I absolutely love a good waterfall! The beauty and power of all that water is mesmerizing.
My first trip to Rock Island was surprisingly just a week before this trip. We had experienced several days of hard rain which flooded the banks and made it difficult to find the compositions I was looking for. In my haste to head out the door that morning I'd left my rain coat at home, and it began to rain hard after hiking down to the falls last weekend. This cut my excursion short, though I was able to capture a few frames. This first trip had me wanting to return in more favorable conditions to get what I had come for.
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Canon 5D MKIII | 135mm f/2L | f/8 | 13 sec | ISO 100 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Such is the way of landscape photography. Sometimes you just have to scout locations and come back when the conditions are just right. We had less rain during the past week, so it was time to head back out to see if the waters had subsided enough to allow me to work more freely. There was no shortage of water, but as luck would have it, conditions improved!
Canon 5D MKIII | 50mm f/1.2L | f/8 | 2.5 sec | ISO 50 | B+W 72mm F-PRO ND 1.8-64X MRC
I was finally able to climb down the rocks to a more suitable location. The other thing I had realized was that I should have brought the super telephoto lens. The falls are so massive that they offer tons of little interesting details.
Canon 5D MKIII | 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS | f/8 | 30 sec | ISO 50 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 50mm f/1.2L | f/8 | 20 sec | ISO 100 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS | f/16 | 91 sec | ISO 100 | B+W 77mm F-PRO ND 0.9-8X MRC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS | f/8 | 30 sec | ISO 50 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 135mm f/2L | f/2 | 1.6 sec | ISO 50 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS | f/9 | 30 sec | ISO 100 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
Canon 5D MKIII | 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS | f/18 | 6 sec | ISO 50 | B+W 77mm F-PRO ND 0.9-8X MRC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
I will definitely be back soon! One of the best things about waterfalls or any other landscape/nature photography is that things are always changing. The seasons and weather always add something different to the scene. Waterfalls change dramatically with more or less water flowing through them. Unique patterns form in the water and areas can open up that weren't there before.
Canon 5D MKIII | 35mm f/1.4L II | f/8 | 1/15 sec | ISO 50 | Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC | B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC
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Cameras:
Canon 5D MKIII - http://amzn.to/2plH8zw
Canon 7D MKII - http://amzn.to/2pyzXEI
GoPro Hero 3+ Black - http://amzn.to/2pw5ULv
iPhone 7S Plus
Glass:
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Filters:
B+W 72mm F-PRO ND 0.9-8X MRC - http://amzn.to/2oZDjNR
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Hoya 77mm NDx400 HMC - http://amzn.to/2plMRoI
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B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer MRC - http://amzn.to/2plJmyT
Quantaray 82mm Circular Polarizer - http://amzn.to/2oZDjgB
Tripods:
Really Right Stuff TVC-34L Tripod
Really Right Stuff B5D3-L Bracket
JOBY GorillaPod SLR Zoom - http://amzn.to/2qnslCC
Power:
Battery Grip 7D MKII BG-E16 - http://amzn.to/2pyMNTn
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Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT - http://amzn.to/2qufuhg
Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter - http://amzn.to/2plNSxk
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Editing & Post-Processing:
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop
Monitor Calibration Datacolor Spyder5Pro - http://amzn.to/2qnG3FM