My Waterfall

Water Witch

I love shooting models in water. If you don't believe me, ask my wife. She's been in enough rivers, lakes, streams and seas over the years as a subject in my photos that she complained once of getting webbed feet. She was always a good sport about it, but has drawn the line at the freezing waters of the Pacific Northwest (well, mostly - that's her in the image to the right).

There are a few places where I like to shoot water glamour, but one of my favorite places is a little waterfall in the Tillamook Forest. I've written about it before, but it's worth another mention a few years later, especially since I've done a bit more photography there during the intervening time.

Tropical Cathy

One of the things I like about the area is the different backgrounds you can achieve by varying your distance from the falls, changing the angle from which you're shooting, and choosing the time of day for the shoot. Each variable creates and different look, color and atmosphere to the image.  Additionally, you can get up and away from the falls and get a totally different feel for the images.  There are logs, ledges and small trails all around the falls and each spot offers new opportunities.

Glamorous Sierra

Shoot facing away from the falls, and a completely different view of vegetation, water and earth tones form the backdrop. At the right time of day, warm sunlight scatters through the surrounding trees and produces a dappled pattern of shadows and light on the ground. Pose a model in this environment and the potential for an exquisite image increases exponentially.

There are other areas around the falls that provide equally photogenic settings, but I haven't explored those areas nearly as much as I have the base of the falls, the stream and the surrounding ledges. With any luck, I'll get a chance to remedy that this summer.

Now, if you're truly interested in shooting here, ask me nicely and I might give you directions. You'll have to provide your own models though, and be sure not to misplace your keys as there is definitely no cell service at the falls (don't ask, it's a long and embarrassing story).

Waterfall Nymph

The Tillamook Waterfall

Just off OR Hwy 6, about 22 miles southwest of the junction of Hwy 6 and 26, on the south side of the highway there is a little waterfall and a pool set back into the high hills along the highway. A large fallen log crosses the pool, and two large stumps stand on either side of the pool. It is not easily seen from the road, and therefore it's usually quite private and available for glamour photography.

I found these falls about 10 years ago, when my wife and I were regularly traveling to Tillamook for personal reasons. One day, on a trip back from the coast, we just happened to pull over into the large flat area along the highway and wandered back to find the falls. Since that day, I've used these falls to shoot various glamour and fantasy scenarios.

It's a dark, cool place, so you I have to shoot there during the middle of the day, when enough sunlight streams through the surrounding forest to light the area such that reasonable ISO settings can be used. And, because it's cool, it's best to shoot there during the warmest summer days, as the models can get cold quite quickly given the temperature of the water and the way the mist from the waterfall is trapped by the surrounding trees. Still, it is a beautiful place to shoot and one of my favorite locations.

I suspect I'll be shooting there for many more years to come, and if anyone else would like to use it, I'm sure you can find it from the directions I've provided about. So far, my models have loved shooting there, and it's always a fun place to shoot with lots of opportunities to experiment with light, water, and mist.

New Photography Article

Just added a new article about the Columbia River Gorge, one of my favorite places to visit for photography. You can read it here.

You can read about it here.

Feedback is always welcome.

Not much else is happening photographically recently. I did help a friend last night with the flooring in the studio he's putting together over his garage. He has a great space for it, and I've got some gear he can use once the space it all put together. It will be fun working with him and show him how to set up and use studio strobes once we get everything going.

I also ordered a couple of new backdrops from B&H photo. These will come in useful when shooting in limited space as they are the Botero Collapsible units. I'm hoping they'll be just the right size for location shooting and for a smaller studio space.

I had been saving for a couple of new lenses, but unfortunately, the furnace went out on Tuesday, and had to be replaced today to the tune of a little over $2400. That, along with the new garage door openers and the repairs my truck is going to need, will set back my plans for a while. Fortunately, the money for the repairs is available, but it would sure have been nice to hang on to it for a while longer.

I'm getting a bit of the winter photographic blues, so I've been trying to work around them by writing more articles for my website. That's been fun and interesting and it allows me to put my photos to good use by helping others, I hope, learn more about photography, equipment and places to shoot. Still, I'd rather be shooting. Having a read day job puts a crimp in that during the wintertime, since by the time I get home, it's already too dark for outdoor shooting and I don't have any new models to work with right now. But, soon, I hope, there will be more shooting for fun and profit.