Tropical Waterfall at the Gaylord Opryland Resort

A tropical-looking waterfall flows down the rocks in the Delta Island area of the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee.

We spent the past weekend at the Gaylord Opryland Resort for the annual Lads to Leaders Convention, as we have done every Easter weekend for the past several years. It was a great time, and Jaylin did well in all of his events. But more about that later on.

In the meantime, just enjoy this nice waterfall photo. The sounds of the waterfalls there are always quite relaxing, and they provide some good photo opportunities, too. We didn’t have a balcony this year at our room in the Cascades section, but my Mom did. So on a couple of different occasions, we would go sit on her balcony and eat a meal, enjoying the soothing sounds of the rushing water. If we had a balcony, I would have been tempted to leave the balcony door open slightly all night just to hear the water. Unless they turn it off at night. Those waterfalls sometimes look so real that you forget there is a pump that can be turned off.

I hope I didn’t ruin the illusion for anyone. Sorry about that. Here’s another photo to help make it up to you:

If you are wondering, the waterfall in the first photo is slightly to the right of the waterfall at the right of the second photo. And that darker path in the water is what guides the boats that float along the river, by the way. And that tree that leans out over the water from the left always interests me, too.

So much to see there. And it is sometimes hard to remember that you are still inside. And in Nashville. Cool.

As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. - Psalm 42:1

About the photo:

I used a long exposure here to capture the smoothness of the water in the waterfalls, because I always think that look is cool. However, I deviated slightly from what I wrote in the Setting Your Shutter Speed post from Steve’s Photography Tips. I did use a slow shutter speed, but I forced the camera to set the shutter speed by remaining in Aperture Priority mode (which you can read about in the Understanding Aperture post) and using a high aperture setting, in this case f/18 for the first photo and f/20 for the second photo. I also steadied the camera using the railing around the edge of the water instead of bothering to go back to our room to get my tripod.

I still really like that effect, and I’m glad I remembered to use it this time, since I sometimes forget until it is too late.

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus 14-42mm IIR
Date: March 25, 2016
Location: Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville, Tennessee