Tag Archives: Fairy Falls

Fairy Falls, Oregon

[/caption] This isn’t exactly the most masculine name for a waterfall but I guess you could imagine this waterfall being created by a fairy. The waterfall itself is a very photogenic waterfall and there are several different photographic opportunities. I usually zoom into the waterfall and capture the water cascading down and over the step like basalt rocks. I can literally visualize myself climbing up the entire waterfall like a staircase. The waterfall is located directly on the main hiking trail that climbs along the gorge. The waterfall is about a 1.5 mile hike and the entire hike is somewhat steep with about 700 feet of elevation gain from the main trail. To get this shot I made sure to use my tripod, bubble level and remote switch. I had the camera mode in Shutter Priority and set the shutter speed at 4 seconds. The sky was completely overcast but the sun was directly behind the waterfall which caused the water and foliage to give off great colors. I attached the warming, ND4 and CIR-PL in order to allow me to set the shutter speed at 4 seconds. The aperture was set at F-8 and I set the ISO at 100 and reduced the white balance to -0.3. I was standing about 8 feet from the waterfall and I had the focal length at 21mm in order to frame the entire waterfall in the photo as well as include some of the foliage and logs in the foreground.

Fairy Falls, OR

Fairy Falls provides you with the best opportunity to gaze and watch the water spill and travel over, around and down the falls. Since the trail passes directly next to the waterfall, there are several places that you can set up your tripod and zoom directly into the falls. To get this shot I was using my Sigma 17-70mm lens and made sure to attach my ND8, CIR-PL and my warming filter. I had the camera in Shutter Priority with the aperture at F-11. I set the focal length at 50mm in order to zoom in as close as possible but making sure that I kept a large field of view in order to avoid any distortion around the edges of the photo. I also wanted to add some of the mossy rocks and parts of the logs in the photo in order to add some detail and depth. I set the shutter speed to 4 seconds so I could capture as much movement of the water as possible but without overexposing caused by the glare from the water. I set the ISO to 100 and the white balance at -1. The best time to photograph Fairy Falls is when the water level is at its highest which ensures plenty of water thundering over the falls. The First few days of May is normally the best time.