Waterfalls in Oregon Or How Many Holder to Take On a Day Hike

[Vaughn]

Depending on where you are heading...this is five steps off the road (11x14 negs, silver gelatin prints). Columbia River Gorge.

[paulbarden]

Silver Falls is close to my home, so I am most familiar with that one. I've carted the Deardorff up and down that gorge a few times. At Silver Falls, the initial hike DOWN (the first falls after the parking lot) isn't bad, but when you're done for the day, its a pretty strenuous hike back up, if you are carrying 45-60 pounds of gear. There's no way I would carry anything more than the 8x10 camera and two lenses and half a dozen film holders, ten at most. The hike down the chain of falls is constantly sloping down, so to get back to the parking lot, its ALL uphill (though gentle incline till you approach the north fall) So, unless you have a friend to "mule" for you, I would suggest you choose one format or the other, but not both. (though admittedly, the Intrepid weighs nothing compared to the Deardorff) Besides, having more than one camera only becomes a struggle as you switch from one mindset to the other. That can be a distraction, not an asset.

[scheinfluger_77]

Kent I have seen a lot of photos of Multonoma Falls and yours is the nicest of any of them. Been there once myself. Vaughn is that Multonoma? I was surprised discovering it was literally just as close as you say.

[Drew Wiley]

There are plenty of falls to choose from. Once when I was up there an old college friend wanted to show me a spectacular set of falls way back in the woods he had discovered deer hunting. So I toted my Sinar 4x5 along and got a nice shot, and later made a print of it for him. Nobody had any idea if those falls even had a name. But my parents saw a copy of that print and instantly recognized it. They had hiked into there together in the late 1920's, before they were married (took awhile to get any financial traction to start a family while the Great Depression was landing and they didn't want to lose jobs in separate cities). Now, unfortunately, due to the web, LOTS of people know about it. It was Abiqua Falls near my Grandfather's old
mill, which now houses the Oregon State Historical Society. And alas, so many secret spots where one could once find total solitude are now developed Parks with paved trails. But apparently not this particular spot yet. It seems part of the trail is still distinctly slippery; and if you're coveting one of those spectacular icicle shots in winter, be appropriately equipped with
ice traction gear.

[Vaughn]

Kent I have seen a lot of photos of Multonoma Falls and yours is the nicest of any of them. Been there once myself. Vaughn is that Multonoma? I was surprised discovering it was literally just as close as you say.

No, Horsetail Fall, a little less than 3 miles up the road from Multnomah Falls.

Silver Falls State Park is beautiful -- I'll try to get back there one of these days (off-season). They had a tough winter and just had an emergency closure due to a fire.

The image below was taken on Multnomah Creek and a pretty good hike up to it if the recent fire has not trashed it. This is a 5x7 carbon print (w/ 210mm lens). 5x7 is pretty easy to hike with. I normally carry 5 to 8 holders for a day for most formats.

[Two23]

Kent I have seen a lot of photos of Multonoma Falls and yours is the nicest of any of them. Been there once myself. Vaughn is that Multonoma? I was surprised discovering it was literally just as close as you say.

Shot with an 1858 Derogy Petzval, Chamonix 045n, FP4. I was going for a 19th. C. look.


Kent in SD

[m00dawg]

Thanks all! Lot of information to digest! I didn't think about an 81B filter but that makes a lot of sense (since the shadows tend towards blue?) I realized it might be why some of my last color images weren't great for my last trip. Also all the comments reaffirmed I do need to simplify. I'd hate to not bring color and then find some place it might work, though, but maybe I'll just keep some color it in the car and instead focus on black and white. If I'm brave enough I could bust out the camera closer to the city and I'd imagine color might work well there (as would BW).

I bought a new box of HP5 so I could go all in there. I love the look of HP5 (though I had wanted to grab some Pancro 400, though it's expensive to ship and I can't find it in US distributors at the moment) but I recently really have enjoyed the look of TMX. Two fairly different looks I think though I want to continue to explore that.

I'm not necessarily expecting amazing shots - if I get them, great! But I want more field time with the camera and to enjoy the journey. That is one reason I liked the idea of taking the Bronica since it's also very very fun to use given the waist-level finder. I agree probably not an amazing idea to take on the hike (I'll be bringing it for other parts of the trip though, e.g. around the city and such).

Lovely photos by the way, Vaugh thanks for sharing those!

[Vaughn]

Thanks. FWIW...For color work down in canyons, in forests, and such, I have heard a polarizing filter is great. Most of the light coming down is bluish from the open sky above and the blue reflects off the upper surfaces of leaves. By filtering out this reflected blue light with the polarizer, one can reduce the blue cast without warming everything else.

Might be worth a try.

[Drew Wiley]

Polarizer?? Shame on you, Vaughn. Your Sasquatch license could be revoked for saying something like that!

[Two23]

Polarizer?? Shame on you, Vaughn. Your Sasquatch license could be revoked for saying something like that!

I am a polarizer addict. Use it for virtually all waterfall shots (and any other shot involving water) when using color. Polarizer makes a huge difference. I'd rather forget a lens than my polarizer.


Kent in SD