This shot is of Elowah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.

I was in a frustrated mood as I started off down the trail to the falls. Elowah was supposed to be one of the highlights of the Columbia River Gorge, and I had been excited to see it for myself, but the morning was just not off to a good start.

As I progressed down the short half mile trail to the falls however, I was finding it harder and harder to stay frustrated. The path dropped off into a canyon on my left, and the canyon walls climbed above my head the further I progressed. I rounded the last corner and entered into a huge granite amphitheater, with Elowah falls as the centerpiece.

Due to the drought we had this summer, the typically mighty waterfall was little more than a trickle. Despite the lack of volume, the power of the place was tangible, the thick rock walls echoing the memory of a great torrent, pummeling down, carving through the bedrock on its journey to meet up with the Columbia River.

-

Technical Info

25 Sec

f/16

ISO 1000

11mm

I took shots at three different focal points, while also exposure bracketing each focal depth. I focus stacked my base exposure in Photoshop, and then manually blended in the different exposures with layers and masks.