Picture Story

After recently purchasing my new Canon R5 mirrorless camera I was anxious to see how it would perform in lower light conditions. I usually visit nearby Watkins Glen State Park located in Upstate New York during the morning hours. Our area had received a little over three inches of rain in the past few days, so I decided to visit in the evening.

I wasn’t disappointed, the water was flowing quickly in the channel and pouring down the sides of the slate rocks everywhere. Rainbow Falls are by far my favorite waterfalls in the park. It is the most photographed falls in our area. So, between the rainstorms I set up my tripod where I could see the main falls, bridge and upper falls. The green vegetation and rock wall were my leading lines to falls in my composition for a vertical image. As the sun began to set the sky (what little I could see of it) began to turn to a pastel array of colors and the trees in the gorge were backlit by the light. I bracketed a few shots but decided on using the raw image that was exposed at f18, ISO 200, for a 2 second exposure. The dark walls in contrast with the backlit vegetation seemed to make the scene pop.

I have had many experiences where I witnessed the scene in front of me but was just not able to capture it the way I remember it in my mind. This was not one of those time. When I look at the image, I can still remember the feeling of standing with the water coming off the ledge and the sound of the falls in full roar. Can’t what to try creating more images with the Canon R5.