The waterfall shots were the most challenging to get, as they were along Cataract Creek, and it was great going in, but coming back up it was a steep 1,300 foot accent along the trail back to where we parked.Besides the rugged climb, or comfortable descent, getting the waterfall shots were tricky. Off shoot trails from the main trail went downward toward the creek and were slick. Not easy with a pack full of equipment on our back. Falling down a couple of times on the offshoot trails and also having to duck under fallen trees to get to the objective seemed to be the order of things.
Composing the photographs wasn’t easy either. There were a lot of wonderful shots of the waterfalls that I had to pass on for one reason or another, but the largest result was that too many dead branches were in the way or other minor obstructions that would not have played well in the finished image.
For shooting the waterfalls, I found that my best results came exposures ranging from one to three seconds.
One of the beauties of Mt. Tam is that the terrain is so diverse. One minute you’re hiking among redwoods and the next oaks and then through meadows and on rolling hillsides. Shooting on Mt. Tam for me as a photographer is probably like Disneyland is to a kid.While hiking a service road, we went from being out in the open and exposed straight into and old oak forest that was seemingly spooky. Old trees, dead trees and fallen branches were all around, but amongst that death was green moss and brownish-orange fungus growing out of dead trees.
On the ground were all sorts of colorful wildflowers, insects and banana slugs, though none wanted to p
ose. We descended on the trail several hundred feet that offered spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean as we looked down on Stenson Beach. Though it wasn’t a good day for sunset photography, I plan on returning to that spot this summer to capture some great sunset shots. The only physical difficulty is climb back up with all the gear.As physically heart-pounding as Mt. Tam was, the end result was worth it, and encourage any photographer, no matter your skill level, to take it on. Just take lots of water.
To see the images I made in their full size, including those shown above, check out my website.
