Lower Falls - Yellowstone
Lower Falls, Yellowstone National Park, US
Lower Falls, Yellowstone National Park, US
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Apr, 2014Views
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InnateArtist
September 08, 2015
It's gorgeous, but I wonder what that green is coming down from the top?
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at "Yellowstone National Park", Wyoming, US. The waterfall shown in this photograph is "Lower Falls" on the Yellowstone River. It was taken way back in 2009 during the month of September when the climate at Yellowstone is at full-swing. Yellowstone Falls consists of two major water falls on the Yellowstone river, as it flows north from Yellowstone Lake it leaves the valley and plunges first over "Upper Falls" and then at about 400 mtrs downstream over "Lower Falls".Time
This photograph was taken at mid of the day. It was first day of our 2 day 'sole' trip to Yellowstone National Park. While entering it was a bright-sunny day but all our excitement soon turned into disappointment when sun got disappeared under clouds and we were locked inside the car. The real surprise came when we stop-by to see "Lower Falls" at around 1 -2 PM local time when we thought sun would be on top lighting up the whole valley.Lighting
As soon as we reached at the viewing points of Lower Falls, we discovered to our frustration that the entire valley was covered in fog and dark clouds were looming large. I took almost 40-50 shots at 1-2 minutes interval changing different settings to leave no room for chances. It is only after 20 mins or so when the sun peeked out through a cloud hole and partially lit the whole valley, I knew I would not be getting another chance and so without wasting time I changed my settings to automatic/landscape and took this shot. I just wanted the camera to do its job before the sun goes hides back in cloud again.Equipment
This was shot using my old Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi, with prime lens 18-55 mm. I used my Velbon Tripod to make sure I would be able to do many experiments with the light.Inspiration
When we were initially planning for this trip, I did my own research and making the list of all the spots which were best for shooting photographs under natural light. My list included: The Piers, Mammoth Terrace, Valleys, Lower Falls, Cauldrons etc. and I wanted to have a signature shot out of this trip, a shot worth sharing and remembering. Out of my all the spots I visited this in particular took my breath away at the first sight itself, the height of the fall and the amount of the water it is dropping every second was nothing less than a marvel to anyone's eye.Editing
When we reached this spot the fog generated due to amount of water dropping from the height covered the lower part of entire valley, and I knew that very moment that no matter what setting I use I would have to do some post processing in the end. I usually do any such sort of post processing using only Picasa (as it is free, have limited options but does its job perfectly). In this photograph I adjusted the contrast to make fog little disappear and also increased little bit of color saturation so that the colors can stand out.In my camera bag
Whenever I go out on a trip or on a vacation, I always make my Camera bag ready first and in that I ensure that I have (if not prime 18-55 then) Canon 18-250 mm IS II, trust me you don't need to have any fancy wide-angle lens or any super-telephoto lens (its OK if you can afford) if you are carrying this with you. Apart from this I always used to carry ND Grads and couple of polarizers. The other equipment which I never leave home without are: 2 spare batteries, tripod, shutter-remote, 2 16 Gig spare flash cards to support RAW images for any surprising occasions.Feedback
All what I can advise is do some research prior to going any place if possible, one should look when is the best time to go any place but you should also be prepared to face lots of crowd during peak season. Always don't rely on mere 10-15 shots, if you can - take as many photos as possible (remember we are living in digital age where deletion is fairly simple task). The other thing which I try to take care while shooting is to capture the sense of the place and the depth and details of the object, I could have taken this shot with ND Filter on (as weather was also supporting me) but I chose to take still image of the fall in order to capture soul of Lower Falls. Always don't hesitate in doing some experiments with your camera settings and yes have sufficient time in hand while visiting any place, the last but not least - Try to make use of natural lights as much as possible.
