So many have waxed poetically about rivers that I can’t bring myself to join the group. I can, however, state that the waters are quite cold when misplacing your foot! But here’s a question for you, “If a photographer falls in a river and no one is around to witnesses it, did he really fall?” Specifically the Dosewallips River? I’d like to think not but my soaked clothes just wouldn’t give me a graceful way out.
Camera
[exif id=”12250″]
Behind the Photo
There’s one big hurdle to overcome with moving water and bright sunlight as well as a host of subjective considerations. Usually, but not always, I’m looking to show some form of motion with water. The easiest way to go about this is to slow your shutter speed down. Even after I’ve bumped my ISO as low as it goes, and the f/stop as high as it go there can still be too much light to get the desired flowing motion I’m after.
That’s where a Neutral Density filter comes in handy. It cuts the light without shifting colors. And if you have the budget then a variable ND (shorthand) filter is even more versatile. As the name applies, you can vary the amount of light hitting the sensor.
And that’s where the subjective portion comes in; how much to blur? I suggest you grab a filter, tripod and start finding what works for you. And share your results!
Dosewallips River
Offering views of Mount Constance when looking upriver from Dosewallips State Park, the Dosewallips River heads up into the mountains for 34 miles before it reaches its source. Splitting into two branches as you head upstream, the source for the river is the South side of Mount Anderson for the South Fork. The North Fork starts out from Sentinel Peak, gaining strength as it gathers the water from Silt Creek draining off the North Side of Mount Anderson.
Dosewallips State Park has plenty of sites to choose from with some nestled right up on the river. It’s popular in the summer so make your reservations early.
