• That's one big swirly down there with your name on it Aaron. - Zeb Andrews

Risk Vs Reward ~ Palouse Falls, Washington

We kicked off this weekend with a trip down to Oregon to meet up at Rowena with what turned out to be the largest Flickr related turn out that I have been a part of thanks to Ron (Milron) Thanks sir! Even though the sunrise was not what we had all hoped for, I was able to meet quite a few photographers whose work I have enjoyed in the past 2 years on Flickr but never had the pleasure of meeting. I also got to see some old friends and that was great to. We left Rowena and after making a quick stop in The Dalles, we headed out for a 600 mile + roadtrip out to Palouse Falls and Steptoe Butte before returning home to Seattle. It was a ton of fun and on Saturday night we were treated to a beautiful sunset at Palouse Falls. When heading out to photograph places like this you really have to weigh the risk..of driving 600 miles and getting skunked when it comes to conditions, or just going for it and hoping you are treated to a reward like this. I enjoy taking these trips with friends because then if nothing else, you have a shoulder to cry on when everything goes South. There was no crying on this trip though and the lack of sleep was all worth it in the end.

It was an honor to meet all of you this weekend I had not met before and really fun to get out shooting with some of you after the meetup as well. I hope you all had a great weekend and were rewarded for your efforts.

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Comments and faves

  1. ★

    Brian Pemberton, SorenHedberg, Darrell Wyatt, Gary Randall, and 106 other people added this photo to their favorites.

  2. SorenHedberg (25 months ago | reply)

    Great shot!

  3. Konejita (25 months ago | reply)

    Second!!! Shazaaaaaaam Reed holy cannoli this is jaw droppingly spectacular. Yikes that is one sweet comp with that perfect snaky curve and fantastic soft light. Dang you!

  4. Gary Randall (25 months ago | reply)

    You got to Palouse Falls!!! It's on my hit list. What a great shot. it would have been nicer at 10 or 11 mm... the bottom part especially. : )

    It was so good to finally get to meet you Aaron. It was a fabulous day for me.

  5. Jerry Ipsen Photography (25 months ago | reply)

    WOW!!! What an amazing shot! Love the colors and the superb composition.

  6. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    Thanks Gary! It was nice to meet you too sir. I keep the lower portion out of this image as much as I could because it was just the edge of the cliff and didn't look right. I have others of course that show the whole waterway, from earlier in the evening. Once the sunset went off I was stuck. lol.

    You missed. :) Thanks! We were that excited too. :)

  7. Adrian Klein (25 months ago | reply)

    Sounds like a good trip and a nice image to go with it. I see things are starting to green up nicely there. I will be out there late May and early June, and looking forward to it.

  8. pendeho (25 months ago | reply)

    I wish I was there. This is awesome.

  9. anthonyko (25 months ago | reply)

    best of the best!

  10. photos from photons (25 months ago | reply)

    Love how everything seems to be properly exposed. So hard to do with waterfall basins!

  11. NikonDigifan (25 months ago | reply)

    I hope to find time to get down there pretty soon. I only have to go 60 miles. You got a good one on this trip. Hope you come again.

  12. Greg-0 (25 months ago | reply)

    You really hit it out of the ballpark with this one Aaron! The comp, colors, and total view is amazing. You even got a giant swirly in front of the falls. I was ecstatic that not only did I get to meet you, but got to shoot with you as well. It was a great day for me.

    And thanks again for the poster. I really love it.

  13. PatT&5 (25 months ago | reply)

    Outstanding shot! I hope to be able to join the masses the next go round! Sounds like it was a fun time.

  14. jpeder55 (25 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous light this night Aaron. Glad you got treated right out there! Great meeting you toon on Saturday!

  15. *~Dawn~* (25 months ago | reply)

    Woooooooooooow! This is FANTASTIC! So jealous you all have such great flickr meet-ups & photography trips together up there. I'm in the wrong state! :-(
    But thanks for the LOVE you sent today--hearing from you all on the road was the highlight of my day. x

  16. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    Steptoe was starting to look good too. We had a little bit of clouds at the top to deal with this morning but it was still nice to see & shoot since i had not been there before. I will be heading back myself around the same time as your workshop hoping the area will look even better. We found some other really cool things in the area.

    The pleasure was all mine Greg. I must say I was kind of shocked when I saw you and you weren't REALLY purple. :) That was a lot of fun. I hope you got some good stuff from the house.

    You too sir! I wish we could have scared up a little better sunrise, but everyone had a good time I think.

  17. Greg-0 (25 months ago | reply)

    I was purple, but turned pink when I saw all those people. Things will be back to normal when I post a purple shot tomorrow. :)

  18. Ryan McGinty (25 months ago | reply)

    Hey Aaron even though we didn't meet up I'm glad you had a good time in the Palouse. Looks like it was the right choice to leave early, the clouds didn't leave before sunset. There was just a little color. Let me know when your in the area again. The lighting down the canyon is what always amazes me at Palouse Falls. Ry

  19. MikeJonesPhoto (25 months ago | reply)

    Awesome shot, but, seriously, a trained monkey could get an awesome shot at this place. It's an awesome place.

  20. Lance Rudge (25 months ago | reply)

    My jaw is open Aaron! I have always wanted to shoot this spot, but am so fearful of getting nothing, just like you say in your write up. Jaw still, open, this is spectacular man, really impressive. I should of hid in your car and tagged along! Stunning man, hats off to you and it was great to see you again!

  21. Andrew Curtis (25 months ago | reply)

    Killer shot! You guys sure know how to put the miles on! My wife and I are camping here in 2 months. I visited once but didn't have much time.

  22. bettywisse (25 months ago | reply)

    Damn this is SWEET ! What a wonderful curve.

  23. Tony DeSantis Photography (25 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful shot. I really like the water movement that you captured not only in the falls but down the river as well. The movement of white foam really gives it a great feel. The color on the canyon walls couldn't be any better and I like the use of the 17mm lens on the clouds.

  24. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    Yeah, I wish we could have stayed but as we were leaving we saw those thick clouds rolling in. Zeb and I are planning a trip back out here in a month or so. I will shoot you an email when we do and see if you are available.

    Yay! Mikey's back. :)

    Thanks Lance... you could have just rolled. We took two vehicles. Next time just do it! :) Hope you guys got some good stuff at the coast.

    Man...I still feel terrible that you couldn't knock out the timelapse at the old house. Now I that I know the owner we will have to get back out there so you can take another crack at it. Good to see you this weekend.

  25. Millron (25 months ago | reply)

    Show off! It's like that song, anything you can do, I can do better.

    Your work really blows me away.

  26. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    Thanks Ron...your funny.

  27. Justin Reznick (25 months ago | reply)

    Glad you had a great trip Aaron! I like the soft sky. Looking forward to more of your shots from the weekend!

  28. TomGrubbe (25 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous shot and wonderful comp!

  29. Gaz Photo's (25 months ago | reply)

    Gorgeous shot Aaron. This is a spot I long to visit myself. Looks and sounds like you had a terrific road trip.

    It was nice to meet you on Saturday morning :)

    Cheers,

    -Gaz

  30. Eric.Vogt (25 months ago | reply)

    Stunning shot from what looks like a great spot. Thanks for posting Aaron. Thanks for coming such a long way to meet up on Saturday.

  31. Panorama Paul (25 months ago | reply)

    Damn you Reed... I just knew that you'd return from your weekend with a bunch of great shots... I just didn't realise that they'd include a killer shot like this!!!!!!! I'm green with envy!!! :)

  32. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    lol. That is actually what I set out to do now Paul. :) One of these days you just need to come on over. You can stay at my house. That would allow you to maybe afford the plane ticket. :) lol.

    I wonder how much the plane ride would really cost you....Thanks Paul.

  33. Marc Briggs (25 months ago | reply)

    Stunning shot of a stunning location. Gotta put this way high on the short list for a visit.

  34. Cliff Zener (25 months ago | reply)

    Man this is fantastic. Love the pastel colors in the sky and the exposure on the water. Excellent dof too.

    Great to finally meet Smashing Pixels. And thanks for all the quality work you put out there...truly inspirational. CZ

  35. D Breezy - now on Google + too (25 months ago | reply)

    smooth! this is real nice! this is bad ass, great shot.

  36. ~ Aaron Reed ~ (25 months ago | reply)

    lol. You are dating yourself with that name Cliff. lol. Not too many people probably remember, but my buddy Jesse never lets me forget. :) Great to finally meet you this weekend. Hope you had a good time. Take care of that knee!

  37. kth_friend (25 months ago | reply)

    that is one stunning shot... some falls and creek... wow
    Looks like you had an awesome day

    --
    Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)

  38. Starlisa (25 months ago | reply)

    I am glad to have seen you and laugh around a bit at Rowena and the old house...

    THIS is a killer shot..... one of the prettiest I have seen of this falls... conditions were indeed in your favor! Good work, Aaron!

    --
    Seen on your photo stream. (?)

  39. Michael Bandy- autumnleafphotography.com (25 months ago | reply)

    Beautiful comp and wonderful light. Great shot!!

  40. Jesse Estes (25 months ago | reply)

    That's pretty sweet man! Glad you got out there to this spot, and it's looking pretty good out there for sure...

  41. Ragstatic (25 months ago | reply)

    wowie kapow ~ brilliant . what a sight to oggle at !

  42. greenplasticdave (25 months ago | reply)

    Aaron this is epic. The light on the tiered rocks, the smooth falls, the swirl in the water all topped off with nice colour in the sky. Great work and well worth the trip.

  43. tianxiaozhang (25 months ago | reply)

    Nice

  44. holapablo67 (25 months ago | reply)

    great shot and wonderful landscape

  45. Thibault B Photography (25 months ago | reply)

    beautiful exposure and colors!

  46. Dene' Miles (25 months ago | reply)

    For realz??? Reed, you're killin me here. I JUST got home and you have already downloaded, and posted your epicness. And, now i am just going to have to keep my palouse falls shots to myself after seeing this one, true story Love how you got the river flowing through the canyon on this one. Did this shot happen before or after you ran by me at 10mph?? do tell :)

  47. Jeff Eickhoff (25 months ago | reply)

    Aaron this is Smokin'! Way to put on the miles! Well done. Looking forward to seeing more from the trip!

  48. Dave the Haligonian (25 months ago | reply)

    LMAO!

    Seriously though dude, this is really breath-taking!

  49. Kyle Kruchok (25 months ago | reply)

    You totally caught the reward end of things. If I didn't have to be anywhere in particular, I would still be over yonder shootin' away.

  50. danishpm (25 months ago | reply)

    Absolutely gorgeous - love the swirl in the water!

  51. Janice L (25 months ago | reply)

    I've seen lots of comps of these falls but this one tops them all.

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