Upper Falls Creek

June 28, 2016 in 25mm, Pano, Panorama, Sony A7II

This weekend, Gavin, my middle son and I made the trek out to Fall Creek Falls in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Neither of us had been there before, so it was a fun adventure to share with only him.

Also, good to note- Gavin says, "Dad, this is a really cool waterfall, but it has the dumbest name ever."

Agreed.

This view is somewhat unique as most people shoot from the lower falls, but if you keep hiking through a tangled mess of downed trees and roots, the trail leads to this amazing view of the upper falls. This is a Pano from 8 images made with my Sony Alpha A7ii and Zeiss Batis 25mm f/2.

Wahclella Falls

March 09, 2016 in 35mm, iPhone, Kids, Sony RX1r, Waterfalls

In late January the kids and I snuck out for a beautiful morning hike in one of our favorite spots in the Columbia River Gorge. Wahclella falls lies at the end of a fairly short loop that you can access from the same exit as the Boneville dam. The falls was in full-force, and fuller than I'd ever seen it.

For scale, If you look really close you can see my kids in the shadows to the left of the falls.

Trail of Ten Falls – Silver Falls State Park

November 15, 2015 in Sony A7, Waterfalls

The kids and I both had this Wednesday off for Veteran's Day and instead of hanging out at home where they'd just play video games and I'd edit photos, I planned a fairly epic hike to use the free time.

South Falls is the most popular and most photographed, likely because of its proximity to the main parking lot.

The Trail of 10 Falls wanders through the Silver Falls State park and reveals views of these beautiful ten waterfalls over 7.2 miles. I'd recommend you give yourself plenty of time if you're with kids, or camera. Probably around 4 hours or longer. We took around 4.5 and barely made it back to the car before park closing at 5pm. I could have taken another 2 hours to set up shots and explore each spot, but the kids weren't having any of that.

Double Falls is off on a short 100 foot trail and it's hard to capture its beauty in photographs. The short upper fall pours into a small pool before overflowing and forming the second fall.

Be sure to take the trail behind Middle North Falls.

I lived a little closer (or so I thought) to these falls in college and we seemed to make it out there about once every 6 months. Things haven't changed a lot, except the condition of the trails. It used to be a muddy mess out there in winter, but the trails are all in very good condition.

This is an unnamed fall that only appears in rainy seasons.  Not one of the 10. — This is an unnamed fall that only appears in rainy seasons. Not one of the 10.

If you like walking behind waterfalls, this is your place. One of the things I really appreciate is the different basic shapes of these ones. The Middle North falls is a huge sheet of water in most any condition or water level because of the way it breaks over the ledge. North falls cuts through a narrow channel creating a strong tube of water that almost twists as it pours off the cliff. South and Lower South are much more dependant on the level of water for their shape.

As you are planning your hike, I'd recommend reviewing the map to decide on direction and starting location. The South Falls parking lot is the most popular and has a bathroom, lodge gift shop and other facilities, but is often more crowded. The North Falls parking lot is much smaller, with less stuff. It has an outhouse.

This one is my favorite, likely because of how heavy the focused water hits.

The loop has one section that I found less exciting and perhaps worth skipping or considering. The Rim trail that leads from North falls back to the South Falls parking lot is roughly 2 miles long, and has much less of a view. It also parallels the road. You can cut back down to the main Canyon trail at the Winter Falls parking lot and overlook area. You'll be backtracking over trail you've already seen, but I find it really nice to see the falls from a different perspective and you can take the Maple Ridge Trail on the way back as well if you want to change it up a little. This was our standard method when I came here a lot as a college student.

Now that I'm reacquainted with this excursion, I'll certainly be coming back when the seasons change. Ice would be fantastic!

South Silver Falls at Day's End

October 23, 2015 in 24mm, Sony A7, Waterfalls

Silver Falls has a fantastic loop that's 8.7 miles long and winds through the forest outside of Salem Oregon giving pretty amazing views (some from behind) of 10 different waterfalls. The South Falls here is the largest.

The Upper Falls of Multnomah Creek

October 04, 2015 in 35mm, 55mm, Photo Processing, Waterfalls, Sony A7, Panorama

This is a 91 Megapixel pano made from 17 images. Here's a peek at the detail

The kids and I hiked up past the upper observatory deck of Multnomah Falls to see the two waterfalls that most visitors never see. Dutchman falls is a smaller cascade over a mound of basalt chunks and then a gentle pour from the pull beneath. There's been a log in front of the falls for a couple years now, but hey, that's nature.

There's nothing quite like the view through a Hasselblad viewfinder. The kids and I took turns framing things up. I'll share those shots when I get them developed.

This is a 76megapixel pano made from 22 images. Click here for a peek at the detail

The trail continues to wind up into the forest, but not before a beautiful view of Weisendanger Falls. There are a bunch of logs to climb if you want to get right up near the falls, but it's pretty easy even for my 7 year old. Weisendanger can fluctuate quite a bit, and this photo shows it at a particularly light flow. I'm looking forward to coming back once the rains start up again and we get more snow pack.

Splatter

March 08, 2015 in 35mm, 2015 Daily Photo, Sony A7, Waterfalls

I've stopped at this little shower so many times, but today the light was streaming though it just so. On our way back 20 minutes later the light was gone. Glad I stopped.

Down and Through

March 03, 2015 in 24mm, Neutral Density Filter, Sony A7, Waterfalls

I was able to get out into the gorge with Dean, Roger and a bunch of kids on Sunday and even with all those kids and a rambunctious puppy, I got a couple good shots in. Thank you to Opal for holding Bailey while I composed this one.

I used the Olympus Zuiko, OM mount 24mm f/2.8 with a Neutral Density Filter.

Colder Still

January 06, 2015 in 24mm, Neutral Density Filter, Sony A7, Waterfalls

I had a pretty long chunk of time off during the holiday season and though I was in perpetual new puppy mode for most of it, I did manage to get out into the elements with my boys and one of their friends for a cold afternoon hike to a new waterfall I hadn't been to before.

Dry Creek Falls is located a little over 2 miles from Cascade Locks on the Pacific Crest Trail. The trail winds through beautiful forest, around giant boulders and under a power line clearing. Contrary to the guidance given by many of the online resources, the trail is pretty straightforward.

I never did find a straight answer to the one question all 3 boys kept asking- "Why do they call it Dry Creek when there's always water in it?"

I don't know guys. Just enjoy it.