For me, learning happens in spurts. Call it a growth spurt of the mind. Over the last few weeks I have been spending many hours learning advanced Photoshop techniques to help me process my photos. This gives me better tools to recreate exactly what I saw, and the mood I felt when I took the photograph.
Now, I’m no slouch when it comes to Photoshop, but that application is so deep and allows for so much creativity, there is always more to learn. Once you’ve become expert in all the individual tools Photoshop has to offer, combining them to work for you becomes a life-long practice.
Needing to try out some of the new techniques I was exploring (detailed selections, channel masking, blending modes, etc), I decided to reprocess the photo above, which I took two years ago in Eagle Cap Wilderness. I always loved the photo, but never felt that I achieved that sense of awe that I experienced hiking down East Eagle Creek canyon. My latest reworking of the photo is above – here is the result of my original processing two years ago:
Painted cliffs descend to a mixture of fir and pine along East Eagle Creek, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon
One of the things that I love about digital is that as time goes on, the experience I gain not only impacts my photographs going forward, but can have a positive impact on old photos as well. It can also be seen as a curse – that feeling that you’re never really finished working on a photograph. But I’d rather see my work (even old work) improve over time, and I’m more than willing to put in the time to make that happen.
This photo was taken in Corbett, Oregon, from the backyard of some good friends. They live high on a cliff overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge. This panorama was taken at sunset looking west toward Portland.
I grew up in Corbett, and I always enjoy going back to visit. The town is a kind of jewel, sitting close to Portland, close to Mt. Hood, and surrounded by forest and farmland.
Every time I visit, I try to take some time to explore the area with my camera. I don’t have to wander too far to see first hand why Oregon is hailed for its natural beauty.
Please be sure to click on the image above to see a larger version.
Earlier this summer I spent a couple of mornings in the Columbia River Gorge, photographing just a few of the many waterfalls that line its cliffs. Luckily, I was blessed with Oregon’s trademark high overcast skies, which gave me the perfect diffused light with which to do forest photography. By cutting out all the scattered light beams filtering through the canopy, I was able to get even light across the entire scene, and reduce the dynamic range to something my camera could handle.
Latourell Falls drops straight down from an overhanging basalt cliff, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
The two preceding images are of Latourell Falls, which seems to have endless foreground opportunities. While most of the falls in the Gorge cascade down rock faces, this waterfall plunges off an overhanging basalt cliff, allowing the water to fall straight down. Since there are never any true straight lines in nature, having a strong vertical line to work into the composition can be a lot of fun.
Ponytail Falls shoots outward from a cleft in a rock cliff, and cascades over large stones below, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Ponytail Falls sits upriver from Horsetail Falls, a much larger waterfall closer to the road. While Ponytail may be inferior to its companion in size, it makes up for it in beauty. This fall shoots out from a notch in the cliff, creating a pleasing arc of water. A hiking trail wraps around the base of the cliff behind the waterfall, giving hikers the added bonus of seeing the fall from a different perspective.
Shepperds Dell Falls empties into a narrow canyon overgrown with greenery, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Shepperd’s Dell Falls is absolutely covered with green. This is a nice tidy little waterfall that starts well below the trailhead, allowing views from high above looking down. Of course, shooting so much foliage makes using a polarizer a must. This will cut all reflections on the leaves, and really make the green color pop. This is an effect that cannot be replicated well in post processing.
The river below Wahkeena Falls cascades past a fern, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
Just below Wakheena Falls is a beautiful cascade that runs past lush ferns and wild flowers. It is not as well visited, as it is tucked away below the road, and most visitors are drawn immediately to the waterfall.
Bridal Veil Falls empties into a small pool surrounded by dense forest, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
The last waterfall I covered in this trip was Bridal Veil Falls. This is one of the more popular waterfalls along this stretch of road. Equally as popular is the Bridal Veil post office, which receives boxes of wedding invitations from all over the world, so that the invitations can be postmarked by the town of “Bridal Veil” and mailed out to potential wedding guests.
I have to admit, I had a little trouble with the aesthetics of this waterfall. The shot above is a straight-forward interpretation, shot from an (ahem) observation platform. Okay, let’s be honest – it is a vacation snapshot! I wasn’t very happy with this rendering, as I felt it lacked conveying the almost ethereal quality of the grotto that this waterfall plunged into. I worked the scene and settled on the more distant perspective below.
Bridal Veil Falls opens up into a creek that flows through dense forest, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
The best part of this photo excursion is that I only scratched the surface of the multitude of waterfalls along the Gorge. With so much water flowing into the Columbia River, and so many overcast days (smile), this area really can be a photographer’s paradise.
Gear I used to create the photos in this post:
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The sun sets on the Crown Point Vista House, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L lens with the EOS-5D MkII. ISO 100. Evaluative metering -1/3: .4 sec. at f/16.
Last weekend I was up in Oregon visiting my parents. One of the enjoyable aspects of visiting the area in which I grew up is some of the fantastic photographic opportunities there. Growing up at the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge, it was easy to take some of the remarkable scenery for granted. But living elsewhere and visiting this area helps me put fresh eyes on a familiar landscape.
This photograph features the famous Crown Point Vista House standing sentinel atop its cliff, overlooking the Columbia River. It is an over-photographed image, but one I love coming back to in different conditions. Here I only wished for a more dynamic sky, but as is always true in landscape photography, you get what nature gives you.
