Photography Before Dawn: Snoqualmie Falls

Blue mists at Snoqualmie Falls

Business trips out west bring opportunities for photography. I can get out early and play with my camera before sitting in meetings all day.

This photo was taken just outside Seattle at Snoqualmie Falls—one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest. (It's the one featured on the show Twin Peaks). I was in town for meetings, but thanks to my East Coast sleep schedule, getting up hours before the sun wasn’t as painful as it sounds. Photography before dawn.

I left in the dark and found my way to a small park overlooking the falls. My original plan was to wait for sunrise, but I discovered the falls were lit up by soft floodlights cutting through the morning mist - something I hadn’t planned, and it completely changed the mood.

I didn’t really know what I was doing with night shots at the time. I just started experimenting: long exposures, different apertures, various angles. I took a few hundred shots that morning. This one stood out as the best. Is 1-in-500 a good keeper rate? Maybe not, but it worked for me that day.

By the time I got back to Redmond, I’d already been up for hours, captured one of my favorite images, and still made it to my meetings on time. Not a bad start to the day.

White Tail Falls (Fictional Name for Twin Peaks)

Want to Own a Print?

This image and a couple others from that series are available in a variety of sizes and formats in my Etsy shop, with free U.S. shipping.

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BKatzPhotos

This photo: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4338164407/thin-canvas-blue-mists-at-snoqualmie

Thanks for following along. I’ll be sharing more stories behind my favorite photos in future posts. If you want to be notified, click here: http://eepurl.com/jj9DXs