After traveling the US for the last 17 years, my wife and I decided to move back to West Plains, MO where I grew up. We bought my grandparents farm and are in the process of building our house on the property. While on the road I picked up photography back in July of 2010 so moving back to the Ozarks has afforded me to pursue my passion in my own back yard. I grew up in the Ozarks but was never aware that the Ozark National Forest had so many waterfalls! In the spring of 2018 I made a trip down there to photograph some of the waterfalls and was instantly hooked. I was amazed at the beauty of these waterfalls in the middle of the forest. But it wasn’t until this year that I really got a vision of what I wanted to do with the 200+ waterfalls I just learned about through Tim Ernst book, Arkansas Waterfalls #2. I began making a list of the waterfalls I wanted to shoot first and I came across a picture of Sidewinder falls. I was intrigued by its shape and ruggedness. So on the afternoon of March 9, 2019 I sat out to photograph this intriguing waterfall.
To get there I had to drive about 3 hours from my house. I arrived at the parking location mentioned in the book and began the hike. The hike first takes you across a small field next to a highlands swamp. This place in itself is worthy of another trip to photograph the swamp on top of a mountain. From here you begin the descent which is really steep. You go down to the base of the mountain where all the drainages are creating what is called Bear Creek. Upon arrival the first and only thing you can hear is water falling. There are waterfalls everywhere! 4 major waterfalls all within a few hundred yards of each other. One of those being Sidewinder. I explored the area and waited for the sun to go down. As the sun began to set I waited for it to hit the horizon so I could get the sunburst effect I wanted off in the distance with the waterfall underneath. As the sun cast its light through this waterfall canyon the leaves and moss began to glow. The waterfall makes a natural “S” shape through this rugged terrain leaving behind this incredible texture on the rocks. It was an amazing place and I will have to return to capture the other waterfalls in the area.
More info: carrwardphotography.com
Sidewinder
