662 - Great Falls
Today I made it out to the biggest landmark in the DMV- Great Falls.
And by DMV I mean the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. Not the car place.
After almost three years of living out here, you’d have thought I’d have gotten a shot of this place week one. It’s literally the biggest landscape in 300+ miles.
But every time I’ve come here (which is 5+ in counting,) it’s been with family/friends, in the middle of the day, and without a camera. Today I finally made it out here with nothing but a Sony a7rIV.
It was time for business.
The waterfall has its own state park, which features three main overlooks and one path down to the river. That equals four different viewpoints of these falls. Legal ones, at least. People climb all over this place.
However, my intention was to keep it legal for this shoot because I intended to host workshops here in the near future. A first for me. I can’t be bringing randos off-trail at one of the busiest landmarks on the east coast.
Since I arrived a few hours before sunset, I decided to start my shoot down near the water. You know, get real close and personal with these falls.
I’d been saving this spot for my solo trek. See, I shoot best when it’s my first time arriving somewhere. I like to think the “awe” comes out in the photos when it’s less pre-determined.
And by god, the luck of the Irish fell upon me. A lone heron was fishing by the shore, with the waterfalls in the background. It literally (I’m trying to use this word more sparingly, but this moment deserved it) doesn’t get better than this.
Check this out:
I can’t say I’ve ever had the planets lineup so well.. And I’m shocked how close I was able to get without it flying away. That thing was shot at 63mm. I’d say the trick is to move very slowly, but I always move slow as fuck around birds and they fly away anyway. So who knows. This bird was just built different.
After, I decided to head back up to the bigger overlooks for sunset. I wasn’t sure how it was going to get any better than that, but the sky did light up nicely. So here’s that cliché Great Falls photo everyone drools over:
….
One zoomed out, one zoomed out. To show the ferocity of the water. People kayak over these things you know.
Anyway. That’s a wrap on that shoot.
I’m now hosting workshops here, so check them out if you want to learn a thing or two about taking photos. (And a thing or two about luck 🙂).
