned about being in someone else's way.
Picture
Hen Wallow Falls, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Cosby, TN - Eric Barger
Sony a7Rii with Sony 16-35/4
17mm
ISO 400
f/10
24 seconds

Lee Big Stopper

The low amount of water you will encounter at the base of the falls makes no visible mist. Unless it has recently rained, mist should not be a concern. You can get really close to the base of the falls, within 15 feet, and photograph without being rushed or concerned about being in someone else's way.

Looking back on the photos of the falls on this hike, the Lee Big Stopper was just too much ND filter. In a shaded area on a cloudy day just like this, I would prefer shorter exposures. I raised my ISO to 400 and the Sony a7Rii does not penalize my dynamic range, noise, or shadow recovery for doing so. It still wasn't enough to speed up the exposure time to my liking on this windy day. I would like to pick up the Lee Little Stopper and decrease my exposure times by roughly half. The green foliage around the water fall looks a bit dreamy because the wind was pushing the leaves around. It is a nice effect but maybe a little too much for my liking. 

​Waterall location: Cosby, Tennessee. Exit 435 on I-40. GPS Coordinates 35°45'37" N 83°14'16" W

Full frame recommended focal length: 18mm or wider

Do's: Take plenty of water on this hike. Travel light. Be prepared for a rough hike (roots and rocks everywhere). You will see salamanders at the base of the falls if you patiently look for a country minute or two.

Don'ts: Sunscreen isn't a concern as the hike is mostly shaded. Your Enu won't have enough trees at the base of the falls to use. Seating is limited to hard rocks and not comfortable. We also encountered a lot of bugs and mosquitos along the way.

GPX File: I have attached my track log of the hike for you to use. I use Minimalist GPS Tracker on my iPhone to track my hikes and later geotag my photos in Adobe Lightroom. ​
Hen Wallow Falls Tracklog
File Size: 44 kb
File Type: gpx
Download File


Picture
Hen Wallow Falls, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Cosby, TN - Eric Barger
Sony a7Rii with Sony 16-35/4
18mm
ISO 400
f/7.1
25 seconds
​Lee Big Stopper
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