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Little Bluff Cabin cam December 31 - the last sunrise of 2024 - it's been a ______ year that's for sure - (fill in your own blank). We're happy to still be here and looking FORWARD to 2025! I'm hoping to get back to updating this Journal more often - if there's still anyone reading. THANKS for being YOU, and wishes for the best year of your life in 2025!

Our Canvas Gallery will be open for walk-ins: Tuesday Dec. 31st and Wednesday Jan. 1st, 9-5 Also open for appointments anytime. Click here for info and directions.

ARKANSAS 2025 SCENIC WALL CALENDAR now available here.

PRINT OF THE WEEK SPECIAL (above) - click here for info and to order.

12/01/24 I wanted to share a brand new photo of mine with you and explain a little bit about how it came to be.

It wasn’t until late afternoon on a sunny day back in October that I decided to go take pictures of the Comet - first time ever for me. I had a vision in my head of a particular scene (from on top of Roark Bluff), but didn’t have a clue if this scene with the comet was even possible. But what the heck, off I went in search of my first comet!

BUT WAIT - as I was approaching the turnoff to the Steele Creek Recreation area near Ponca (where my comet photo vision would be), I decided to make a slight detour and run on over to the Center Point Trailhead and hike down to take a picture of Granny Henderson’s Cabin. No relation to the comet at all, but I’d been meaning to photograph it for a while, so what the heck. I hit the trail and an hour or so later was standing next to the historic crumbling cabin that was home to one of the great icons of the Buffalo River area. I won’t get into the history or politics of it all, but it was great to be back at Granny’s with camera in hand - my first time there this century! And I’d never taken a real picture of it before.

Unfortunately the sun was setting and the cabin already in shadow, but that was OK - I kind of wanted this rustic scene to be in black and white. By the time I’d finished shooting, darkness was approaching and I really needed to kick it into high gear to get back to the trailhead, drive to Steele Creek, then climb up to the top of Roark Bluff and set up my camera for the comet photo. I’m borderline geezer (OK, actually am a full geezer), but it felt really GREAT to lean into the hillside for the steady climb back up to the trailhead - it was a total of 8.5 miles round-trip down to Granny’s and back (with a quick side trip out to Big Bluff). I wouldn’t know it until a few hours later but that fast-pace push would take a toll on me…

It was getting dark when I parked near the base of Roark Bluff, but thankfully the river was really low - it hadn’t rained in nearly two months - and I was able to take a short-cut hike across the Buffalo River and then climb straight UP the opposite side to the top of the ridge, then a left turn led me up and over to the downstream end of the famous and towering painted Roark Bluff, one of my most favorite subjects on the planet.

My eyes adjusted to the fading light with each step and I didn’t have to use a light to find my way. But once I arrived on top of the bluff I did switch on a dim headlamp for a few minutes - I’d be near the edge of a 200’ drop-off and didn’t want to take any chances - one misstep and I’d never be able to take photos again (if the fall didn’t do me in my lovely bride would kill me for being at such a dangerous spot at night all alone!).

Step One - find a safe place to plant my tripod that had a view of the top of the bluff, the river below, the far end of the bluff, and also of the sky above that included the COMET! Turns out my original vision was pretty accurate (I’d photographed from this spot several times before over the past decades). The comet was not quite out in full force yet, but I could barely see it and it was going to line up where I needed it to be - how often does that happen!?

Step Two - take a picture of the bluff. The light was fading and I had to work quickly to set up my shot. Zoom out, frame, focus, GUESS at the exposure, and push the shutter button. 30 seconds later the dark scene before me came to LIFE on the back of my camera screen - OH MY the bluff was lit up by the evening light, and much to my surprise so were colorful plants hugging the top of the bluff at my feet. I was using an extreme wide-angle lens to get everything in the scene, and in focus. I adjusted the camera a little bit here and there and took a few more photos - each one a little bit different to make sure I got a good one.

Step three - wait. I sat down in the darkness and found a comfortable spot away from the edge to wait, and a childhood memory came to mind. How many of you remember this Fayetteville AM radio station sign off from the 1960’s. “It’s Twilight In The Ozarks, the most beautiful Country on Earth!” (KHOG) On this night, on top of Roark Bluff, it absolutely WAS!!!

Even though the river far below was almost dry, there were a few pools and I started to hear splashing. It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on - ELK began to bugle! I had followed an elk trail part way up the hillside and they were using it to cross the river and go out into the large open fields to graze. Their calls bounced off the big limestone bluff beneath me and echoed into the darkness. That kind of woke me up and got me going - it was time to see about that COMET!

Step Four - duh - photograph the comet! I had set up the camera so that the comet would move into view in the sky above the bluff, and since I hadn’t moved the camera all I had to do was adjust the exposure and take pictures. Much to my great SURPRISE the comet and Milky Way turned out great!!! It was beginner’s luck for sure, and I was back home in bed by 2am.

I’d spent the next eight or nine nights photographing the comet at different locations in the Upper Buffalo River area but this first one from the top of Roark Bluff was my favorite - and actually is the only set of photos that I even looked at.

Oh yes, STEP FIVE! It took more than a month to finally put the two photos together - the one of the bluff at twilight and the Milky Way and Comet. They literally are just one on top of the other - the camera did not move - a simple double exposure.

A SPECIAL THANKS to my former student, now my TEACHER, for convincing me to get out and photograph the comet, and for making the processing part work - ALLEN WILCOX!!!

12/18/24 Here are photos of our cabin 12 hours apart - it was WONDERFUL hiking in the fog last night - oh how I LOVE doiing this! The wakeup call for first hike this morning looked much different - but also so nice to hike in early light.

MISC Poster-size prints of many different scenes of mine are available at these links - A B C D