
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Time for another waterfall. Toorongo Falls can be found in the rainforest near Mount Baw Baw in Victoria, Australia. I mentioned a few posts ago that when we visited Victoria, I was keen to find and photograph some waterfalls. I love waterfalls and I will always jump at opportunities to photograph them. We journeyed through mountain regions of Victoria and with a bit of rain around we were always bound to find one or two somewhere. I was very glad we did and I especially liked the ones located in lush rainforest.
This waterfall was one of a few possible to see along Toorongo and Little Toorongo rivers. The walking track leads through lovely rainforest and a large section further on follows a stream with massive boulders and fern trees. It is a landscape very unlike our drier bushland in Western Australia. Luckily the flow was very reasonable and cascading water looked really good once we got close to the falls. The surroundings were a bit messy though, with many broken branches and trees scattered around. Some of these branches actually added something interesting to the the surroundings but many others only added clutter.
This is the "classic" view of the falls from the main viewing platform and there was not really much scope to try and walk around to find a different perspective. I tried various angles mostly to minimise the debris present in the immediate foreground. I was not able to avoid all of it and I had to clone out some protruding branches which detracted from the rest of the frame. I try to avoid removing large objects from a photo by working on the best composition possible in the field. However, sometimes it it just not possible to do that and I have no issues with removing an odd branch around the edges in post processing. As part of my photographic process, both in the field and at home, I check the edges thoroughly to ensure that I keep any distracting elements there to minimum. I photograph mostly wide scenes but it still helps a lot to pay attention to small detail, even in expansive landscapes.
One of the biggest settings choices to make when it comes to waterfall photography is usually what shutter speed to choose. This is often a personal choice depending on the type of waterfall, flow of the water, and general mood of the scene. My starting point is between 0.5 to 1 second but I will often try faster and slower shutter speeds. I tend to lean more towards the ethereal feel rather than the sharp almost live feel of flowing water. That just simply works more with my vision and the photos I like to take. For this photo I took a bit of time time to decide between 0.4 and 0.8 second exposures. It seems like not much of a difference and yet each image felt different. I settled on the longer one for that extra touch of silkiness in the falling water. Conditions were overcast and I did not have to worry too much about sun creating harsh highlights, while the wind was also negligible so it did not affect branches and foliage.
My first steps in "serious" photography were made when taking photos of waterfalls in Tasmania back in 2008. One of my first favourite photos is an image of Russell Falls and I like think back to it as specifically igniting my passion for photography. That is why waterfalls will always feel special to me.
Welcome to my photo blog. I greatly value all your support, comments, and visits.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever have any questions about my photography, and I can also be found here:
If you would prefer to follow me on your smart phone, my Instagram tag is: @darkelfphotography