Swallow Falls State Park

Author's Comments

Western Maryland feels further from DC than it actually is, and Swallow Falls is part of why the drive is worth making. The loop is short - a mile and a half - but the trail passes through stands of hemlock that have been standing since before the country was a country, and the light under those trees does something I have not quite found anywhere else in the region. It comes down green. It filters. On an overcast afternoon in April the whole forest feels underwater. Muddy Creek Falls is the one everyone photographs, and for good reason. Fifty-three feet of water falling clean off a lip of rock, best framed from the pool below with a tripod and a long enough exposure to smooth the water without losing the texture at the base. I have made this photograph in three seasons and the winter version is the one that stays with me - ice building up along the edges in strange architectural shapes, the water still moving through the center, everything quieter than it should be. The other three falls are smaller and less photographed, which means they are often where I spend the most time. Tolliver Falls in particular has a mossy, intimate quality that rewards slowing down. Come on a weekday if you can. The park sees steady traffic in summer but spring and late fall belong mostly to the trees.

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