Finding something worthy of pointing your camera toward is the first priority of the serious photographer. We spend a lot to time just scouting when we visit a new place. This was our first and only trip to Yellowstone National Park. Having no idea of what we would find, nor exactly where to start, you just drive and look.
This particular day we were exploring along a narrow one way loop road that followed Hot Creek. There was certainly plenty of rushing water and great photo opportunities everywhere. We came upon the fall about mid afternoon and I knew immediately this was something very special. I see images mostly as a flash in my mind. Sometimes it is just a glimpse in the corner of my eye. Other times it is obvious there is something that requires further investigation. This was certainly something to explore in more detail. Who could pass up a large waterfall beside the road?
When asked how I choose which camera to use, my normal response is, the largest one I can get into position. This is especially true for landscapes. The biggest obstacle is just how far I can carry any one camera. The 11×14 requires four trips to set up and make a photo. Since there was plenty of room to park just across the road from the fall, the 11×14 was the camera of choice. This was my first consideration. 
Next I had to scout out a suitable position for the camera. The placement of the tripod is crucial to the framing of the photo. Everything affects the finished image. Just moving a few feet, or inches, can make all the difference. I use an old Zone VI combination viewing filter and framing device to help me locate the camera position and approximate the focal length lens I will need. For this image the position from the edge of the road was far too high above the fall and too far away. I made my way down the steep embankment of loose dirt and rock as far as I could get before encountering a sheer vertical drop of twenty five feet or so to the stream bed. This position was also near thirty feet below the road and gave me the vantage point I wanted.
At this point I was getting very excited about the image possibilities. There is something about finding subject matter that is visually stimulating. The possibilities in my mind for the look of a finished print was taking shape. I carefully studied the possible framing of the photograph and began to realize the light was not right. We were there too late in the afternoon. The sun had already gone behind the far bank of the stream below the trees and the fall was in shade. I wanted the foaming water of the fall in full sun and the far bank of the stream and trees in shade. I knew that a photo that would capture what I envisioned was not possible that day.
This is a common occurrence, we would have to make some notes as to the place and time of day and return another time. What I had to hope for was that the next day would not be cloudy. We would arrive about an hour or more earlier in order to get the camera set up and then wait for the light.
Fortunately the next day we had clear skies, prefect for the image of Firehole River Fall I was after. I heaved the tripod, camera, lens, dark cloth and film holder down the embankment and took up a position just at the edge of the drop off. The 355mm lens gave me the framing I was looking for, so it was just a matter of focusing, framing and waiting. As the sun slowly moved westward the shadows from the trees on the far bank of the stream advanced toward the streams far edge. When things lined up just so, I clicked the shutter. I made two negatives on Bergger BPF 200 film which were process Normal in PyroCat HD developer. The resulting negative prints well with some manipulation and gives me the look and feel I had originally envisioned.
One of the biggest challenges is finding a suitable subject and then presenting it in a manner that portrays your vision. Most of the time this requires patience. Sometimes there is only one very specific time of day when everything lines up just right. When it works it is great, if it does not work, you may have to come back over and over till it all happens.
JB
This particular day we were exploring along a narrow one way loop road that followed Hot Creek. There was certainly plenty of rushing water and great photo opportunities everywhere. We came upon the fall about mid afternoon and I knew immediately this was something very special. I see images mostly as a flash in my mind. Sometimes it is just a glimpse in the corner of my eye. Other times it is obvious there is something that requires further investigation. This was certainly something to explore in more detail. Who could pass up a large waterfall beside the road? At this point I was getting very excited about the image possibilities. There is something about finding subject matter that is visually stimulating. The possibilities in my mind for the look of a finished print was taking shape. I carefully studied the possible framing of the photograph and began to realize the light was not right. We were there too late in the afternoon. The sun had already gone behind the far bank of the stream below the trees and the fall was in shade. I wanted the foaming water of the fall in full sun and the far bank of the stream and trees in shade. I knew that a photo that would capture what I envisioned was not possible that day.Click on the thumbnail images to see a larger view and the captions.
