Did I Make a HUGE Mistake?? Shooting The Oregon Columbia Gorge | #13
Shooting in the Columbia Gorge is like stumbling upon a wonderland filled with precious gems for landscape photographers. Unfortunately this paradise is gradually transforming into a tourist hub. Thankfully, they've at least done away with those absurd time-slot permits. The day you guys discover me glued to my computer, weeks or months in advance, planning a hiking time-slot and scrambling for reservations as if I'm vying for tickets to a pop concert, all just for the sake of going outside, on a hike… well, you can bid farewell to my landscape photography career. I mean, doesn’t that sound ludicrous? Or is it just me? Who knows? Anyway...
The Columbia Gorge is an absolute feast for the eyes – waterfalls that will blow your mind and vistas that might just make you drool. It's a landscape photographer's dream playground out there. However, many spots have been shot a zillion times, and several hikes are still off-limits due to the Eagle Creek Fire, back in 2017. And that's why I went on a mission: to find an untouched gem, a place where no one else has stepped. Little did I know, locating the spot would be the cakewalk, and my ability to capture a decent shot would be the real hurdle.
After my early shoot at Dry Creek Falls, I embarked on a day-long adventure to find a potential gem for the next morning's shoot. I had an idea in my head – not exactly a map pinpoint, but a vivid mental image of what I wanted. Yeah, it sounds kind of wild, and it probably is. My goal? A spot by the riverbank that could show off those colossal rolling hills. Strangely enough, I stumbled upon a location pretty damn easily, which left me a bit shocked. As soon as I laid eyes on the scene, I sensed its potential. I envisioned the first rays of the morning sun flooding through those hills, turning the edges into pure gold. And I had those rocks on the shore lined up as my killer foreground element. All seemed peachy, and I was all hyped up for the early wake-up call the next day. Except, well, the wind had other plans. I thought at any point, I might just blow away. But I convinced myself, thinking that dawn would surely bring serenity and ideal conditions for setting up a shot.
Oh, what a dumbass I was…
Skipping to the following morning – yep, you guessed it – my sunny optimism was far off... Not only was it freezing cold, but also the gusts refused to let up. Still, I soldiered on, testing the compositions I had in mind from my trial run the evening before. Low angle, high angle, portrait, landscape – you name it, I tried it. But NOTHING. Something felt off, and my inability to find that killer angle in the morning was nothing short of a disaster. The aggressive wind and the restless water played havoc with my shutter speed plans. Either too quick, leading to a confusing mess, or too leisurely, resulting in an annoying blur due to my tripod's dance moves in the wind. All while I was standing ankle-deep in icy water. Super enjoyable, right? Not exactly a walk in the park. After wrestling with these challenges for quite a while, I caved and settled on a composition to catch the peak morning light as it shot through the hills. As the light show started and the scene got painted with magic, I was convinced I'd walk away with something I'd love. But, not so fast…
As it turns out, I made a mistake in this composition that flat-out ruined the image's potential. Now, do I absolutely despise it? Nah, not exactly. But trust me, it ain't my masterpiece either. Let me lay down what irks me about it. This really grinds my gears – the alignment. That star of a foreground rock? Yeah, it’s playing solo and doesn't align with the background hills. Yup, an amateur mistake. I should have paid a bit more attention when composing and shifted my camera over slightly. I attempted to fix it in post, but whether I centered the shot on the rock or the hills, something always felt like it was giving me the side-eye. It's like a visual itch I can't scratch. I also had to turn this image monochrome; there were many color inconsistencies that distracted from the image itself, which I think works fine, but color would have been my preference.
Sure, there are a couple of other things I would want to change, but most were out of my control. The biggest problem with this composition was 100% my fault, and yeah, I made a huge mistake…
See you on Wednesday!
Thanks for reading,
Alec
