P215H – Mossbrae Falls, CA

Mossbrae Falls , located near Mt. Shasta in California is probably one of my favorites. I’ve visited it on many occasions over the last 10 years in all seasons. Decent water flow occurs at all times of the years because the water comes primarily from underground and not being dependent on rainfall. The waterfall is actually quite large and contains several separate components that covers a distance of probably 100 feet across. This particular image is only a section of the entire area as it pours into the Sacramento River.

On this particular day, a thick layer of clouds caused the canyon to become quite dark, resulting in my exposure being over 20 seconds in length. This turned out to be a benefit as the long exposure caused the water to soften. Notice the smaller waterfall strands coming from the upper sections of the photograph are actually coming from within the canyon walls. The water falling from elevated positions across the photograph frame appear as if they are lights shining up from below the water surface, like beacons. This photograph is particularly striking when printed large as the detail in the moss covered rocks really show off.