Rainbow Springs State Park – Florida

Posted on July 18, 2011 by tobygant

Our family adventure this week took us to Rainbow Springs State Park near Dunnellon, FL. Florida is not known for it’s waterfalls and unfortunately these are “man-made” falls. However, it was a great opportunity to be outside and try to get some fun shots. This capture was made with my 16-35mm f/4 VR and B+W 1000x ND filter. It was a 69 second exposure at f/13 in the middle of the day. If you don’t own a good ND filter it is worth the investment. There were so many people struggling to photograph the falls today. (Mid-day light and a hand-held camera just will not do if you’re trying to make the water “flow”.) However, with a sturdy tripod, a good ND filter, and a little patience, you’ll be surprised at just what kind of image you can manage even in mid-day lighting.

40 thoughts on “Rainbow Springs State Park – Florida”

darqlabs on July 18, 2011 at 1:21 am said:

beautiful shot

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- tobygant on July 20, 2011 at 7:17 pm said:
  
  Thanks darqlabs! I love your site.
  
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Imelda on August 1, 2013 at 11:24 pm said:

What beautiful silky falls (especially since it was taken at daylight). 🙂

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dewdrop412013 on August 2, 2013 at 1:40 pm said:

Really nice photo. 😀

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allbuthomeless on August 2, 2013 at 4:54 pm said:

I am 24 miles ( or there abouts) from Rainbow River State Park. One of my oldest and closest friends lives outside of Dunnellon towards Inglis just off 40, I believe.. Small world. But I am a native Floridian. I see a lot of your travels take you to places and near people I know well. Sweet. Living the dream indeed. 🙂 I love photography. And Florida has a lot of inspiration. Thank for stopping by my blog.

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FeetfromShore on August 8, 2013 at 2:39 pm said:

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I absolutely love this picture!
I’m excited to see more of your pics in your future posts!

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kamkencreative on August 10, 2013 at 5:21 pm said:

Now that is a flowing waterfall!!!

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dflorack on August 13, 2013 at 7:25 am said:

I like your header image – nice heron.

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Louise on August 18, 2013 at 5:22 am said:

Beautiful shot!

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photobycraig on August 22, 2013 at 5:09 pm said:

Great stuff! Love the Heron!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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Inside the Mind of Isadora on August 30, 2013 at 9:53 am said:

Thanks for the hint on how to capture the fall.
Great photo …

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Judy on September 1, 2013 at 4:44 pm said:

I definitely hear you on how challenged we are here in Florida as regards things like cliffs and waterfalls!! The only time I tried to blur a waterfall was on a visit to Guam…see how far I had to go!! LOL!! I made a fake cliff one time early on in learning photoshop. It was a cut made into sand by some rushing water. Laid on my stomach and angled the camera so the wall of sand looked rather cliff-like. Took out a parking garage in the scene and inserted a nice sky and voila …a Florida cliff!! Silly but was fun!!

I wanted to say thanks for stopping by my site recently and to let you know that your banner picture is beautiful. Is it in Georgia or is it a Florida scene? Could be FLA.

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- tobygant on September 2, 2013 at 11:13 am said:
  
  ~~My banner picture is at Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, FL. Good eyes.~~
  
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  - Judy on September 2, 2013 at 11:33 am said:
    
    OH thanks!! Its surely a nice scene.
Myrefractions on September 3, 2013 at 1:25 am said:

Wonderful shot!

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kayakingcaldwell on September 3, 2013 at 10:22 am said:

Toby, thank you for stopping by my blog on kayaking Florida’s rivers. I love all your pictures–wish I had that talent to document my travels. Your photos are beautiful!

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CMFowler on September 15, 2013 at 7:48 pm said:

Someone else posted a comment describing the falls as “silky”. Silky is the perfect adjective to describe the way the falls look in this gorgeous image! This is a beautiful shot. Thank you for sharing it.

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whisperreflections on September 22, 2013 at 4:32 pm said:

Beautiful photo! The only thing missing from where I live is a waterfall. You captured this perfectly!

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KHolloway Photography on September 24, 2013 at 7:44 pm said:

Nice shot. I am still learning much. Once I get the money together, I am going to start traveling to get beauties like this!

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- tobygant on September 24, 2013 at 8:37 pm said:
  
  Thanks for the kind words, K. There never seems to be enough time or resources. I think all others would agree.
  
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Robert M. Weiss on September 25, 2013 at 2:03 pm said:

Thanks for visiting my site. I really appreciate it!

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spluckygirlart on September 25, 2013 at 8:41 pm said:

Can’t wait to see the fall colors!! My favorite time of year.

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Roberto Aloi on September 27, 2013 at 7:43 am said:

Excellent shot! I wish we had more waterfalls here in Florida. Artificial or otherwise it’s a great shot. I am also a big fan of black glass.

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Michael56j on October 1, 2013 at 10:10 am said:

Great tips, Toby. I had the same problem a couple of years ago but I managed with my polariser filter. Slowing the light makes a huge difference. Thanks for sharing.

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shannaduffyphotography on October 11, 2013 at 1:27 pm said:

This looks absolutely Magical!

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randomrose on October 17, 2013 at 2:48 pm said:

Thank you for a ‘like’ on my blog. I am not a ‘photographer’ but I do know the passion of capturing the moment. I am glad you stopped by as now I can enjoy you great work.

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stevenjwillard on November 4, 2013 at 8:14 pm said:

You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but knowledge and good technique can turn a so-so subject into a lovely photograph. Nice work.

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- tobygant on November 4, 2013 at 8:22 pm said:
  
  Thanks for the kind words, Steven. Your blog is incredible!
  
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  - stevenjwillard on November 4, 2013 at 8:29 pm said:
    
    Well thanks for that. It means a lot.
Pingback: JB the Explorer’s Fall Classic | Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail
- tobygant on November 5, 2013 at 11:27 am said:
  
  I may have to fit that one into my agenda. Sounds fun.
  
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The Crazy Crone on November 9, 2013 at 12:38 pm said:

Thanks for visiting my blog, Toby. Love your photography, wouldn’t like to send some water to North Cyprus, would you, as it’s very dry here, we get about 2 months when it rains but not that much. I never realised how much I loved photography until I looked back at all the photos I’d taken over the years, funny how you don’t see what’s right under your nose. Take care.

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- tobygant on November 9, 2013 at 2:25 pm said:
  
  Thanks for visiting my blog. Your blog is incredible.
  
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dianaed2013 on November 9, 2013 at 4:00 pm said:

Thank you for the info and the image

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Developing A New Image on November 18, 2013 at 2:51 pm said:

Nice motion in the water, I have never dragged my shutter that long, nice image….j

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countrybydesign on December 4, 2013 at 11:51 am said:

Nice shot! Where is the park? My daughter lives in Lakeland.

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- tobygant on December 4, 2013 at 1:49 pm said:
  
  Thanks. It’s in Dunnellon, FL just a couple of hours north of Lakeland.
  
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  - countrybydesign on December 4, 2013 at 7:25 pm said:
    
    Thanks. We may have to check it out sometime when we are down there.
Emilio Pasquale on December 23, 2013 at 3:30 pm said:

Nothing as exciting as the first time you capture water flowing like this. Except for maybe car lights or stars streaking. And you explain it so easily. Great shot, too!

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- tobygant on December 25, 2013 at 10:10 pm said:
  
  Thanks for the kind words, Emilio. Your photography is simply amazing. I love your blog.
  
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