It all started with one goal. While in Alaska, get "one" great waterfall shot. After all, Alaska is known for having an abundance of beautiful waterfalls.
This proved to be more of a challenge than we originally thought. We spent days hiking through the Alaskan wilderness. First to the well known, 100' high, Thunderbird Falls. It was an exhilirating hike to the falls. This is going to be it, he thought. The shot Don was looking for. The view from the viewing platform was amazing. Indeed, a magnificant waterfall. We hiked down the mountain and made our way to the base of the falls for the perfect shot. Well, mother nature had other plans. Due to the large amount of spring thaw, the waters were extremely high, making a straight on shot of the falls impossible.
Don got as close as possible and set up his tripod on the edge of a drop off into the dangerously fast rushing water. While still trying to make the most of the situation, the inability to get a straight on shot wasn't the only obstacle. The extreme volume of melt off made the water coming over the falls brown as a result of all the mud it carried. Add to that the fact that as soon as he set up to start shooting, the clouds parted and bathed the entire scene with bright, harsh sunlight. Everything that could go wrong from a photography standpoint did. While frustrated from not getting "the shot," it was an amazing view and a wonderful experience to be that close to and feel the immense raw power of such a large waterfall.
Next on the list was Winner Creek Falls. Would this be the one? That had yet to be seen. With high hopes, we entered the trailhead gear in hand. This was probably the scariest hike during our entire month stay in Alaska. We hiked miles on an isolated trail-deep into the woods with no other humans to be seen. While we had seen plenty of black bears in the wild, and there was always the possibility to see a brown (Grizzly) bear; this was our first hike deep into brown bear territory. That and the fact that we were the only ones on the trail made for a quite uneasy feeling. All of our senses were on high alert. Is bear spray really enough? We didn't really want to have to find out. After hiking several miles, we stopped to rest at the top of a sharp descent into to valley. We could hear the roaring of Winner Creek below. Our guide, Don's sister Missy, and her dog Martin made their way down the steep trail. They returned a short time later with discouraging news. The entire area was too overgrown to make our way to the falls. Yet another failed attempt to get the elusive "shot" Don was looking for.
Time for another try. This brings us to Virgin Creek Falls in Girdwood, Alaska- one of my favorite towns we visited during our month in Alaska, but that's a story for another day. Again, with gear in hand, we entered the trailhead. This time it was noticeably different. The second we stepped onto the trailhead it took our breath away. It was like entering another world. It was a lush green rainforest- nothing like we had ever seen. It was like being in some far away exotic land. We could hear the falls roaring in the distance. Inviting us in. After a short hike, we rounded a bend and there it was- Virgin Creek Falls in all her glory. The light drizzle of rain was the perfect addition to this magical environment.
Missy and I stayed back and took in this amazing scene as Don grabbed his gear and excitedly made his way to find the perfect position to capture this beautiful work of nature. With knees trembling and stomach churning, he clung to whatever he could grab ahold of and made his way to the edge of the muddy cliff that drops into the base of the falls. He set up shop in between some roots at the base of a tree near the edge of the drop off. First, he set up the tripod with an umbrella affixed to it to keep the misting rain from hitting the lens. He then chose his lens and mounted his camera to the tripod and assumed his position under the umbrella, sitting in the mud, gripping the tree roots to keep from sliding. He made his calculations, manual focus, filter, iso, aperature, exposure time etc. Now was the time he'd been waiting for. He pushed the trigger on his cable release and held it down for the desired exposure time. In this instance, I believe it was around 22 seconds. He then came running back. Excitedly, he said to me, "I only took one shot. This is it! I feel it!" He didn't need to take any more. He knew. This was "the shot!" Boy was he right! He captured this amazing place beautifully! It was such a magical moment.
I'm proud to say that a large, framed print of this image is the centerpiece of my very own dining room!