I drove up into the high country yesterday without a good idea of where I was going, and decided to stop and explore a tumultuous little creek I saw from the road. The hike up the creek was difficult mainly because the algae-covered rocks were as slick as ice, but it was worth it when I eventually came to a birch grove that hugged the creek on both sides. The other photo is from a hike I took a week or so ago.





Canon 5d Mark ii, 16-35mm lens, 4 sec at f/11, ISO 100

When I turned a corner of the creek and saw this birch grove, I knew there was a wonderful photograph there, so I set about finding it. In situations like this my method is usually the same. Wading up the stream (i’m always in hip waders) with my camera around my neck, I stop at every potential spot like a riffle or little waterfall, anything that might be a nice foreground, and check it out through the viewfinder. I had waded just up to the grove without finding a photo, when I noticed from a few feet away the way that the water parted around this rock. With an ultra-wide lens, the foreground can be magnified if the lens is held close, so I positioned the camera about two feet from the rock and got the photo.






Canon 5d mark ii, 16-35mm lens, 2 sec at f/22, ISO 100

This is a photo that was much more difficult to take than it seems. These leaves were pinned to the riverbed by the current as it went over the edge of a long, steep cascade, and I was perched on the edge on slippery rocks, hoping my boots would hold. My camera was about 6 inches above the water, mounted on my tripod, and I held the legs steady in the rushing water.