The photo above was taken in April in Olympic National Park at the lower section of Sol Duc Falls. There are times and shots as a photographer that become very memorable, and this set of shots fall into that category. It seems like the elements often play into these memories, and I guess it's part of the photographer's job to try and tell those stories, or try to impart to the viewer what it felt like when the photo was made.
It was sunny and cold when we reached the trailhead to the falls, so we headed out on about a mile-long hike to the falls. The farther we got along the trail, it began to rain, so the snow along the trail became slush. We made it to the upper falls, and it was a vantage point where you actually stood above the falls, so with the heavy rain and spray from below I decided the best shot was a spot I saw along the hike -- in the lower section. There's a small bridge across the falls that you see here, so in a pretty heavy rain and about 36 degrees I pulled out my camera and took about 40-50 shots. The one you see here is from alongside the falls -- probably the best angle. Since I was limited in so many ways (rain, cold, slippery rocks, raincover on the camera, raincover on me) I didn't attempt the vari ND filter, so I went ISO100, f/22 and my shutter speeds ended up around 2-3 seconds, which created a pretty nice blur on the water.
I love the soft look of the water with the long exposure, yet it still shows the downward flow. Really like the mossy green colors too.
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