So whether you opt to go chasing some of the country’s most marvelous frozen waterfalls, visit a commanding ice cave, or revel in one of the country’s real-life winter wonderlands, bundle up and set forth on a wondrous winter adventure this season. Winter goes by in a blink of an eye, and while it’s all too easy to hibernate until spring, if you do, you’ll be missing out on some of the most extraordinary - and fleeting - natural phenomena in the country. The hike to Thunderbird Falls is also incredibly picturesque (and accessible), making this a must-visit experience for your Alaska bucket list. In the dead of winter, Thunderbird Falls is at its most stunning, its waters a striking cobalt blue against a startling white landscape, complete with a waterfall rushing beneath a thick wall of ice. In Anchorage, Thunderbird Falls commands attention, and it's truly one of the country's most wondrous waterfalls. Then it came swirling back by, where I could grab it, now sopping wet, but a good omen of luck within my reach.We'd be remiss to not include at least one Alaska waterfall in this list, as the Last Frontier is the very definition of a winter wonderland. In the middle of all this my faithful fedora blew off into the stream and up into the pool above me. In the end the image seemed more appropriate to this starkly beautiful land, so raw and new, so of the moment. Held still in space, the water suggested something I knew was impossible: transparent lava. So I kept exploring the nuances, moving closer to the side of the waterfall, able to get within mere inches of the water (without drowning my Nikon D3), seeing how getting lower put the glasslike water up against the azure sky. It was the act of photography that revealed the possibilities. In this case that was 1/2500 of a second, which turned the sparkling water into crystallized glass, full of dazzling shapes and totally unexpected textures. I decided to try totally freezing the water with a very high shutter speed. So I went to the opposite extreme, which is often the most refreshing way out of a creative trap. Besides not having the gear to take that picture, I wanted something else. It was not about serenity and peacefulness, which the usual silky-water picture would have implied. This waterfall, this setting on the coast of Iceland, was all about bracing clarity, energy, and the freshness of the moment. That meant I couldn’t fall back on my old tricks and would have to try something new.īut there was more than mere necessity at work here. Well, I didn’t have either an ND filter or my tripod along, which-as it turned out-was a very good thing. (Oh, and it should go without saying, you’ll need your tripod or a very conveniently placed rock to set your camera on.) This is where you need to have a good, strong neutral density (ND) filter, which will cut out enough light to make the long exposure time possible. You can crank the f-stop all the way down, use the lowest ISO your camera can manage, and still not get there. The trick is getting that long shutter speed in broad daylight. The water in motion blurs to become as smooth as glass. You simply use a slow shutter speed, usually a half a second or longer, maybe up to as long as 30 seconds. The method is simple, even if accomplishing it takes a bit of gear. It's just that the style has been done over and over by countless photographers. The most common current rage is to use a long, very slow shutter speed to turn the water into silky, silvery curtains of liquid smoothness. The entire scenery is mesmerizing with the frozen waterfall and the blue Biei River flowing. Visitors enjoy the scenery throughout the different seasons and even more so during colder months. the techniques used to capture waterfall pictures have become standard fare. With the icy waterfall line, the deep snow, and the hoarfrost on the trees, the picture is a true winter frozen waterfall wonderland. I say "close" because I doubt we humans will ever lose our fascination with the delights of cascading water plunging dramatically from on high. Waterfall pictures are moving perilously close to being clichés. With a couple of minutes to spare, perhaps I could pull off one more image.įirst, a bit of photographic background. Nothing huge, just crystal clear waters sweeping past the ancient farm and dancing down over the rocks to the sea. Then I remembered the cascading waterfall near our landing site. If I could break through that creative barrier, what other challenges would succumb to me? Somehow that’s how I felt dashing back to the Zodiacs to leave Thistle Fjord in Iceland, flush with confidence from my photographic encounter with the bird wing. Perhaps unlocking one creative door opens another. His photos appear frequently in National Geographic magazine. Contributing editor Jim Richardson is a photojournalist recognized for his explorations of small-town life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |