Berry Creek Falls can be seen through the lush redwood forest, Big Basin Redwoods State Park

Check out next month’s newsstands for the latest issue of Backpacker Magazine. They are running one of my photos as part of an article about the Skyline To The Sea trail, which runs from the crest of the Santa Cruz mountains to the ocean.

I took this photo while out shooting on spec for a different article a few years ago. That one never made it to publication, but with photography, you never know when you’ll get a second (or third or fourth, etc) chance!

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 Monument

Redwood Creek flows through the forest, bringing nourishment to the many ferns and redwood behemoths that flourish along its length, Muir Woods National Monument

The white and black bark of these redwood trees are tied together by the ubiquitous green of forest life, Muir Woods National Monument

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.