McCloud Middle Falls Postcard

McCloud Middle Falls is an impressive cascade. The second in a series of 3 falls on the McCloud River above the McCloud Reservoir, it is the largest and most popular to see and photograph (although the smaller Lower Falls, AKA Fowler Falls, is easier to get to and see and can be beautiful in its own right in the off season when it’s not crowded with swimmers). I captured this image on a late October evening while my wife and I were camped at the Fowler’s Campground nearby. The sun dips below nearby high terrain pretty early in the afternoon in the fall, putting this beautiful cascade in fairly deep shade. I took this as an opportunity to shoot some longer exposures in the low light, somewhat flattening out the ripply water in the pool and giving a silky look to the cascade itself. The autumn foliage surrounding the falls was nice icing on a very pretty cake as I had the entire place to myself for about and hour.