Palouse Falls Sunset/Sunrise

coscorrosa · June 5, 2009

I shot Palouse Falls for the first time at sunset during my stay in Eastern Washington on Memorial Day weekend, and while the scenery was (and is always) incredible, the light was really flat, with no clouds at all.

So I checked the forecast and it looked like yesterday's sunset would have enough cloud cover to make things interesting. Also turns out that sunrise the next morning would be decent too, so I left work early on yesterday to shoot the sunset and slept in my car and shot the sunrise before heading back to work this morning.

The addition of just a few clouds made all the difference.

Sunset:

Sunrise:

Side note: I got there early on sunset, was wondering around without my camera scouting places out, and saw a bunch of these marmots:

So I went back and grabbed my gear to photograph them, and while I did, I spotted this guy:

Video:

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Even better, when I went to my spot at sunset, there was a *tiny* baby rattlesnake on the ledge where I planned to shoot! I left and came back in 5 minutes and it was gone. The 250 foot sheer drop cliff isn't dangerous enough I guess!

dseidman · June 5, 2009

Really nice improvement over the last trip out to the falls.

It's too bad the snake and marmot weren't posing in the same shot together.

Did you manage to get any sleep in the car? You're crazy for going to work the same day you took sunrise pictures all the way over in Eastern Washington.

ront · June 5, 2009

Great photos Ron. The first picture of Palouse Falls is just exceptional!! We were going to head out there last Saturday, but Friday we lost the water pump in our 2001 Camry. We got it back yesterday, $600 poorer

.

Ron

thapamd · June 5, 2009

Oh man! The 1st shot is gorgeous! I've been to Palouse falls twice, but not during the right time of day. Not only were you there at the right time but also had the know-how to capture it the right way. The snake video was pretty cool too.

Tango · June 5, 2009

i dare you to pet the little bugger:D

wonderful photography, great sweet color!!!

dlplumer · June 5, 2009

Those first two are astounding

Hey, Ron, look at Articblooms thread on ND Filters (Landscape Forum). I posed a question for you that I thought for sure you could answer.

Dan

coscorrosa · June 5, 2009

dseidman wrote:

Really nice improvement over the last trip out to the falls.

It's too bad the snake and marmot weren't posing in the same shot together.

Did you manage to get any sleep in the car? You're crazy for going to work the same day you took sunrise pictures all the way over in Eastern Washington.

I slept two hours, mostly because I was too cold (you know, 90 degrees at 2PM doesn't mean it'll be 90 degrees at 2AM). And yeah, it's crazy, but I'm just prepping myself for the summer when I shoot Rainier (sunrise will be later, but it's about 90 minutes closer than Palouse Falls, so it'll work out).

coscorrosa · June 5, 2009

ront wrote:

Great photos Ron. The first picture of Palouse Falls is just exceptional!! We were going to head out there last Saturday, but Friday we lost the water pump in our 2001 Camry. We got it back yesterday, $600 poorer .

Ron

Damn, that sucks! Just watch for snakes when you do make it out there, and if you can plan ahead, wait for a day with at least 40% cloud cover to get the colors.

coscorrosa · June 5, 2009

thapamd wrote:

Oh man! The 1st shot is gorgeous! I've been to Palouse falls twice, but not during the right time of day. Not only were you there at the right time but also had the know-how to capture it the right way. The snake video was pretty cool too.

Thanks! Yeah I learned from my previous outing. Both of these exposures were about a minute long to try and get the swirl at the base of the falls.

coscorrosa · June 5, 2009

AaronNelson wrote:

i dare you to pet the little bugger:D

wonderful photography, great sweet color!!!

Thanks Aaron, that type of landscape is more reminiscent of your neck of the woods than mine.

schmoo · June 5, 2009

I am in awe that you are one of the Lightmasters. Even when I stalk sunsets/sunrises they never look that gorgeous.

This is the closest I ever hope to be to a living rattlesnake.

Kory Lidstrom · June 6, 2009

Wow, that first shot is quite nice. Beautiful light and a great compo! Totally cool about seeing the snake, too.

Jack'll do · June 6, 2009

Boy that is dedication to one's craft. The first two are simply beyond words.

bow

jeffmeyers · June 6, 2009

Great work, Ron. I love the sunrise shot!

tisun · June 6, 2009

Wow! The colors are indeed better. The fall seems to be a bit less powerful in this shot compared to your previous shot. Is it true?

coscorrosa · June 6, 2009

schmoo wrote:

I am in awe that you are one of the Lightmasters. Even when I stalk sunsets/sunrises they never look that gorgeous.

This is the closest I ever hope to be to a living rattlesnake.

Thanks schmoo - when I got there on Wednesday evening it looked like there would be a little too much cloud cover, but things cleared up right at sunset. Also long exposures (these were both 1 minute long), polarizers, and GNDs really help to bring out the color. If the forecast calls for less than 20% cloud cover you're almost guaranteed to not have any good color in the sky (I use the national weather services "hourly weather graph" - it's very handy, and you can click on any part of the map to get the forecast instead of having to choose a specific town or city, and it includes wind, temperature, preceptation, snow, etc. in addition to cloud cover).

As for the snake, I wasn't as freaked out as I thought I would be, but that's because it was 20 ft. from me before I first noticed it. As long as they don't surprise you and you don't surprise them, it's not a big deal. The baby rattlesnake did surprise me though, it was tiny and right on the ledge and I almost stepped on it. That wasn't a great moment

coscorrosa · June 6, 2009

Kory Lidstrom wrote:

Wow, that first shot is quite nice. Beautiful light and a great compo! Totally cool about seeing the snake, too.

Thanks Kory, this is actually the pretty standard Palouse Falls composition, I did walk the entire perimeter and this was the best spot though (at least from the top). You're just a few inches from the cliff (the falls are 198 ft) so it's a little dicey but worth it.

coscorrosa · June 6, 2009

Jack'll do wrote:

Boy that is dedication to one's craft. The first two are simply beyond words. bow

Thanks Jack, I was fortunate with the light. I think I'm going to have to try car lodging more often for these sunset/sunrise locations that aren't near any motels (not very comfortable, but very convenient, and it fits my impulsive nature more).

coscorrosa · June 6, 2009

tisun wrote:

Wow! The colors are indeed better. The fall seems to be a bit less powerful in this shot compared to your previous shot. Is it true?

Thanks, and yes, the falls aren't running as high as they were two weeks ago, so they're past peak until next spring's snow melt. I do think they run year round though.

dseidman · June 6, 2009

coscorrosa wrote:

I slept two hours, mostly because I was too cold (you know, 90 degrees at 2PM doesn't mean it'll be 90 degrees at 2AM). And yeah, it's crazy, but I'm just prepping myself for the summer when I shoot Rainier (sunrise will be later, but it's about 90 minutes closer than Palouse Falls, so it'll work out).

If you don't like having to turn your car on every half hour to warm it back up, I'd recommend bringing a sleeping bag next time.

kdog · June 9, 2009

Boy oh boy! I just love these two first shots. Amazing colors and compositions.

thumb

Cheers,
-joel

Palouse Falls Sunset/Sunrise

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