Oneonta Gorge Adventure Awaits You !!

Oneonta Gorge

Have you wanted to go on a really cool little adventure? Well I have the answer and it may come as a surprise how relatively easy it is and within such a close proximity to the Portland area. I'm talking about Oneonta Gorge located just east of Multnomah Falls on the Historic Columbia River Highway.

The adventure part comes in when you're hiking trail is a stream and you must negotiate a huge log jam; other than that it's a piece of cake in terms of outdoor photography outings. You see over the course of a couple of extreme winters and subsequent flooding huge amount of deadfall and lumber have piled up in the mouth of Oneonta Gorge. Once the logs have been crossed it's an extremely easy stroll through the creek less than ½ mile to the Lower Oneonta Gorge waterfall.

Oneonta's Narrow Gorge

The water this time of year was extremely comfortable and the deepest pool went up to my waist. I'm 6' 3" and so I may not recommend this hike for smaller children. I chose to wear my Hodgman Wading boots with the felt sole, worked like a charm. Get there early to avoid crowds if you can. I arrived at 8 am and had the Gorge to myself, any earlier and lack of light would be an issue. You also may be wondering if there are dry spots to set you're gear down and set up shot and yes there are plenty of dry areas that are exposed this time of year.

Oneonta Falls

Getting There: Coming from Portland take the Bridal Veil Exit off of I-84 then proceed East passing Multonmah falls by approximately 1 mile. The parking area is well marked on the right side of the road and is denoted by a large sign reading Oneonta Gorge as well as a large wood pedestrian tunnel.

Happy adventures, Shawn…

Waterfall Photography Tips

Waterfall photography is both rewarding and challenging. If you’re’ anything like me and enjoy getting outdoors to hike and explore having a goal or a destination like a lake, waterfall or mountaintop to photograph is a must.

Waterfall photography especially has technical obstacles that always present themselves. In direct contradiction to other landscape photography you may often welcome the harsh midday sun that may filter it’s way down through the tree canopy and illuminate the falls. Access to the down stream section of a particular falls may be quite hazardous as the steep canyon walls may prevent the ideal vantage point. Particularly high falls often prevent photographing their full length even with the widest of lenses.

It may be possible to explore the technique of a vertical panarama. Exposure problems are another issue as you may be dealing with many stops of light that the camera cannot deal with. I often revert to HDR to deal with this issue.

Admittedly not all the waterfalls you see here are worthy of a frame and I will admit that looking at endless shots of waterfalls can be quite uninspiring; however I hope you will judge each photograph as a separate canvas and realize that I have photographed many falls for documentary reasons.

More waterfalls can be seen here
You may be wondering how to find obscure waterfalls and maybe wish to find a comprehensive list of Northwest Waterfalls. Well I have to give credit to Bryan Swan who authored the Northwest Waterfall Survey.