Had a fun first visit to this falls, albeit with much frustration in actually photographing it! This view is taken from high on a muddy slope, and despite getting soaked on the hike out, I was fighting sun for the better part of an hour to get any workable shots. There is also a lot of water in this stream, so I was battling spray even at this distance. Compounding my troubles were a grove of red alder (cropped out at lower left) that were waving wildly in the spray, plus that big, dark cliff as a backdrop!
So I'll definitely be heading back to experiment a bit more. I started to set up for a stream level shot from below the falls, then finally bailed because of the sun (only to get hit with a nice downpour 20 minutes later on the way out). The creek, itself, is quite photogenic, and would be worthy of a trip in its own right. The falls would be much more workable with about half this flow, so there's another reason for a return.
Anyway, comments and suggestions appreciated - this one stretched my non-RAW capabilities to the limit, for sure!
Cropped by 2/3 from 11mm image, 1/2 second, f18, polarizer
Tom, we sure have been shooting similarly as of late. I was here about two weeks ago also! Amazing falls but not terribly photogenic IMO with all that brush just out of the frame here blowing around. This is about as good as it gets with this type of flow. I agree, the creek is extremely nice and offers plenty of opportunities in its own right.
From your perspective, this appears to be a very hard one to photograph.. I like your exposure and all, but I might be tempted to use a longer focal length to isolate the falls more from the surroundings and go vertical as well..
Thanks for the good ideas, all. Marc, I agree on those alders - a nice flood to rearrange the debris and clear out the alders would be a good thing next winter! It would also be more interesting with a bit less volume. This creek is one of the series that drains the upper slopes of Mt. Defiance, so it will be flowing strongly for many more weeks, given the snowpack up there. Might make for a late June trip, though. The straight-on shot is quite spectacular, albeit impossible right now due to spray.
Interesting place. Looks like there might be a number of promising angles here. I think you did well considering, especially in capturing the detail in the water and large rock face in shadow.
...and here's another rough recon video of the falls from creek level. A bit less sun and water, and I might have brought back an image from this spot!
Discussion
7 repliesSo I'll definitely be heading back to experiment a bit more. I started to set up for a stream level shot from below the falls, then finally bailed because of the sun (only to get hit with a nice downpour 20 minutes later on the way out). The creek, itself, is quite photogenic, and would be worthy of a trip in its own right. The falls would be much more workable with about half this flow, so there's another reason for a return.
Anyway, comments and suggestions appreciated - this one stretched my non-RAW capabilities to the limit, for sure!
Cropped by 2/3 from 11mm image, 1/2 second, f18, polarizer