Surrealize
Palouse Falls Summer Storm
Highest position in Explore = 2 on August 13, 2009, thank you!
I've seen a few other shots of the Palouse Falls posted over the past few months and decided to give it a whirl when I was over in Eastern Washington this summer. In particular, I was very inspired by this great shot from fellow Flickrite and friend, Jeff Engelhardt. Unlike the traditional calm and peaceful sunset shots, I was treated to some nasty winds and sideways rain... a photographer's nightmare. After almost giving up, I was able to get this shot.
The Palouse Falls is tucked away in the Eastern part of Washington State essentially in the middle of nowhere. After a very windy drive, including a few miles on dirt roads, you can find this amazing location. There are several trails to walk around the falls and even down to the bottom if you are so inclined. On this particular day, it was very windy and rain had just started coming down. I waited it out for a few hours but as the good light was going away, I finally decided to brave it. I'm actually blown away that I was able to pull off this shot at all as the wind coming up the cliff from the falls nearly blew my camera over. Not only that, but I had to keep my lens cover on until I was ready to make the shot to protect against the sideways rain. I also had several dry towels with me and had to continually wipe off the lens after each round. Several of the photos had water spots but after looking though them all, I found a clean set... phew. One final thing, there was a very interesting heart painted at the base of the falls, not sure of the significance but it was definitely a noticeable big red mark. I decided to leave it in, if anyone knows why it was there, I'd love to hear about it.
You can find out more about this amazing landmark on Wikipedia, including how this past April, one crazy kayaker braved the 186 foot drop and lived to tell about it, setting the waterfall world record. You can check that story out on Tyler Brandt's website.
About the shot, this is a blend of 9 exposures to provide some motion in the clouds/water, while bringing in all the color and detail in the shadows and highlights. Then some standard post processing (levels, curves, contrast).
Palouse Falls Summer Storm
Highest position in Explore = 2 on August 13, 2009, thank you!
I've seen a few other shots of the Palouse Falls posted over the past few months and decided to give it a whirl when I was over in Eastern Washington this summer. In particular, I was very inspired by this great shot from fellow Flickrite and friend, Jeff Engelhardt. Unlike the traditional calm and peaceful sunset shots, I was treated to some nasty winds and sideways rain... a photographer's nightmare. After almost giving up, I was able to get this shot.
The Palouse Falls is tucked away in the Eastern part of Washington State essentially in the middle of nowhere. After a very windy drive, including a few miles on dirt roads, you can find this amazing location. There are several trails to walk around the falls and even down to the bottom if you are so inclined. On this particular day, it was very windy and rain had just started coming down. I waited it out for a few hours but as the good light was going away, I finally decided to brave it. I'm actually blown away that I was able to pull off this shot at all as the wind coming up the cliff from the falls nearly blew my camera over. Not only that, but I had to keep my lens cover on until I was ready to make the shot to protect against the sideways rain. I also had several dry towels with me and had to continually wipe off the lens after each round. Several of the photos had water spots but after looking though them all, I found a clean set... phew. One final thing, there was a very interesting heart painted at the base of the falls, not sure of the significance but it was definitely a noticeable big red mark. I decided to leave it in, if anyone knows why it was there, I'd love to hear about it.
You can find out more about this amazing landmark on Wikipedia, including how this past April, one crazy kayaker braved the 186 foot drop and lived to tell about it, setting the waterfall world record. You can check that story out on Tyler Brandt's website.
About the shot, this is a blend of 9 exposures to provide some motion in the clouds/water, while bringing in all the color and detail in the shadows and highlights. Then some standard post processing (levels, curves, contrast).