2012, Day 203 - Waterfall waltz

Today I had the pleasure of an adventure with Brian Matiash and his sister Greta.  Although Greta has been to Portland before her previous trip was rather hurried and just after Brian arrived so this time she was treated to a more scenic experience.  First we went to the Saturday Market to browse the stalls of local artists and test our resolve to resist the temptation of mouth-watering smells permeating the air from the food stalls.  The level of talent and creativity in Portland never ceases to amaze me and the appetite for local arts and crafts is apparent by the massive crowds that descend on the market every weekend.

After a brief intermission to allow Brian to pretty himself up we ran out the the Gorge.  Since it was already early afternoon and Greta was still feeling the effects of jet lag it was the abbreviated version.  East on the Historic Columbia River Highway starting at the Women's Forum to Vista House, from there to Shepperds Dell and the directly to Multnomah Falls.  The beautiful weather brought out the crowds but Shepperds Dell was a breath of fresh air.  Not only were there very few people there but cool air cascaded down the falls and the refreshing breeze just washed over you in a wave.  It was nice and invigorating, plus I got this shot.

The woods and upper part of the falls was hot compared to the lower falls so I used a three stop graduated neutral density filter to cut the light but then the image felt out of balance so I employed a two stop graduated neutral density filter upside down to balance the exposure at the bottom.  It framed the scene with a little filter-induced vignetting really nicely and I was able to get great movement in the water.  I would like to think that the results justified my wet feet :)

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 24-105/f4L IS
24mm, f16, merged layers of 1/2 and 2 sec @ 100 ISO
Lee 0.9 soft grad and 0.6 soft grad upside down