Photos

This image was taken the same day as my other early morning shot from Friday, just a bit later in the morning as I was following the path back to my car. You can go two ways after leaving the top of the granite out-cropping at Elephant Rocks State Park, the main path encircles a large part of that big hunk of reddish rock that sticks out of the ground there. I came from the west side, which is actually backwards from the tour the State Park people suggest you take. I thought coming from the back end would be a little quicker, because I wanted to make it to the top before the sun started coming up. I could have scrambled up the face of the granite out-cropping, like I used to do when I was 12, but not hauling a bunch of camera equipment. Turns out I could have brought just my camera, 10-20mm Sigma lens and a tripod and been just fine, but I had to bring it all, just in case I needed something like my LensPen SensorKlear loupe or a SB-800 Speedlite... I took the same way out as I did in.

The State Park has this trail set up for the blind, with pads on the pathway to let them know there is an informational point and then a braille explanation, usually with something someone can feel - a carved rock, some master stone carver's initials, an iron ring driven into the rock to secure some machinery, etc. This area was mined for the high quality granite for many years, the town "Graniteville" just down the road was built with granite - all the homes were granite brick and the streets were paved with granite. Not much remains of that town, since most the people who lived there were working in the mines. Now there are a couple of original structures still standing, but mostly there are dilapidated trailers and some clapboard shacks, which is typical for places this far out of (real) civilization in southern Missouri. This area is Missouri's Appalachia, most of the mines are closed now, so the folks are trying to survive with what they know.

I walked by the lake earlier, at twilight, and took a couple shots then, but I liked this one better with the light highlighting the blasted granite walls and the reflection. I hope you all like it, too!

Have a great week!