South Falls, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

Canon 30D, 17-40 f/4L, ISO: 100, aperture: f/8, shutter: 1/15 second, tripod: yes

Silver Falls is the crown jewel of Oregon’s State Park system.   It has it all; picnicking, camping, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, group camping, cabin rentals, small convention facility, the list goes on and on.  There are at least 10 waterfalls in the park, all within a short hike of a trailhead.  South Falls at 177 feet high (pictured above) is perhaps the most visited falls in the park, it’s only about a 1/4 mile from the parking lot.  The park is one of the ‘must see’ sights in Oregon.  Here’s a link:

http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_211.php

When I take waterfall photos I try several different shutter speeds to get the one I think conveys the sense of motion the best.  If the shutter speed is slow the water takes on a silky look and will look like one continuous column of water.  A faster shutter will ‘freeze’ the water and will not convey the sense of motion very well.  For the volume of water coming over South Falls, 1/15 second is about right to convey motion and still reveal detail in the water.

The original photo has a lot of contrast between the shady canyon walls and sun-lit trees.  In Lightroom, I reduced the brightness in the upper left corner with the graduated filter.