Red Foxglove grows alone in a clearing in the forest, Corbett, Oregon
This week I’m posting a wildflower shot. I don’t often get out to specifically shoot wildflowers, but seeing pristine foxglove like this, standing out against a green forest backdrop makes it hard to pass by.
I was up visiting my parents who live near the Columbia River Gorge outside of Portland, Oregon. I decided to photograph portions of their forest, which is mostly Douglas fir, and can get pretty dense in places.
Because the forest was thick, it was dark, and a tripod was required. For this shot, I used a polarized filter to cut any sheen from the vegetation. This really allowed the greens to pop. I also wanted to isolate the flowers, so I used a wide aperture (f/2.8) and the telephoto end of my 24-70mm zoom lens. In general, the longer the lens, the shallower the depth of field, so if I’d shot the flower at 24mm, even at f/2.8 the background foliage would have been much more in focus. With 70mm, all the busyness of the forest disappeared into a sea of green.
Below is another shot from the same trip, though of a different foxglove in a different part of the forest.
A couple of months ago I wanted to photograph some of the great waterfalls in Big Basin State Park at their highest water flow. My brother Jake was kind enough to join me for the hike, and put up with me taking photos along the way. We hiked the Berry Creek Falls loop, which is one of the premier hikes in the park. The loop is about 10 miles, with the waterfall section about half way through.
The day was overcast and drizzly – perfect for forest photography. The trail out to the falls meandered through a coastal redwood forest, with massive trees on either side of the trail.
The trail winds between massive redwood trees
Eventually the trail meets up with Berry Creek, which ultimately makes several drops on its way to the Pacific Ocean, creating a series of waterfalls, each with their own unique characteristics. The waterfall below is Golden Cascade, which is actually made up of two sections – upper and lower cascade. The upper cascade seemed to glow a dull orange in the soft filtered light of the forest.
The golden-orange color of upper golden cascade derives its name from the brown algae living on the sandstone
At the very bottom of the cascade was a small pool surrounded by a mud bank and the root system of a fallen giant. Water poured over the bark of a long-dead log. Because the mud bank surrounded the pool on all sides, in order to get this shot, I set up my tripod sideways, with the legs sticking into the soft bank behind me. I held the tripod against the slope so that the pressure kept if from moving. From this tight angle, my widest lens couldn’t cover the entire falls. In order to compose the picture, I used a panoramic stitching technique to combine five total vertical photos.
Green surrounds the lowest section of Golden Cascade along the Berry Creek Falls trail, Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Finally we came to Berry Creek Falls, the tallest (and most picturesque) waterfall along the loop. There is a nice observation deck about halfway up the falls that offers the hiker a good view.
Picturesque Berry Creek Falls plunges 40 feet, Big Basin Redwoods State Park
After this point the trail ascends up the other side of the ravine from the falls. There is a point at a bend in the trail that offers a great view of the falls through the forest. The shot below was another panoramic composite of about 7 photos. Once stitched together, it created a TIFF file of over 1 GB (an 81 megapixel image), which allowed me to make a 20 x 60 inch print.
Berry Creek Falls can be seen through the lush redwood forest, Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Finally, the trail connected up to Waddell Creek and followed it up-river. After witnessing the waterfalls, this creek bed was no less scenic. Lush green moss and ferns blanketed the rocks and soil along the creek as the trail wound back up the mountain.
Waddell Creek flows through a green forest along the Berry Creek Falls trail, Big Basin Redwoods State Park
As we climbed away from the creek, a soft rain came down and cooled us on our final ascent. Overall, it was a perfect time of year and a perfect day on which to experience the park. The weather kept most hikers away, giving us long stretches of this normally busy trail to ourselves.
Soft light filtered by the forest canopy partially silhouettes this moss covered tree, Muir Woods National Monument
Early this year, I made a very brief stop to Muir Woods National Monument as my wife and I were touring around with an out-of-town guest. I knew that I wanted to come back soon to do some more in-depth photography, and last week I was able to do just that. Armed with a lightweight tripod, a polarized filter, and my 24-70mm zoom lens, I worked my way through the heart of the canyon in which Muir Woods is situated. The day was overcast and slightly drizzling – perfect conditions for forest photography.
The photo above was created from five photos stitched together. I love the tree’s long, gangly branches and the bright green of the moss-covered bark. The way in which the filtered light penetrates the thick canopy above gives the grass and green foliage an almost translucent glow.
Scroll down to see more photos from that day, or click here to see the entire gallery.
A fern grows at the base of a massive redwood tree, flourishing in the light of a rare clearing, Muir Woods National MonumentRedwood Creek flows through the forest, bringing nourishment to the many ferns and redwood behemoths that flourish along its length, Muir Woods National MonumentThe white and black bark of these redwood trees are tied together by the ubiquitous green of forest life, Muir Woods National Monument
Twin redwoods stretch toward the forest's upper canopy, Muir Woods National Monument
This photo was taken last week on a quick visit to Muir Woods National Monument, a short drive north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate bridge. The trails of Muir Woods merge with those in Mt. Tamalpias State Park, giving visitors many miles of hiking full of beautiful old growth coastal redwoods and stunning vistas of San Francisco and the surrounding coast line.
Although you can’t tell from this photo, it can be quite dark at the forest floor, requiring long shutter speeds (which means tripods are essential). Also essential (or at least highly desirable) in forest scenes is the polarized filter. While there may be no water to reflect or sky to darken anywhere in sight, the forest vegetation itself can reflect a lot of light, especially any plants with a waxy surface. Using a circular polarizer brings out their true green color and makes them pop.
The two trees in this photo were huge specimens, stretching side by side to disappear into the upper canopy of the redwoods and Douglas fir.
