Day 6 - Doodletown Cascade
A week ago, this little brook in Rockland County was no more than a trickle of water seeping downward around the rocks that make up its bed. What a difference a week makes. With several days of substantial rain, the brook has been rejuvenated into a rushing cascade captured in today’s image.
Nikon Z8 with Z100-400mm Zoom at 100mm. 1/6 sec, f/7.1, ISO 64. Tripod
The streams in the Hudson Highlands fill rapidly after periods of rainfall. This glaciated granite landscape has only a thin veneer of soil to capture and hold the precipitation. The water quickly reaches the bedrock below and is funneled by gravity to the lowest points of land, the stream beds. A little more than a year ago on July 9, 2023 this area was subjected to almost 10” of rain in a 24 hour period with catastrophic results.
Tech Tip - The key to photographing waterfalls and cascades is long exposures. In the case of the photo above, I used a 1/6 second exposure to achieve the smooth buttery flow effect. One of the challenges in still photography is to capture an image that conveys motion. A faster shutter speed of say 1/400 sec or faster would have “frozen” the motion of the water rather than show the flowing movement of the rapids. With such a slow shutter speed, the camera must be supported by a tripod to avoid unplanned for motion and to keep the surrounding elements (boulders, trees, bushes, etc) in sharp focus. On bright sunny days, you may need to add a filter to your lens to darken the image slightly, but for overcast days, you can get away with your normal gear.
