Toketee Falls

Beautiful place. Another nice one.

Hi John,

Thanks for the very kind comments. Yes the upper and lower Toketee Falls are wonderful and this is a beautiful set of waterfalls and location. They are some of the best known waterfalls in Southern Oregon and can only be seen from a platform in the National Forest. The water of the North Umpqua River tumbles down the basaltic columnar joints that can be seen around the waterfalls. The upper water fall is approximately a 25 foot drop and the lower falls is approximately 85 feet. Rich

John,
I agree with the how beautiful this place could be, but the lower half of this photo bothers me. it has no ending. the water seems to be falling into a black hole. the croping is so tight it feels restricted and I'm not sure the blurded look works. I may be off on this, but it is so close to being a great shot. the earlier shot is more what I'm talking about.

just my opinion which really doesn't mean anything

mike a

Hi Rich, missed you. I'm glad you are back with some wonderful images. Wonderful greens, and I love the slow shutter speed on this one. Makes me want to visit.

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the very kind words. It is indeed a lovely place and waterfall. Glad to be back.

Michael, I am aware that it is a very tight shot. I am not totally sure about this one either. I had initially shot the photo with a 150mm Rodenstock Apo Sironar S to render a wider view which afforded more "breathing room", portrayed more of the surrounding and allowed for more room for the water to flow into the dark water. I debated printing the wider view, but my Dad preferred the tighter image. This waterfall is usually shot with a slow shutter speed in part due to its size and the lighting conditions. This was a morning photo and was in shadow with bluish light. As a result, the basalt took on a bluish cast which could have been warmed up a little with a warming filter. The waterfall is usually and recommended to be taken in the morning but can be taken in the afternoon with light coming from above or behind the photographer. But, this may result in burning out the scene on transparency material. Additionally, I am not sure about the out-of focus area toward the bottom of the image to the left and the right. I angled the camera rail down and tried to adjust the camera allowing for some fall and then tried to adjust the camera standards so they were parallel. Bill Nordstrom, my printer thinks that the out of focus area is due to using some swing or tilt. But I suspect that it is at least in part as a result of the bowl shape to the area around the lower portion of the waterfall. It is not visible in the photo taken with the 150mm lens, though the same procedure was followed for adjusting the camera. Rich

Rich,
thanks for the info. I know color is much more demanding than B&W when it comes to tones and shifts in the color. I agree the morning is the best time on this I think afternoon would wash out to much of the feeling it is giving in this photo. I would sure like to see the other photo of the same area though.

mike a