Berry Creek Falls - Big Basin State Park, California
A special shout out goes to my contact, The Man in Red, for inspiring me to go up to Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin State Park. Check out his stream if you haven't already.
So, I got up early, as in 5:45am with sunrise at 7:15am to gather a few last things and head up the coast in an effort to get to Berry Creek Falls before the light got harsh.
About three blocks from home, I realize I left my hot cup o' joe on the counter. Gotta go back and get my bean juice! But hey, maybe it's a blessing in disguise as the light is getting good and although I hoped to have time to shoot sunrise, I hadn't really planned on it. Now I could head to Capitola, a few minutes away, and shoot before heading to my final destination.
Sunrise was a fizzler. Good color for about five minutes, but the closer it got to the sun actually rising, the more the color faded. That's cool, it happens, I'm over it.
Off to Berry Creek Falls I go. Now, there are two ways to get to Berry Creek Falls. One is driving up through the Santa Cruz Mountains and then hiking a twelve plus mile trail with some decent elevation gains in both directions. If you go down, you gotta come back up!
The other way is to start at the coast and hike twelve miles. But, it's an easier twelve miles, albeit less interesting. I took the easy route and headed to the coastal access. I also used two wheels in the form of my mountain bike. I'm not much of a bike rider, but twelve miles on foot sure seemed like a lot.
Once at the falls, I had the place to myself, save for one passerby who snapped a couple photos with his point and shoot. He said "you better have your wide angle lens!" I assured him I did, and continued taking more detailed shots with my 70-200mm. The bottom of the falls is a muddy pooled logjam right now, and the top is not much more interesting. In the middle though, the mystical, magical, mossy falls are what it's all about.
Fortunately, I did not fall or hurt myself, especially since I forgot my helmet in the car. I did see plenty of newts crossing the trail, and as far as I know, I did not squash any of them. A successful trip if I do say so myself.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-200mm @ 78mm
3 exposures merged in PS CS3 @ f18, ISO 100
B+W Polarizer
Lee .6 Soft GND Filter upside down to hold back more of the whites in the water
Berry Creek Falls - Big Basin State Park, California
A special shout out goes to my contact, The Man in Red, for inspiring me to go up to Berry Creek Falls in Big Basin State Park. Check out his stream if you haven't already.
So, I got up early, as in 5:45am with sunrise at 7:15am to gather a few last things and head up the coast in an effort to get to Berry Creek Falls before the light got harsh.
About three blocks from home, I realize I left my hot cup o' joe on the counter. Gotta go back and get my bean juice! But hey, maybe it's a blessing in disguise as the light is getting good and although I hoped to have time to shoot sunrise, I hadn't really planned on it. Now I could head to Capitola, a few minutes away, and shoot before heading to my final destination.
Sunrise was a fizzler. Good color for about five minutes, but the closer it got to the sun actually rising, the more the color faded. That's cool, it happens, I'm over it.
Off to Berry Creek Falls I go. Now, there are two ways to get to Berry Creek Falls. One is driving up through the Santa Cruz Mountains and then hiking a twelve plus mile trail with some decent elevation gains in both directions. If you go down, you gotta come back up!
The other way is to start at the coast and hike twelve miles. But, it's an easier twelve miles, albeit less interesting. I took the easy route and headed to the coastal access. I also used two wheels in the form of my mountain bike. I'm not much of a bike rider, but twelve miles on foot sure seemed like a lot.
Once at the falls, I had the place to myself, save for one passerby who snapped a couple photos with his point and shoot. He said "you better have your wide angle lens!" I assured him I did, and continued taking more detailed shots with my 70-200mm. The bottom of the falls is a muddy pooled logjam right now, and the top is not much more interesting. In the middle though, the mystical, magical, mossy falls are what it's all about.
Fortunately, I did not fall or hurt myself, especially since I forgot my helmet in the car. I did see plenty of newts crossing the trail, and as far as I know, I did not squash any of them. A successful trip if I do say so myself.
Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-200mm @ 78mm
3 exposures merged in PS CS3 @ f18, ISO 100
B+W Polarizer
Lee .6 Soft GND Filter upside down to hold back more of the whites in the water