We started to drive the back roads west this morning. That meant Old US 30, a narrow, twisty road that winds along the south bank of the Columbia River. Once we got into the Columbia Gorge, we encountered the bane of all landscape photographers; access, or more specifically, no access. All along this narrow road all the pull-outs were barricaded with lots of warning signs. It is a photographic truism that all scenic views are located adjacent to “No Stopping” or “No Parking” signs. Such was the case in the Columbia Gorge. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of money and manpower to maintain the roads and parks, but some really beautiful views and places are inaccessible.
Here’s an early morning photograph from the road from an accessible spot. I didn’t see the horse until after I made about three exposures. Then I readjusted to make sure the horse held down that lower right corner.
Our first stop was Horsetail Falls and turned out to be one of the better waterfalls we saw. The tough part about photographing these truly beautiful features is the tremendous vertical distance and your proximity to the waterfall. For the photographically interested, I used a wide angle lens with a 7 mm focal length on a micro 4/3 camera. That is what gives the ability to show the entire waterfall as well as those really big leaves in the foreground. And they are really big leaves, too.
Wahkeena Falls was a quick stop because it was one of those places where the trails were closed just past the parking lot. A pretty little place, but not very much to see. There was only one vantage point (because the trails were closed) and we had to wait in line to take our photographs.
Latourell Falls was memorable for two reasons. One, we got there just after an entire school bus of middle schoolers unloaded and took off on the trail to the bottom of the falls. Chaos ensued. It was to be expected from a busload of kids. The second memorable moment was after I made the photograph below. A fellow was posing his girlfriend in front of the waterfalls. She was wearing a sports bra and white yoga pants. The girl’s mother was also in attendance. For those interested, the temperature at the falls was about 50F and a lot of mist from the waterfall made it even cooler.
Because of the lack of access, we finished much earlier than we anticipated. What to do with the rest of the afternoon? Last year we photographed the Japanese Garden in Portland, but did not have the time to photograph the Grotto. This year we had the time and we spent the afternoon at the Grotto. While I didn’t make many good photos there, it was an afternoon well spent. On the way back to the Dalles, we stopped a few times to catch the evening light in the Gorge.
This image will be part of a four frame panoramic photograph when I get around to making it after I get back home.
The lack of access along Old US 30, gave us an extra day to explore and photograph the east end of the Columbia Gorge. I think we’re going to cross over to Washington on Friday to explore. That will be the last photographic day of this year’s safari. The weekend will be spent with some other photographers we met when we were invited to display our photographs at a meeting of the Chinese Photographers Association in 2011.
Comments