It had recently snowed and I had a new camera, so it was time to head down to Rawdon for a seasonal Photoshoot. I had a few places I wanted to revisit (Rawdon Waterfall being one of them), so I had an itinerary planned. I didn’t have anyone to head out with me, so I was going it alone.
I stopped by a few locations on the way that I had spotted last year. There were these interesting red crops that were ‘blooming’ late in the year, so I wanted to see if they were still around. The crops were in season, but the landscape was pretty boring. I ditched it and continued on.
When I arrived, the snow was nice and deep. I headed into the trees to get a few wooded shots. Large clumps of snow had fallen from the trees, making the ground look full of footsteps. It would have been nice to have smoother snow, but I fixed a few weird areas in Photoshop afterwards. The picture is a little out of focus in the trees on the left. It could have been a nicer picture if everything had turned out.
I continued to walk down to the falls. I took a side path to the location above the falls first. I always preferred the river corner better than the falls. The snow was pretty pure with a few locations that had footprints. I was able to fix a few of them in Photoshop later. I stayed in the same location for a good 20-30min taking various angles, properly setting up, waiting for the clouds to thicken, etc. Finally, I ended with using my B&W 10-Stop ND filter. I love this filter and try to use it during every shoot to see what happens. The filter gave me a great surreal effect to the image.
I am happy with the image above, but of course will have to try it again in different conditions. would love to see it on a foggy day.
I continued to the main falls. I set up and took a few images, but they generally looked alike. The mist was still pretty thick, and it tended to wash out the background without giving the impression that it was mist.
My final shot is one of my favorites. The sun was slowly setting on the right, behind the trees. It shot a streak of light along the top of the threes and into the middle ground. With the mist clinging to the tall trees above the falls, it really gave an apocalyptic feeling to the image. I made a few minor corrections, and brought out the clouds a little more to finish up the shot.
All in all, it was a good shoot – Not to mention the fact that the gas is cheaper up north. I filled up the tank and headed home.
A Few Comments from the Shoot:
- I took my time and waited for weather a little more. It is a good start
- I really have to complete a review of how f/stops effect my depth of field. I know how it works, I just need to know exactly what depth of field I should be using for which lens to get the desired result.
- You need to pull back from a waterfall to make the mist seem real and not just a badly exposed image.
- Right after snowfall, when everything is still untouched is the best time. Don’t hesitate, just go out.