Waterfall photography especially has technical obstacles that always present themselves. In direct contradiction to other landscape photography you may often welcome the harsh midday sun that may filter it’s way down through the tree canopy and illuminate the falls. Access to the down stream section of a particular falls may be quite hazardous as the steep canyon walls may prevent the ideal vantage point. Particularly high falls often prevent photographing their full length even with the widest of lenses.
It may be possible to explore the technique of a vertical panorama. Exposure problems are another issue as you may be dealing with many stops of light that the camera cannot deal with. I often revert to HDR to deal with this issue.
Admittedly not all the waterfalls you see here are worthy of a frame and I will admit that looking at endless shots of waterfalls can be quite uninspiring; however I hope you will judge each photograph as a separate canvas and realize that I have photographed many falls for documentary reasons.
You may be wondering how to find obscure waterfalls and maybe wish to find a comprehensive list of Northwest waterfalls. Well I have to give credit to Bryan Swan who authored the Northwest Waterfall Survey
Another perspective
The beautiful and crystal clear Cold Creek makes up the foreground of this shot.
Getting There: Head East on Hwy #26 after passing the towns of Rhododendron and Zigzag on you’re way towards Govt. Camp and as the road starts a continuous uphill grade start looking at road markers on the left. Approximately 4 miles East of Rhododendron you will turn left on Road #39; a large sign that directs you to the Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp also denotes this road. After turning onto Road #39 drive until the road ends ½ mile past the Kiwanis camp. There is a large turnout and a clear marked trailhead. The falls are a mere 1/3 of a mile upstream.
One of the great joys about photography for me are the memories. I can fondly remember details about every shot I've ever taken. On this day I left my family sleeping while setting off to see these falls. It was perfect weather and I can remember feeling excited as I began to hear the rush of water telling me I was getting closer. I sped up to gain my first glimpse of Benham Falls around the next bend. I hurried down a few hundred feet of switchbacks to the vantage point you see here. I tried several long exposures but settled on 6 seconds when the water looked right. The beauty of digital.
Tech Info:(Pentax K10d 16-45mm f4 @ 26mm Hoya circular polorizer,Cokin 3 stop nd and a cokin split nd grad filter, Manfrotto Tripod) Worked in the digital darkroom
One of Oregon's secret hideaways is located just east of Tygh Valley along Highway #216. The White River plunges 90 ft over a basalt shelf. I recall driving to this State Park in the late afternoon after a day of shooting on the Warm Springs Reservation. Prime shooting light was fading fast and the gate to the park was closed. As it was in many cases I had a hurried setup as I scouted prime shooting locations before the sun was lost. This was the only shot I could salvage from that day. The money shot is one of three waterfalls cascading down with the morning sun providing beautiful backlighting. We plan on returning next year.
This Photograph has special meaning to me as it was the first landscape shot I took using my new Pentax K10d DSLR. I was thoroughly impressed with the vivid colors this camera rendered. This horizontal waterfall is a tributary of the Clackamas River approximately 10 miles from the town of Estacada oregon.
These falls are located in Central Oregon just below Paulina Lake.
This babbling brook caught my eye while hiking the columbia Gorge's Eagle creek Trail #400. This trail is one of the busiest in the Gorge system taking you up Eagle Creek and beyond, 14 miles to Whatum Lake.
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