A long exposure turns the flowing water of Eagle Creek to silk, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon
On the last evening of my recent backpacking trip to Eagle Cap Wilderness, I had some time to photograph Eagle Creek, which was close to camp. Through a combination of the late hour of the day and my polarized filter, I was forced to use a slow shutter speed.
When photographing movement (especially water), a slow shutter is often desired, so I decided to accentuate the effect by setting the camera to ISO 50 (instead of my usual ISO 100 setting for landscapes). This gave me a shutter speed of 6 seconds at f/16, rendering to the rushing water into a smooth abstract. The polarized filter took all the reflective sheen off of the vegetation, allowing the green bushes to pop.
This image could have benefited from a slightly wider angle lens. Unfortunately, after much internal debate, I had decided not to bring by 17-40mm lens along on the trail (purely a weight issue). I use the 24-70mm lens for most of my backpacking work, but in the future, I will probably carry the wider lens with me for occasions like this.
Below are a couple more shots from the creek.
The surface of the water appears to be smooth, due to the long exposure. Eagle Cap Wilderness, OregonThis shot was taken above Eagle Creek, looking down at the water, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon
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.
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Pescadero State Beach for sunrise. I picked a weekday to make sure I had the place to myself. I arived about a half hour before sunrise to catch some of the early light peaking over the eastern horizon, and get some long exposures of the surf before the sun actually hit them.
Pescadero has three separate parking areas off of Highway 1. For photography, my favorite is the middle one because of the interesting rock formations just off the coast. For wide sandy beaches, either the northern or southern lots would be the best bet.
The following two images were taken of the surf swirling around some off-shore rock formations. Because of the very low ambient light, a long exposure was needed, which gives the water that misty smoke look.
Ambient light casts the scene in shades of blue, Pescadero State Beach, CaliforniaThe movement of the tidal flow is captured by a long exposure in pre-dawn light along the California coast
At this time of the morning, the sun hadn’t yet risen above the horizon, but the eastern sky was reflecting some vibrant oranges and yellows. The image below was taken facing east, in the opposite direction of the previous two photos.
Morning light crests the horizon and is reflected in a shallow tidal estuary, Pescadero State Beach, California
Once the sun had peaked the horizon, the western sky finally was lit up in the reds and oranges of sunrise. The following image was taken just after sunrise, looking west. The light was dim enough to still require a long exposure (though not as long as the first two images), but now the sky and water were a completely different color.
A high tide moves in over off shore rocks at dawn, Pescadero State Beach, California
And looking south, the morning light was even more spectacular.
Pastel oranges and aquas emerge at sunrise, Pescadero State Beach, California
About 20 minutes after sunrise, the entire landscape was well lit. The truly special light of “magic hour” had gone, but with the sun still so low on the horizon, everything was bathed in soft warm light, with no harsh shadows. The following images was one of the last I took before I packed up my gear and headed home.
Morning light touches the orange sandstone cliffs at Pescadero State Beach, California
Early morning light peeks around the cliff, lighting the coastal vegetation with a soft glow
Winter and early spring is a great time to shoot sunrise out at the coast – there are fewer mornings of the dense fog common in the summer. It can be quite frustrating to get out of bed 1 to 1 1/2 hours before sunrise (it is best to be in place at least 30 minutes before sunrise), drive out to the coast, only to find a thick marine layer obscuring your view and all of the good light. However, those special mornings when everything seems to click make it all worth the effort.
Realistically, many people only shoot sunsets, and usually only serendipitously. It can be a great way to capture being in a special place at a special time. The next time you see a beautiful sunset, take a few moments to point your lens at your surroundings, especially if the western horizon is clear of clouds. Sometimes the most glorious (reflected) light will be directly behind you.
