353 - Snug Harbor
*Note: This adventure also features an in-field vlog.
Two waterfalls in one day! Easiest bangers ever too.
I called the adventure "Snug Harbor" by the way because it's right in the middle of the two waterfalls I shot at. We were INITIALLY only going to do Marymere Falls, but it was an extremely short hike so we had time to knock out another waterfall before the lighting got TOO insane. By the way, these places were legit lit up like pure magic. I had a fantastic time.
Let's start with the first location- Marymere Falls. It's only a 1.7mi roundtrip hike, and the whole thing is basically flat. So we woke up about 1.5 hours after sunset- which was basically 7am. The idea here was to get in BEFORE the crowd, and out BEFORE the heavy light starts hitting.
Walking in, I was worried about the lighting at first, because it was hitting other parts of the forest hard already. Luckily, the waterfall was untouched. So I snagged a quick banger of the waterfall using this fluffy pom pom rock as a nice foreground/leading eye element:
“The Fairy’s Palm”
Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm 2.8
ISO 100 ~ 17mm ~ f/9 ~ 5s [3x Focus Stack]
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In post, I added a light source from above to give it a bit of a yellow glow, and called it a day after a fuck ton of luminosity masking.
Now that I think about it, the only way to get solid waterfalls shots is before sun hits them or after sunset during twilight. They basically HAVE to be moody, or they're trash. In my opinion. None of this half blown out by a stream of light waterfall bullshit around here. We do it legit.
By the time we we were leaving, the hordes of people began to pile in. Youngins and oldies alike. Honestly I think this is one of the most popular waterfalls in the entirety of Olympic National Park, because it's so accessible. GET THERE EARLY IF YOU WANT ANY KIND OF DECENT SHOT.
We arrive at the van on the way out, and I'm about to call it a day when Haley says we should go to Madison Falls, which is right down the road. My eyes light up and I am FUCKING DOWN.
Now, I was expecting this waterfall to be total shit. It's very bright out, the park's starting to get crowded, and this waterfall has an even shorter hike it. It's like .1 miles or something and has 700+ 5 star reviews on Google Maps.
We roll up and guess what?
It's fucking completely empty. Not a single soul on the trail. And the waterfall's completely shady. BLING BLING. This vlog just got epic.
So I spend the next hour or so messing with a TON of intricate (see what I did there..?) compositions. The one I was most proud of ironically was one of the compositions I put the least amount of thought into. So simple, and lit so well:
“Delicate Escape”
Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm 2.8
ISO 50 ~ 20mm ~ f/16 ~ 2s
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Boom. Knock that photo out and I'm happy as a clam. I actually had a second composition I was almost 100% sure I was going to use instead of that one, but upon editing it, it was too much. Basically it involved an "X" shape with big logs and water that are cropped out in this photo. Too much happening at once, and it took away the simplicitiy of the shot.
Lesson of the day is don't overthink it, beauty is in the minimal. We're gonna hit another waterfall tomorrow and I'm super amped. So many waterfalls, so little time.
Peaceeeee.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
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