Sunday, April 25, 2021

Burney Falls, after midnight, light painting


 

Burney Falls is a waterfall famous for its unique geology. The stream, Burney Creek, flows over the brink after being split into two streams that fall to the pool below. The rest of the cliff face has springs gushing from it that make it look like a very wide waterfall. The estimated amount of water flowing from this cliff is 100 million gallons per day. We visited McArthur-Burney Falls State Park during spring break 2021. 

In a way, Burney Falls is challenging to photograph in that it is north-facing and doesn't receive direct sunlight. We managed to get a better image of the falls than usual by taking this picture after midnight and using a flashlight combined with a long exposure time to light the scene in a way that couldn't happen during the daytime. This image was actually taken around 12:43am with a 30-second exposure, ISO 800, f5.6, and a focal length of 18mm. It needed a wide-angle setting on the lens to get all of the falls in the frame, plus we wanted to be physically closer so the flashlight could be more effective. This process of using a flashlight (or torch as the British call it) to light the scene is called light painting. It appears to bring out the colors of the ferns better than a daytime photo when the cliff is in shadow.


Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!


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