Vancouver Island Part 3

I like photographing waterfalls!

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, I shared images of woodlands and seascapes from my May photo trip to Vancouver Island and Hornby Island. This final episode is all about waterfalls.

While I can appreciate huge waterfalls like Niagara Falls, I much prefer smaller waterfalls that tumble down several tiers over boulders. Perhaps the difference is like seeing a performer in a huge stadium versus a small theatre. It hard to feel the same kind of connection in a stadium as in a small intimate setting. I like to not only create images of the whole waterfall but I like exploring the waterfall with my camera, zeroing in on small scenes within the waterfall, as in the following three images.

Waterfalls can be tricky to photograph. I like to use longer exposures to get a silky look to the water. But on windy days this may cause foliage to blur from blowing around. Situations like this may require taking multiple images, some to capture the waterfall and some faster exposures to freeze the blowing leaves. Then two or more photos are blended to give the final image. Too much sunlight can overexpose the waterfall if you try to expose for the shadowy areas around the waterfall. Again several exposures, some for the bright parts of the scene and some for the darker areas may have to be blended to give satisfactory results. But in the end, its just fun to play in the water!

Here is another set capturing scenes within a scene.

I loved this little fern growing on a rock.

I will close out this three-part series with my favorite waterfall image, and perhaps my favorite capture of the trip.