So, it was one of those dull and grey days that only brightened up at sunset. Except, I think that days just don’t get more wonderful than today!
I had found this creek some way south from Loos and was itching do waterfall photography. I think that overcast days are by far the best time to shoot whitewater. I was also lucky in that it was relatively calm, so I was all set up for long exposures. When I started following the creek upstream, it became quickly obvious that it was not going to be easy. Going upstream, I mean. The moss covered rocks were slippery and the forest was thick and it seemed like half the time when I used a branch for support, it either had sharp thorns or was so rotten that it broke off when I gripped it.
I had seen on the map that it was only a few hundred meters until the lake were the creek starts, but there is enough height difference to create a steady series of small waterfalls, providing me with endless opportunities for different compositions. I was having an absolute blast, this creek is a goldmine!
When I got to the lake, I saw some swans. Unfortunately, they also saw me, so they started to swim away from me. But I was still quite a way off and they didn’t take to flight, so I changed the lens (grateful that I had the 300mm with me!) and started crawling closer. Not that it helped, the swans were clearly aware of me the whole time.
I was able to get off a few frames when I decided to boost up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed to make sure that I’d get some sharp shots (I was at 1/200 and IS worked well, but I don’t trust my hands). So up to ISO 400, change shutter speed… oh no, the birds are taking off! I started shooting before I had finished with the shutter speed change. Thus, I got a beautiful series of a swan family taking off on a calm autumn lake – OVEREXPOSED! I’m crying inside. There’s no post-editing in the world that will help me, the whites are hopelessly blown.
Now that I didn’t have to hide in the bush anymore, I had a look around the lakeside and found yellow birches, marsh, pine forest, lichen covered rocks… I shot everything. I was stunned to notice that the memory card was getting full. When was the last time I filled a memory card shooting locally? Err… never!
I drove home feeling elated and the overexposed swans were just a bump in the road, because I knew that I surely had to have some other keepers on the card. I love that creek… already looking forward to following it downstream some other day. Or upstream on the other side, it will yield me keepers for some time to come!
As I was editing the pictures, I noticed that the cloud cover had lifted enough to allow the setting sun paint the sky gold. I promptly packed the camera back in the bag and started scouting for a sunset spot. I found it, and watched the sun set and light up the clouds from behind the horizon. The gold turned to red, and the light faded, but nothing could take away the warm happy glow inside me.