david allio

Shunkawauken Falls – North Carolina Waterfall Series
©2015 David Allio

In dry times, the exposed cliff of White Oak Mountain in Polk County, North Carolina, appears as a looming rock face greeting travelers approaching from South Carolina. However, in periods of wet weather the water of Horse Creek become Shunkawauken Falls. Tumbling nearly 2000 feet from mountain crest to base, the upper section of these waterfalls seem to defy logic as the flow appears to emanate from the skyline. This visual deception is accomplished by an elevated watershed obscured from viewers approaching from a lower elevation.

This black-and-white composition presents the upper section of Shunkawauken Falls as exposed through a 114-degree angle-of-view lens. Exaggerated optics provide an inclusive visual representation of the landscape unavailable to an unaided observer from the same location.