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Photographs of Starved Rock State Park - Sandstone Canyons and Waterfalls
Nestled along the Illinois River in northern Illinois lies Starved Rock State Park. I have heard and seen photographs of this park over the years and finally had an opportunity to visit for the first time in October 2016 and returned in 2017. The park is comprised of a series of sandstone canyons along the river, connected by a network of trails. It is an extremely popular park and especially in the fall.
Fall colors were peaking as I arrived just after a bustling weekend (the ranger said the park had been full and they were turning visitors away the previous day). For parts of three days I explored the network of trails leading into the canyons. The sky was bright and overcast until the last day. This made it excellent conditions for photographing.
The night before my last day it rained throughout the night, so my last day was spent returning to some of the canyons to photograph intermittent waterfalls that had appeared. It continued to rain throughout the day and I photographed and hiked in the rain using a makeshift setup with an umbrella strapped to my tripod. I practically had the park to myself. My final hike was spent walking almost two miles in a torrential downpour.
The resulting photographs are evidence that it was clearly worth the effort.