Little White Wonderland
Aug, 2014Views
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Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Contender in the Visual Poetry Project
Gem Award
Achievement in Originality
Zenith Award
Top Pick Award
Staff Favorite
Halfway22 Award
Top Shot Award 22
Jewel Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Judge Favorite
2020 Choice Award
Great Shot
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Jaw Dropping
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Top 10 rank week 1
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this on the Little White Salmon River in Washington state during an extremely cold winter. I waited a few days with the temperatures in the teen degrees to hopefully get a frozen effect at the waterfall. The waterfall itself wasn't frozen but the icicles were just as good.Time
It was about a two hour drive to get to the pull off just to hike down the steep slope to get to the river, and there were rumors of getting snow in the afternoon, so my husband and I left as soon as our youngest was off to school that morning. As we made our way down the gorge, closer to our destination, snowflakes started falling slowly at first but as time went on the highway turned white and I was unsure that we would be able to go any further. My husband was confident in his driving abilities as well as knowing our 4x4 Jeep would get us there safely through the winding snow covered roads. It was really coming down by the time we arrived (just before noon) and the wind just made for terrible conditions, but as we made our way down the slope, the wind died down and excitement for what was to come took over.Lighting
Many times I've been here and the full sun shines on the waterfall for a good portion of the afternoon making it nearly impossible to get a good shot, but the snowy overcast conditions were nice in shooting this location on this particular day.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon T1i, a Canon 10-22mm lens, tripod, and a Tiffen ND Filter.Inspiration
There are many beautiful waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge on both the Washington and Oregon side as well as the surrounding area. When the conditions are right the waterfalls freeze and photographers like to go out and take photos of the unusual conditions. They make for beautiful and unique photos. I had never seen pictures of this waterfall in snowy wintery conditions and I wanted to not only see it, but capture it like the photographers whose work inspired me.Editing
There was some shadow and highlight adjustments as well as cleaning off a few water spots from snow landing on my lens.In my camera bag
I have my Canon T1i,10-22mm lens, 50-200mm lens, and a fish eye lens that I occasionally use for night photography. I also have my Tiffen ND Filter, camera remote, a flashlight and a light wand (both used for light painting).Feedback
You have to be patient and wait for the right conditions. We don't always get such a drastic drop in temperatures like this every winter. It could happen one every few years for only one, two, or maybe even three days, but it's only for a short period of time and you have to act fast because if you wait too long you'll miss it and everything will have thawed and melted.
