Where Did All The Water Go?

Where Did All The Water Go?, originally uploaded by SWVirginiaDeity.

Falls Lake is a man made reservoir north of Raleigh that serves as Raleigh’s primary water reservoir. At the time this photo was taken, it was about 8 feet below normal. It was remarkable standing on this boat ramp looking out over the mostly dry lake bed. On the horizon, against the backdrop of the trees, dust was being kicked up by the stiff winds.

This is without a doubt one of my favorite pictures. I wanted to process it to give it a sort of sci-fi feel, as though Kate is walking down the ramp of a spaceship onto the surface of another planet and she’s looking around to see if she’s alone.

Sci-fi nonsense aside, the water level truly was remarkable. I went to Denver the week after this picture was shot and while I was gone the Triangle got some much needed rain. When I revisited the same spot a week or two later, the water level was almost back to normal.