Post by GaliWalker on Mar 29, 2021 6:24:48 GMT -8
I decided to spend a rainy day, yesterday, photographing waterfalls in West Virginia's Blackwater Falls State Park and its surrounding. I find the flat light from overcast conditions to be optimal for waterfall photography, but rain makes things trickier. Still better than a sunny day, as long as there’s no wind to make it fly sideways.
I began with Douglas Falls and its orange rocks. The rocks have been stained that color, wherever the water touches them, due to strip mining. This has now stopped, and efforts are underway to clean up the water in the Blackwater River. Until then, the orange color makes for a spectacular sight.
Albert Falls, upstream of Douglas Falls
Just downstream of Douglas Falls is Lower Douglas Falls. A steep, muddy scramble is required to get down into the gorge. The wide waterfall is hard to capture in a nice photograph, but the spot is great to experience in person.
I continued down the gorge for 2.5mi to catch the cascades on Tub Run, before returning back to the car.
Next up was the main attraction, Blackwater Falls. The rugged route up to its base is difficult on the best of days. Throw in the rain and slippery conditions and I was ready to turn back twice, but persevered, and am glad I did. A lot of effort to get a couple of photos!
My final waterfall was Elakala Falls. Access to this is easy. There are 2-3 more downstream, progressively harder to get to, but the rain had become quite heavy now, and a brisk 20mph wind was making it fly sideways. I felt lucky to tuck in the upper falls, which is my favorite of the group anyway.
Note: All photos were taken from under an umbrella.
I began with Douglas Falls and its orange rocks. The rocks have been stained that color, wherever the water touches them, due to strip mining. This has now stopped, and efforts are underway to clean up the water in the Blackwater River. Until then, the orange color makes for a spectacular sight.
Albert Falls, upstream of Douglas Falls
Just downstream of Douglas Falls is Lower Douglas Falls. A steep, muddy scramble is required to get down into the gorge. The wide waterfall is hard to capture in a nice photograph, but the spot is great to experience in person.
I continued down the gorge for 2.5mi to catch the cascades on Tub Run, before returning back to the car.
Next up was the main attraction, Blackwater Falls. The rugged route up to its base is difficult on the best of days. Throw in the rain and slippery conditions and I was ready to turn back twice, but persevered, and am glad I did. A lot of effort to get a couple of photos!
My final waterfall was Elakala Falls. Access to this is easy. There are 2-3 more downstream, progressively harder to get to, but the rain had become quite heavy now, and a brisk 20mph wind was making it fly sideways. I felt lucky to tuck in the upper falls, which is my favorite of the group anyway.
Note: All photos were taken from under an umbrella.