In the harsh light of a sunny day, Nancy has to move to where the light is even to get a good photograph—or return another day
We didn't know what to expect on our recent 4-day trip to Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands, but it certainly wasn't blue skies, heavily forested mountain slopes, and streams with waterfalls. We took only our small, lightweight travel cameras with us, thinking we would take the occasional souvenir snapshot of island villages. We were surprised by the number of opportunities for nature photography that existed on the island.
Cascade Falls in soft light. Click on the photo to go to its location on the Iris Arts website. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
From the road leading up to Mount Constitution, it's a short hike down to a stream in a deep gorge. The stream's steep gradient creates numerous lovely cascades and waterfalls. Our first visit to Cascade Falls was on a sunny day. The scene was lovely, but the harsh light made our sort of photography impossible.
Given the limited time we had on the island, Nancy dealt with the situation as best she could and took a series of exposures to blend into one photograph. Knowing that a good result was unlikely in this conditions, she moved into the scene in search of even light. Eventually, she found an interesting detail of one section of the waterfall.
Fortunately, the next morning started out cloudy and we returned to the waterfall for the photograph above. Here's a little video of our first day at the falls:
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