Hey everyone. I’m on the plane heading back from Portland. I was out there for work this week and found some time to go shooting. Yesterday morning, I met up with some friends of mine (Rick Lepage and Hudson Henry) to shoot Oneonta Gorge. This one has been on my bucket list for a while now so I was really excited to finally get out there.
As it turns out, all of that rainy weather that Portland is known for seemed to subside for the day I was there (I have that effect on weather). Oneonta is typically best photographed on a cloudy/overcast day. That said, as you can see in the photo here, we were graced with some beams of light coming through the falls. That wouldn’t have happened if it were a cloudy day, so it’s definitely a give-n-take kind of thing.
(Click to see the photo larger)
Photo Details:
Camera: Canon 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon 16-35mm
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec.
ISO: 100
Filter: Lee Circular Polarizer
Anyway, I’ve got some wild stories from this shoot, as well as a few other shoots that I managed to squeeze in to one day. But since my day started yesterday at 3:30am, and didn’t end until 1:30am (and now I’m on a 6am flight home), I’m gonna go try to get some sleep. Have a good one!
PS: You’ll be happy to know that as I left Portland the cloudy, rainy, overcast weather returned so anyone that lives there (or plans to visit) can resume normal shooting 😉
Oh my Gosh, Matt, that is one fantastic photo! I love the sun rays (God Rays) coming into the photo! Just a beautiful effect! Sounds like you had a great day, and also a busy day!
Dennis
Great shot! I saw a video of another shot on FaceBook with you and Rick Lepage at the seashore. It was mentioned in the video that you fell getting to the location and injured your ankle. Is it okay?
Nice one Matt. What time did you find worked best for the light rays?
We got there around 9am. By the time we got in the wetsuits, and walked in it was probably 10. We shot for 2 hours and the light beams were more toward the end. So I’d say around 11:00-12:00. By noon the whole canyon was in harsh light and unshootable though.
Love the sunbeam peering through the gorge. What a beautiful shot. The image really conveys the soft texture of the greens growing off the rocks. Did you use a c-pol to lessen the impact of the shinier areas? Was an ND filter necessary (it looks pretty dark down there naturally)?
Yep, used a circular polarizer. No ND Filter needed. Between the CP and dark light, the shutter speeds were plenty long enough.
Very nice, I will have to check this out. I live in Seattle but come to Portland often. What time of day did you take this.
I hope you had your wet suit!
Yep! Worked out great!!!
Great photo! And a very beautiful place! What lens did you use to take the photo?
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