Mingo Falls is a very tall series of waterfalls dropping to cascades at the bottom. It is approximately 100 feet in length and is located on the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Swain County, North Carolina. From the Blue Ridge Parkway take US 441 to Saunooke Bridge Road, go left on Big Cove Road to Mingo Falls Campground. The trail is approximately 250 yards long but goes up a steep series of steps, maybe a hundred or more. You will follow the trail and cross a footbridge which is probably the best spot to photograph this falls. The best approach to capturing this falls is to shoot vertical. I have talked to people who have attempted to photograph this at various times of the day and it s tough because of the great degree of contrast from light hitting the upper portion. I used a polarizer and split neutral density filter. I also bracketed this shot using a minus and plus factor of 2 stops. Nikon D600, Nikon 24-70mm lens set to a focal length of 38mm. Aperture at f/4, shutter speeds from 1/25 to .06 seconds, and ISO at 400. I did not intend to shoot at ISO 400 but I did and did not catch it until we had left the falls, so it really pays to always check your settings. On a personal note I had read a lot about this falls and on a scale of 1 to 10 two different photographers gave it a 9, I was not as impressed with it as with some of the other falls we photographed.

JMG0079HDR