waterfall – Decaseconds

Smooth Water (Finally)

2026-Sep-23 adohertyhLeave a comment

I’ll spoil the double meaning of this title: On the one hand, very literally the waterfall in Stone Valley is ending on the left side of the image and smoother water is in the river’s future. But in a photographic sense, this is an image that I couldn’t previously share because the mist from the waterfalls spotted the lens so badly that the image was hidden behind a layer of dark spots. The improved spot removal tools in present-day Adobe Camera Raw have finally allowed me to effectively get rid of those spots (and I’ve learned some other photographic tricks in the meantime), so this image is ready to face the light of day.

Great Falls Reservoir

2025-Aug-20 adohertyhLeave a comment

Great Falls with additional great falls grafted on via dam.

Stone Valley Rückenfigur

2022-Apr-13 adohertyh1 Comment

A poster of Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” hung above my bed in college, and I’ve since then developed a love of Rückenfiguren in images. Building from my last post’s theme of self-portraiture, I thought using myself as the POV for an image in Stone Valley might add the right German Romantic vibe.

Little Waterfalls in Fall

2022-Apr-012022-Mar-31 adohertyhLeave a comment

Earlier this week, I posted an image that used long exposure to contrast textures in a landscape. This image achieves a similar goal, but perhaps with even more drama and structure. The oblique lighting from the blue-hour sky exaggerates the sheets of stone that have been thrust forth from the Earth.

Shades of Pestle Stones

2022-Mar-28 adohertyh1 Comment

Rough rocks, fuzzy trees, and long-exposure-smoothed water make this a North Country texture combo platter.

Smooth Falls at Dusk

2022-Mar-232022-Mar-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

This is one of those images that’s definitely worth clicking through to view at full size. The rough surfaces of rocks, moss, and pine needles contrast so effectively with the smooth, graceful textures of the waterfall.

Face of the Falls

2021-Oct-062021-Oct-07 adohertyhLeave a comment

A wall of white water greets visitors to Laurel Falls. Can you spot the little magenta flashes of rhododendrons in the rocks?

A Gray Sunset in Stone Valley

2021-Oct-042021-Oct-03 adohertyhLeave a comment

Hiking through Stone Valley to capture a vibrant sunset over long-exposure-blurred rapids really only works if the sunset shows up for the party. What I found instead was a more quiet and contemplative view of early autumn in the Adirondacks.

Laurel Falls

2021-Sep-242021-Sep-23 adohertyhLeave a comment

Coming face to face with a monster waterfall at the end of a hike brings a refreshing sensation: invisible clouds of cool mist.

Contemplating Waterfall

2021-Sep-152021-Sep-15 adohertyhLeave a comment

It’s a cliché of landscape photography that the huge scale of a landscape can best be conveyed be including a human. Though there is indeed a person in this picture, I think Laurel Falls needs no help. Perhaps that’s because of trail experience to reach it.

Water Above Falls

2020-Dec-302020-Dec-29 adohertyhLeave a comment

The apparently slow and placid water above Lampson Falls seems out of character with the dramatic torrent downstream.

Face of Lampson

2020-Dec-212020-Dec-21 adohertyhLeave a comment

Just before the solstice, I most appreciate processing my pictures from spring. The needles and fallen leaves of winter are still on the ground in this image from Lampson Falls, but new life is pushing through.

(Can you spot me on the left side of the picture, at the top of the falls?)

Rainy Day at Multnomah Falls

2020-Nov-02 adohertyhLeave a comment

Evoking superhuman scale in photographs really requires a human scale bar, and the tiny people on the bridge were obliging enough to wear rain jackets in red, yellow, and turquoise that stand out from the natural hues.

Falls Profile

2020-Aug-172020-Aug-16 adohertyhLeave a comment

Rolling Adirondack foothills make for a whole array of waterfalls around the North Country. Lampson Falls looks particularly good from this “impossible” (sans drone) profile perspective, with sunset light reflecting off the pool in the foreground.

Above the Waterfall at Sunset

2020-Jun-192020-Jun-18 adohertyhLeave a comment

Quadcopter drones give photographers access to all kinds of new angles for shots, but also introduce challenges that did not have to previously be considered. I should have thought in more detail about the orientation of the impressive Lampson Falls—and considered that I wouldn’t be able to get the steep face of the falls and the setting sun in the same shot. I guess I’ll have to get up at dawn for the “proper” version of this picture.