Panorama of Hamilton Pool in the Fall - Austin Texas Hill Country

Hamilton Pool is a Travis County Park located a few miles west of Austin, deep in the Texas Hill Country. According to its official website, a unique... more

by Silvio Ligutti

Title

Panorama of Hamilton Pool in the Fall - Austin Texas Hill Country

Artist

Silvio Ligutti

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Hamilton Pool is a Travis County Park located a few miles west of Austin, deep in the Texas Hill Country. According to its official website, "a unique natural area surrounds this pool, collapsed grotto and canyon, formed by thousands of years of water erosion. Lush plant communities, a variety of wildlife species and natural shelter attracted the area's first inhabitants. Cultural remains date back over 8,000 years."
I made this image on a cool and crisp late Autumn day. The bald cypresses, oaks, and sycamores were exploding with colors, and the waterfall seemed "healthy" after heavy rains two days prior. To really convey the sense of grandness in this place one must capture it in a panoramic format. This image is composed of 6 portrait photographs stitched together in post-processing. Most photographers decide to shoot in exposure intervals, combining the image later in what's called High Dynamic Range software. In an image like that, you'd be able to see the details on the limestone cave, but I've decided to make it as natural as possible, thus preserving the shadows.
A 1/4 mile hike down a steep trail into the creek bed will take you from the trail head to this beautiful swimming hole, and you also have the option to follow the creek down to its confluence with the awesome, bald-cypress-lined Pedernales River. Thanks for looking! FAA watermark will not show on final printed artwork.

Uploaded

November 26th, 2014