Columbia River Gorge 6

The waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge are revered  by photographers around the world, and for good reason. But the streams that feed them and flow on to the Columbia River can be just as interesting to photograph once you get down and close to the water and examine the detail. The stream pictured here flows away from Wahkeena Falls and on to the mighty Columbia, passing under bridges, around rock formations and under the vegetation along the way. The flowers provide detail in this frame, while the bridge in the upper left corner gives context and scale to the overall scene. If I could, I’d probably spend 10 hours a day shooting photos in the Gorge. But that would mean missing out on a lot of other fascinating photography, as well as rock ‘n roll music, so it’s not a long-term option, unfortunately. (Nikkor 20-35mm wide angle zoom, ISO 200, f/16, 1.3 second exposure with a circular polarizing filter.)