Article for January - February 2008
Photographer Notebook
Lisel Shoffner Powell on Oconee Falls
Oconee Falls
This image of Oconee Falls in the Upstate represents how I work a scene to get more than just the obvious image of a subject. Many photographers (including myself) have a wide angle shot top to bottom shot of Oconee Falls, but for me the wide angle shot was boring and static and did not do the beauty of the falls justice. For me, the best part of shooting waterfalls is that a waterfall is never exactly the same from day to day, so you can keep going back to the same place, yet get very different images each time.
Additionally, there are limitless possibilities for images once you get into the details of the falls. By shooting small portions of Oconee Falls, I came up with much more interesting, intimate images than the initial wide-angle view. Also, by continuing to work the details of the scene, I could really focus on capturing the play of the water and how it changes, which is what gives any waterfall its beauty and interest. This image demonstrates the importance of working a location and looking for the image that is not obvious. I probably spent over an hour photographing this waterfall, working the different aspects of the scene and getting multiple interesting images that many people miss when they just look at the big picture and leave after a few minutes.
© 2008 South Carolina Wildlife Magazine, January - February 2008 - www.scwildlife.com