Hdr frozen waterfall

[SquarePeg]

hdr frozen waterfall by SharonCat..., on Flickr

too much?

 

[otherprof]

hdr frozen waterfall by SharonCat..., on Flickr

too much?

Gorgeous! But I love it even more cropped below the stairway.

 

[SquarePeg]

hdr frozen waterfall by SharonCat..., on Flickr

too much?

Gorgeous! But I love it even more cropped below the stairway.

Thanks but I totally disagree about the staircase. I have a few shots that I framed without it and they just don’t have the same depth and feeling of height.

 

[waday]

Love it and current crop!

I’d be terrified of standing that close with the snow and ice, LOL.

Just for my own edification, does that park have rules about walking it in winter? I did one here in the winter that has 20+ waterfalls, and I had to use crampons, an ice axe, and we were tied off when traveling downward. But, it looks like you have a nice walkway and railing!

 

[SquarePeg]

Love it and current crop!

I’d be terrified of standing that close with the snow and ice, LOL.

Just for my own edification, does that park have rules about walking it in winter? I did one here in the winter that has 20+ waterfalls, and I had to use crampons, an ice axe, and we were tied off when traveling downward. But, it looks like you have a nice walkway and railing!

The trail was mostly snow and it's only .3 miles to the bottom of the stairs from the road. The trail splits off at the stairs and you can get to the top without the stairs and stay on the snowy path but the views aren't as good - this trail is wheelchair accessible outside of snow season.

The stairs were 100% ice and very slippery. I had Yak Tracks on my hiking boots (they're like crampons but not sharp spikes - they're good for slippery snow and flat ice but not a hill of ice!). Even with the yak tracks footing was really poor. I had to use the chicken wire along the railings to grab on to and pull myself up. Once I got all my photos I thought I could keep going up and catch the trail at the top of the landing instead of trying to get back down the way I went up but when I got to the top, there is a gate and it was iced shut so I had to climb up a small hill of rocks and snow and then walk through the trees to get to the path. That part was not fun! I had to be super careful because I was sort of by myself on this hike (the others were cold and waited in the car!) and I didn't run into anyone other hikers until I was on the way back.

 

[Jeff15]

Nice one......

 

[waday]

Love it and current crop!

I’d be terrified of standing that close with the snow and ice, LOL.

Just for my own edification, does that park have rules about walking it in winter? I did one here in the winter that has 20+ waterfalls, and I had to use crampons, an ice axe, and we were tied off when traveling downward. But, it looks like you have a nice walkway and railing!

The trail was mostly snow and it's only .3 miles to the bottom of the stairs from the road. The trail splits off at the stairs and you can get to the top without the stairs and stay on the snowy path but the views aren't as good - this trail is wheelchair accessible outside of snow season.

The stairs were 100% ice and very slippery. I had Yak Tracks on my hiking boots (they're like crampons but not sharp spikes - they're good for slippery snow and flat ice but not a hill of ice!). Even with the yak tracks footing was really poor. I had to use the chicken wire along the railings to grab on to and pull myself up. Once I got all my photos I thought I could keep going up and catch the trail at the top of the landing instead of trying to get back down the way I went up but when I got to the top, there is a gate and it was iced shut so I had to climb up a small hill of rocks and snow and then walk through the trees to get to the path. That part was not fun! I had to be super careful because I was sort of by myself on this hike (the others were cold and waited in the car!) and I didn't run into anyone other hikers until I was on the way back.

Very cool! That’s awesome that it’s handicap accessible. I bet that was a little rough, glad you made it safely! After doing the trail I went on with the group, I’ll probably not ever do that by myself haha.

The trail I went on was like 3-5 miles (I can’t remember). It was a group of us with one expert. It was all ice, too.

As a side story, the one participant should not have been allowed to go, as they weren’t physically capable of doing the route. I know this sounds harsh, but it would have been for everyone’s own safety. They fell several times (one time rolling onto an ice shelf above the creek, and then ended up refusing to walk further once at the halfway point. The ranger had to be called in with a 4-wheeler, because it was getting dark!


Icy Descent by Wade, on Flickr

 

[vintagesnaps]

I don't think it's too much, and I don't usually like HDR that much. Very cool photo (in more way than one!). I do think those two pools of water that are dark gray, with the surrounding gray and white snow, take up half the composition, and being somewhat contrasty tend to overpower the upper half of the composition by taking the viewer away from the details in the other half.

There's more than one possible picture there; I can see three - one of the pools of water with water rushing down and in from the right, just the upper half of the composition showing the downhill climb, or one with some of both, the upper half of the composition to below the top pool of water with water rushing in. Depends on what you want the picture(s) to be about.

 

[weepete]

too much?

Wow, this is a really great shot. Fantastic composition, great use of leading lines, clarity, sharpness, shutter speed, focal point all spot on. The HDR blend is almost perfect. Really being pedantic here but a little burn on the handrail, a touch more on the trees in the background and an extremely light burn on the snow on the slopes (blending for smooth transitions) to very subtley emphasise the path of the water I think would elevate this shot from excellent to outstanding.

 

[K9Kirk]

I like it a lot, stairs and all! IMHO, everything around the falls adds interest. I like seeing how the snow has fallen on all the rocks, trees and seeing where the creek trails off to in the distance. Good job!

 

[SquarePeg]

Love it and current crop!

I’d be terrified of standing that close with the snow and ice, LOL.

Just for my own edification, does that park have rules about walking it in winter? I did one here in the winter that has 20+ waterfalls, and I had to use crampons, an ice axe, and we were tied off when traveling downward. But, it looks like you have a nice walkway and railing!

The trail was mostly snow and it's only .3 miles to the bottom of the stairs from the road. The trail splits off at the stairs and you can get to the top without the stairs and stay on the snowy path but the views aren't as good - this trail is wheelchair accessible outside of snow season.

The stairs were 100% ice and very slippery. I had Yak Tracks on my hiking boots (they're like crampons but not sharp spikes - they're good for slippery snow and flat ice but not a hill of ice!). Even with the yak tracks footing was really poor. I had to use the chicken wire along the railings to grab on to and pull myself up. Once I got all my photos I thought I could keep going up and catch the trail at the top of the landing instead of trying to get back down the way I went up but when I got to the top, there is a gate and it was iced shut so I had to climb up a small hill of rocks and snow and then walk through the trees to get to the path. That part was not fun! I had to be super careful because I was sort of by myself on this hike (the others were cold and waited in the car!) and I didn't run into anyone other hikers until I was on the way back.

Very cool! That’s awesome that it’s handicap accessible. I bet that was a little rough, glad you made it safely! After doing the trail I went on with the group, I’ll probably not ever do that by myself haha.

The trail I went on was like 3-5 miles (I can’t remember). It was a group of us with one expert. It was all ice, too.

As a side story, the one participant should not have been allowed to go, as they weren’t physically capable of doing the route. I know this sounds harsh, but it would have been for everyone’s own safety. They fell several times (one time rolling onto an ice shelf above the creek, and then ended up refusing to walk further once at the halfway point. The ranger had to be called in with a 4-wheeler, because it was getting dark!


Icy Descent by Wade, on Flickr

I remember when you posted about that trip! Great photos but sounded treacherous. It’s too bad that person either didn’t know or didn’t care that she would be holding everyone else back.

One of the reasons that I started hiking a lot recently is because I’m going on a photo trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone and I don’t want to be that person that can’t keep up with the group! I’ve been going out hiking almost every weekend and trying to push myself to carry a bit more and to pick up my pace on the climbs. I have a long way to go. That trip isn’t really a “hiking” trip but I want to be prepared if the opportunity comes up to hike for a shot and I definitely don’t want to drag the group down. Also, there’s a different trip to Olympia NP that involves quite a bit more hiking that’s on my radar so for that one I definitely need to be in better shape before I sign up.

 

[SquarePeg]

I don't think it's too much, and I don't usually like HDR that much. Very cool photo (in more way than one!). I do think those two pools of water that are dark gray, with the surrounding gray and white snow, take up half the composition, and being somewhat contrasty tend to overpower the upper half of the composition by taking the viewer away from the details in the other half.

There's more than one possible picture there; I can see three - one of the pools of water with water rushing down and in from the right, just the upper half of the composition showing the downhill climb, or one with some of both, the upper half of the composition to below the top pool of water with water rushing in. Depends on what you want the picture(s) to be about.

Thanks! I tried a few different compositions while I was there and may post some of them later but this one is the best imo. I had the 16-80mm so I had the flexibility which was nice but the angles were limited by the conditions of the stairs and trail.

too much?

Wow, this is a really great shot. Fantastic composition, great use of leading lines, clarity, sharpness, shutter speed, focal point all spot on. The HDR blend is almost perfect. Really being pedantic here but a little burn on the handrail, a touch more on the trees in the background and an extremely light burn on the snow on the slopes (blending for smooth transitions) to very subtley emphasise the path of the water I think would elevate this shot from excellent to outstanding.

Thanks. I may give that a try.

I like it a lot, stairs and all! IMHO, everything around the falls adds interest. I like seeing how the snow has fallen on all the rocks, trees and seeing where the creek trails off to in the distance. Good job!

Thanks Kirk!

 

[otherprof]

hdr frozen waterfall by SharonCat..., on Flickr

too much?

Gorgeous! But I love it even more cropped below the stairway.

Thanks but I totally disagree about the staircase. I have a few shots that I framed without it and they just don’t have the same depth and feeling of height.

I showed the photo to my wife and mentioned my suggestion. Her jaw dropped, and she went on at some length about the importance of the stairs. She also thought the photo reminded her of a Japanese print.

 

[SquarePeg]

hdr frozen waterfall by SharonCat..., on Flickr

too much?

Gorgeous! But I love it even more cropped below the stairway.

Thanks but I totally disagree about the staircase. I have a few shots that I framed without it and they just don’t have the same depth and feeling of height.

I showed the photo to my wife and mentioned my suggestion. Her jaw dropped, and she went on at some length about the importance of the stairs. She also thought the photo reminded her of a Japanese print.

she’s my new favorite

 

[waday]

Love it and current crop!

I’d be terrified of standing that close with the snow and ice, LOL.

Just for my own edification, does that park have rules about walking it in winter? I did one here in the winter that has 20+ waterfalls, and I had to use crampons, an ice axe, and we were tied off when traveling downward. But, it looks like you have a nice walkway and railing!

The trail was mostly snow and it's only .3 miles to the bottom of the stairs from the road. The trail splits off at the stairs and you can get to the top without the stairs and stay on the snowy path but the views aren't as good - this trail is wheelchair accessible outside of snow season.

The stairs were 100% ice and very slippery. I had Yak Tracks on my hiking boots (they're like crampons but not sharp spikes - they're good for slippery snow and flat ice but not a hill of ice!). Even with the yak tracks footing was really poor. I had to use the chicken wire along the railings to grab on to and pull myself up. Once I got all my photos I thought I could keep going up and catch the trail at the top of the landing instead of trying to get back down the way I went up but when I got to the top, there is a gate and it was iced shut so I had to climb up a small hill of rocks and snow and then walk through the trees to get to the path. That part was not fun! I had to be super careful because I was sort of by myself on this hike (the others were cold and waited in the car!) and I didn't run into anyone other hikers until I was on the way back.

Very cool! That’s awesome that it’s handicap accessible. I bet that was a little rough, glad you made it safely! After doing the trail I went on with the group, I’ll probably not ever do that by myself haha.

The trail I went on was like 3-5 miles (I can’t remember). It was a group of us with one expert. It was all ice, too.

As a side story, the one participant should not have been allowed to go, as they weren’t physically capable of doing the route. I know this sounds harsh, but it would have been for everyone’s own safety. They fell several times (one time rolling onto an ice shelf above the creek, and then ended up refusing to walk further once at the halfway point. The ranger had to be called in with a 4-wheeler, because it was getting dark!


Icy Descent by Wade, on Flickr

I remember when you posted about that trip! Great photos but sounded treacherous. It’s too bad that person either didn’t know or didn’t care that she would be holding everyone else back.

One of the reasons that I started hiking a lot recently is because I’m going on a photo trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone and I don’t want to be that person that can’t keep up with the group! I’ve been going out hiking almost every weekend and trying to push myself to carry a bit more and to pick up my pace on the climbs. I have a long way to go. That trip isn’t really a “hiking” trip but I want to be prepared if the opportunity comes up to hike for a shot and I definitely don’t want to drag the group down. Also, there’s a different trip to Olympia NP that involves quite a bit more hiking that’s on my radar so for that one I definitely need to be in better shape before I sign up.

That. Is. Awesome! I cannot wait to hear about it! I’m dying to do something similar.

Good idea to get out and see what it’s like hiking with all the photo gear. I always find it so different, because I have different bags and I usually have a lot of other things with me (like water bottles, snacks, food, etc.) that I don’t normally have with me. And not to mention the shoes, hat, sunscreen, etc.