I don't remember where I first saw an image of this waterfall, but it was several years ago, I believe on the cover of a book regarding Oregon landscapes, or perhaps the Gorge specifically. Either way, it was a photo of a waterfall that has haunted me (in the good way) since, hanging out always somewhere in the back of my mind. Unfortunately I never had quite enough information to be able to figure out which falls it was and how to get to it. Then I was reminded of it a month or two ago when separate groups of Flickr photographers made their way out there and came back with some equally beautiful images. So, armed with my renewed interest in seeing this falls myself, my friend Tom and I hiked and bushwhacked our way up and then down to this serene little spot.
This falls doesn't seem to have an official name as of yet, I think of it personally as lower upper Ruckel Creek falls. There are three falls up this creek but this day are goal was only this one. The trek to it is an adventure in itself. A short, and mildly grueling, uphill climb is followed by treacherous descent down a moss covered talus slope full of ankle-breakers and large patches of Poison Oak. But the reward at the bottom is worth all the trouble. A beautiful gem in the crown of the gorge, full of amazing sights. As a side note, Tom and I actually elected to pick our way back down the stream all the way to the trail, just to see if the passage along the creek would be easier than the up and down of the trail. It was do-able, but not any easier.
I took several photos while I was out there, and had to hold off posting all the others (Pentax 6x7, 35mm slide, pinhole) because I wanted to wait and see how this one turned out. I like it, but the process of taking this one shot inspired many thoughts.
First, I really like taking these multiple shot Holga panoramics. It is a fun process to try and imagine how the scene is going to play out, to find the right vantage, and compose the right number of shots in just the right locations. To scan them all in, and then assemble them, much like a jigsaw puzzle. The process is an adventure and I love it. But this is still a technique that I am pretty new to, and I am still very early on in the learning curve.
See, the HOW of a photograph is as important as the WHAT and both are as important as the WHY. You have to remember all three of these when making a photograph. If you concentrate too much on one of these at the expense of the other two... well you end up with a photo that is all about the technique but has no depth, or a photo that has great subject matter but no purpose, or a great subject that is technically handicapped by its poor execution. I think this is what a lot of people respond to with HDR. So often, it is too tempting to take an HDR photo for the sake of it being HDR, flashy and saturated and visually arresting, but with little cohesiveness to its subject matter.
And that is what I am still struggling with, with this technique. I don't want to take a multiple-pano shot of a landscape simple because I can, because if that is my best reason, the final image will not be as strong as it can be. Rather, I am constantly trying to learn the quirks and characteristics of these types of images and match them with the landscapes I am photographing them with.
Which was my intent here. I was trying to catch the tumble and flow of the creek as it spilled away from the falls. I think I moderately succeeded. I like the tumble of the frames and the drop in elevation that occurs in the frame. This is still not a perfect image, there are still things I would tinker with here or there.
There are also several new ideas that occurred to me upon seeing this shot. One, I take all these photos from the same location, rotating the head of my tripod to pan around. Which can cause some interesting issues with images becoming larger or smaller in the frames, causing issues with being able to match them with other frames. But now I want to try experimenting with changing my location (moving backwards or forwards, or to the side) as I shoot. To see how changing my vantage midway through the set of exposures can affect the final series of images. I also think it would be interesting to create a sense of depth of field, by working the shots closer to me and out of focus. Just ideas, but I like photography that makes me think.
Anyway, I could probably go on a bit longer, I fell asleep last night thinking about this image. But thankfully for all of you, I have to leave for work now. ;-)
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