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Archive 2013 · Panther Creek Falls

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Panther Creek Falls

I just got back from a couple weeks in Oregon and managed to get out to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest -- what an amazing place. Dustin Gents Hobbit Falls really inspired me and I just had to make a trip to Panther Creek Falls.

This was shot early morning with clear skies but the sun was low enough not to cast any direct light on the scene. I spent most of my time trying to get a shot similar to Dustin's but nearly froze after an hour or so wading through the creek! This shot came afterward once I was back on dry land. This is my first post here and I hope you enjoy.

Shot w/ a Canon 6D & Rokinon 14mm. C&C welcome.

500px Link

Aug 15, 2013 at 09:48 AM

ben egbert
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Panther Creek Falls

Thats an amazing shot.

I went there a few years back but never figured out how to get down to a level where I could shoot. The bank near the falls was suicidal to descend, or trees/brush obscured if you stayed higher.

That you got wet makes me think you did a lot of bushwhacking and wading maybe from further downstream.

Anyway, it paid off with a great shot that will remain fairly unique because of the difficulty of position.

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:25 AM

stanparker
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Panther Creek Falls

Beautiful shot, Steve. Even more impressive is the fact that you got to the bottom. I was there recently and had the same dilemma as Ben described. Left frustrated. Is it possible that you are much younger than Ben and I are? I felt I could get down with one big step, but would never have gotten out.

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:29 AM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Panther Creek Falls

ben egbert wrote:
Thats an amazing shot.

I went there a few years back but never figured out how to get down to a level where I could shoot. The bank near the falls was suicidal to descend, or trees/brush obscured if you stayed higher.

That you got wet makes me think you did a lot of bushwhacking and wading maybe from further downstream.

Anyway, it paid off with a great shot that will remain fairly unique because of the difficulty of position.

Thanks for the comment Ben.

The bank to get down there is fairly steep but not necessarily suicidal

I say this as one who is comfortable scrambling up and down mountains though. I can definitely see how it would be intimidating for some.

You can scramble down to the edge of the creek (where this was taken) but if you want to get a shot similar to Dustins (linked above) then you have to get wet and cross the creek. The creek continues down further, cascading over another decent sized ridge (10-15 ft maybe) and it is possible to get to the bottom of that as well. I did go down and have a quick look but by that time I had already been in the water for an hour and was pretty cold. One could easily spend a day here as there are so many possible compositions. The next time I go back I will be setting aside a good chunk of time to shoot this place.

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:38 AM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Panther Creek Falls

stanparker wrote:
Beautiful shot, Steve. Even more impressive is the fact that you got to the bottom. I was there recently and had the same dilemma as Ben described. Left frustrated. Is it possible that you are much younger than Ben and I are? I felt I could get down with one big step, but would never have gotten out.

lol, thanks for the comment Stan. I just turned 30 and am still full of adventure. Perhaps that's how I was able to make it back out

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:40 AM

Klaus Priebe
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Panther Creek Falls

Nice!

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:48 AM

dsjtecserv
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Panther Creek Falls

Beautiful shot and impressive effort to get to the spot. Slightly less total exposure, or a slightly faster shutter speed, might have preserved a bit more detail in the water, but it isn't a big deal for this particular image.

If I remember correctly, the Gifford Pinchot NF is only on the Washington side of the River. Is this in Oregon or Washington?

Dave

Aug 15, 2013 at 10:58 AM

Bjadelberg
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Panther Creek Falls

Looks great!

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:03 AM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Panther Creek Falls

dsjtecserv wrote:
Beautiful shot and impressive effort to get to the spot. Slightly less total exposure, or a slightly faster shutter speed, might have preserved a bit more detail in the water, but it isn't a big deal for this particular image.

If I remember correctly, the Gifford Pinchot NF is only on the Washington side of the River. Is this in Oregon or Washington?

Dave

Thanks for the comment Dave. The water was the hardest part of the image for me to process. I do have several shots at varying exposures but I just can't make the faster shutter speed ones look good. This shot is actually a blend. I used a 1/2s exposure for the water and 1/15s exposure for the rest. Without the blend, the water looks sharp and unnatural due to how many little cascading waterfalls there are. I actually wish I would have had a shot at 1s to smooth it out a bit more but I was already at the limits of the lens (F/22, ISO 100 and no filter available for the Rokinon 14mm). I guess it all comes down to preference.

You are correct -- Gifford Pinchot NF is on the Washington side of the River. It was about a 45m drive for me to get here from the campground I was staying at (Ainsworth State Park ~30mi east of Portland).

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:12 AM

ben egbert
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Panther Creek Falls

Steve Dublanko wrote:
Thanks for the comment Ben.

The bank to get down there is fairly steep but not necessarily suicidal

I say this as one who is comfortable scrambling up and down mountains though. I can definitely see how it would be intimidating for some.

You can scramble down to the edge of the creek (where this was taken) but if you want to get a shot similar to Dustins (linked above) then you have to get wet and cross the creek. The creek continues down further, cascading over another decent sized ridge (10-15 ft maybe) and it is possible to get...Show more →

Looking at mine and yours, I think you are at a different place. It took me a 1/2 hour driving back and forth just to find where it was and I might have gotten the wrong one.

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:44 AM

dsjtecserv
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Panther Creek Falls

Steve, if you have exposures with different shutter speeds that are otherwise aligned, you have a lot to work with. I understand how some of the smaller cascades might look too static at the shorter shutter speed, but I think 1/2 second will tend to make the longer drops look too smooth and featureless (matter of taste, of course). But you might consider blending in the 1/15 second water only partially (that is, with a mask between transparent and opaque) just for the longer drops and other areas that have a lot of blank or nearly blank white area.

You might also increase the contrast on just selected areas of the water by making a curves or levels adjustment layer with a steeper slope (but be careful not to adjust the white point to the point that it blows out the brightest whites), make a black mask for the layer, and then paint the mask with gray to selectively and gently add slightly transparent areas to some of the water. You can also apply such an adjustment only to the water layer, by combining it with that layer into a group.

I find that blending of water texture from different exposures, and increasing the contrast of certain parts of the water, can add a lot to an image where the optimum exposure for the water and for the general context weren't necessarily the same.

Dave

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:44 AM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Panther Creek Falls

ben egbert wrote:
Looking at mine and yours, I think you are at a different place. It took me a 1/2 hour driving back and forth just to find where it was and I might have gotten the wrong one.

Hmm, it is possible. The trail head is not marked. I followed directions I found online (and I think google maps got me pretty close). Parked at a large gravel pit on the right side of the road and then walked back about 50 - 100m to find the trail that descends down to the viewing platform.

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:49 AM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Panther Creek Falls

dsjtecserv wrote:
Steve, if you have exposures with different shutter speeds that are otherwise aligned, you have a lot to work with. I understand how some of the smaller cascades might look too static at the shorter shutter speed, but I think 1/2 second will tend to make the longer drops look too smooth and featureless (matter of taste, of course). But you might consider blending in the 1/15 second water only partially (that is, with a mask between transparent and opaque) just for the longer drops and other areas that have a lot of blank or nearly blank white area.

You...Show more →

Great info Dave. I will have a look at it when i get home tonight.

Aug 15, 2013 at 11:51 AM

Butch Braniger
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Panther Creek Falls

Beautiful image! Thanks for sharing.

Aug 15, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Butch Braniger
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Panther Creek Falls

Beautiful image! Thanks for sharing.

Aug 15, 2013 at 12:03 PM

ben egbert
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Panther Creek Falls

Steve Dublanko wrote:
Hmm, it is possible. The trail head is not marked. I followed directions I found online (and I think google maps got me pretty close). Parked at a large gravel pit on the right side of the road and then walked back about 50 - 100m to find the trail that descends down to the viewing platform.

Viewing platform? Now I know I missed it. But you did not and I love yours.

Aug 15, 2013 at 12:11 PM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Panther Creek Falls

ben egbert wrote:
Viewing platform? Now I know I missed it. But you did not and I love yours.

Here is a random picture I got from google showing the platform:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hewmatt/2551995457/

Aug 15, 2013 at 12:16 PM

othfilm
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Panther Creek Falls

Yeah, when I went here I took a different set of directions (little pull-off and trail that starts next to the road), and the journey down was pretty tough. But, that trail put you down below where the viewing platform is, where you can get shots like Steve's here. I think either way is a decent amount of scrambling.

Also, avoid times of high water. When I was there, there was a wispy extra part to the falls on the right (where the rocks are to the right of the falls), and the spray was brutal. Made it impossible to get a good shot

Aug 15, 2013 at 02:50 PM

Dustin Gent
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Panther Creek Falls

Nice shots here! Getting down is pretty simple, just take your time. The lower falls has nice spots as well as upstream

Aug 15, 2013 at 07:41 PM

Steve Dublanko
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Panther Creek Falls

othfilm wrote:
Yeah, when I went here I took a different set of directions (little pull-off and trail that starts next to the road), and the journey down was pretty tough. But, that trail put you down below where the viewing platform is, where you can get shots like Steve's here. I think either way is a decent amount of scrambling.

Also, avoid times of high water. When I was there, there was a wispy extra part to the falls on the right (where the rocks are to the right of the falls), and the spray was brutal. Made it impossible to get...Show more →

Ya, I can see how that would make things tricky. There was a very small amount of water flowing over the falls on the right (not pictured here) but it wasn't enough to cause any spray. I suspect spring would be much different.

Dustin Gent wrote:
Nice shots here! Getting down is pretty simple, just take your time. The lower falls has nice spots as well as upstream

Thanks Dustin. I want to get back here and check out the lower section in more detail one day.

Aug 16, 2013 at 07:46 AM

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