PUBLICATION:  Backpacker Magazine
ARTICLE:  The Best Local Hikes:  Hikers Pick Their Favorite Trails Around the U.S.
PHOTO USE:  1/2 page spread

I had an opportunity to contribute a small image of Virginia Hawkins Falls in Upstate South Carolina to Backpacker Magazine in their September/October issue.  It wasn’t a big spot or a feature article; however, the location was important to me as the photograph they requested was one of my earliest successes behind the lens.  I went to college at Clemson University and subsequently lived in Upstate South Carolina off and on for nearly a decade.  Waterfalls were one of my earliest passions behind the lens, and Virginia Hawkins Falls within Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve was one of my favorites.

Part of Laurel Fork Heritage Preserve, Virginia Hawkins Falls sits right along the Foothills Trail, a 77-mile national recreational trail through Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina.  The waterfall is very water dependent:  more rain equals greater opportunity behind the lens.  On this particular trip, I timed my arrival to be just after a heavy round of soaking rain that provided for the fullness of the foreground fan of cascades that I used to frame this shot.  At a time when I wasn’t hitting shots with great frequency (long before I became a full-time outdoor photographer as well), this was one of my prouder moments behind the camera.  A big thank you to the folks over at Backpacker Magazine for reaching out and for the opportunity!