Not long ago, I drove to Table Rock State Park to do a shoot at Carrick Creek. Carrick Creek meanders around the base of Table Rock Mountain before emptying into the lake in the park. I started early, shortly after sunrise and took a few shots on the way up the creek. I happened across the waterfall (one of several on the trail) and as I was setting up, I noticed this little cairn built on the rock ledge downstream of the waterfall.

Cairn (pronounced kern) is a Gaelic word referring to a mound of stones forming a memorial or a landmark. Cairn have been built for hundreds of years. Many of the ancient cairn are 4-8 feet tall, some even taller. Most recently, hikers have adopted the practice of constructing them along trails and landmarks. Usually they are placed to alert others to the direction of the trail but many are placed just for the symbolism and experience itself. They have come to symbolize hiking and exploration and it is very common now to find them at landmarks such as waterfalls, mountaintops, trail junctions, etc. I rarely visit a waterfall where there are not two or three cairn stacked inconspicuously on a ledge in the waterfall.

Some people frown on the building of cairn and knock them down when found as they believe that they disturb the natural landscape. Others like them and leave them alone. I ran across this one on a hike recently and thought it was interesting in this setting so I took a photograph. Normally, my subjects are usually the waterfalls themselves but in this case, I decided to compose the shot with the waterfall as the background, isolating the cairn as my subject.

I left this cairn alone as I didn't think it detracted from the setting and I actually appreciated the skill of whomever took the time to place the stones.

About this photograph:

This shot was actually three separate shots, focus stacked for sharpness from front to back and then blended during post processing.
Camera was set to my lowest native setting, ISO 64.
Camera was my Nikon D810 in vertical orientation.
Lens was a Nikon 70-200 F4 lens at 200 mm focal length.
Shot at aperture F11, 3 second shutter speed (low light and a polarizer) to blur the water and help isolate the subject.
Shot on a Sirui tripod.