Water Falling Over Things 2014: Part I (The Official State Waterfall)
Last edited Sun Apr 27, 2014, 02:17 PM - Edit history (2)
After a forced hiatus of a year, it's finally time to resume WFOT, and what better way than with the newly-crowned Official State Waterfall, Palouse Falls?
Now, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure why Palouse Falls was judged worthy of the distinction. While it -- and the Palouse River Canyon where it is found -- is certainly impressive, there are many other waterfalls in the state which are even more striking, and come with the benefit of not being in an equally-officially-proclaimed "rattlesnake area." (Don't worry...it was far too cold this early in the year for any self-respecting rattler to make an appearance.) I think it had to do more with political considerations, particularly after a well-publicized letter-writing campaign from the elementary school students in the nearby hamlet of Washtucna. Considering the east-west divide of Washington, I would suspect the Democratic legislative majority, predominantly from the western part of the state, wanted to show voters in the "red" eastern part of the state that their party appreciated the scenery there as well. However, it seems a little odd to me that, having already more-or-less adopted Wallace Falls in the Cascades as an official symbol of the state (it's on the state parks license plate), they should decide to designate a different fall for the new honor.
At any rate, the "money shot" of Palouse Falls is from the north-rim trail. However, that view requires an impressive sunset, a sky full of photogenic clouds, or at least a pure blue sky. Unfortunately, although the weather service declared the forecast to be "sunny," by the time I finished the four-hour-plus drive to the eastern scablands, a bank of high, hazy clouds had moved in, giving an unattractive whitish sky. What to do? Go into Ansel Adams mode and switch to black-and-white, of course.
When that got tiring, there was always the opportunity to photograph the local Yellow-Bellied Marmot population.
Finally, as dusk drew near, it became apparent that a nice sunset was not in the offing. However, I remembered an admonition from Tim Fitzharris that you should always try continuing to shoot well after sundown, even in an unpromising situation, because you'll find that the camera can see colors you can't when the light gets low enough. Indeed, after the sun had dropped completely out of the sky, and it was getting nearly too dark to see more than the whitish arc of the falls itself against completely dark cliffs, I was able to capture the scene and get the sort of image for which I'd been hoping.
Fortunately, future installments of WFOT2014 should be closer to home (no more finally getting home well after midnight), and in purely rattlesnake-free zones.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I'm very glad to see you shooting AND posting your work again. I have missed both.
Your last picture shows why I think these falls were chosen as the official state waterfall. The water looks vigorous and the surrounding landscape is green, trim and accessible. It's just a wonderful picture and I'm so glad you stuck around to get it.
I'll bet that was a native american sacred spot.
Looks like an area where there would be some big horn hopping around. I've never seen a marmot - shedding out they are, springtime.
Such a different landscape from here, Appalachia. Kind of naked, and serene without all the trees. (Which I love and can't live without) Thanks.
Setting the bar high for those of us in the Evergreen State.....
